Wood to Energy: Forestry's Next Frontier

By Terry Godwin

Published Sunday, December 13, 2009

Wood to Energy: Forestry’s Next Frontier

We have been hearing a lot in recent months about climate change and how we need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. One of the options that we have is to use more wood for our energy needs. Why? There are a lot of reasons. Its renewable, its carbon neutral, and we have a lot of it. One often overlooked reason to use more wood for our energy needs is that the money spent for the generation of the energy stays right here at home and reduces the amount of money sent oversees for oil.
Currently the most used and lowest cost material utilized in the generation of electricity is biomass. This material is the left over’s after the logger has utilized all other forest products. It is the limbs, bark, and other material that cannot be used in the paper or lumber making process. Typically the material is processed through a chipper. Once at the power station, the biomass is burned to generate steam, turn turbines, and generate electricity. Currently the largest biomass power station in Virginia is the Pittsylvania Power Station near Wise, VA. This facility consumes in excess of 500,000 tons per year of material that would otherwise be left in the woods. The facility generates 80 mega watts of carbon neutral electricity with the only by-product being water vapor and wood ash.
Wood pellets are another product that can be used to generate heat and electricity. The wood that is used to make the product is similar to the wood that a papermill uses. The residential wood pellet is a popular way to heat homes in the colder northern climates. The pellets can be delivered in bulk and can be feed into a pellet stove automatically making it a very easy way to warm a house. The industrial pellet is used similarly except on a larger scale. The pellets are typically used with coal burning power plants, crushed, and feed in with the coal. Pellets are preferred because most of the moisture in the wood has been removed. A more advanced process for pellets is the Torrefaction system. In this system the wood is processed in a way that yields almost the same BTU value per ton as coal. The worldwide markets for pellets are forecasted to increase significantly due to climate change legislation.
Cellulosic ethanol (CE) is another product from the forest that has great potential. CE is similar to corn ethanol except it is made from wood and agricultural waste. The wood needed to make CE is similar to the biomass used to generate electricity. CE has an advantage over corn ethanol in that it takes a third less energy to produce. CE is used just like corn ethanol as an additive for transportation fuels. The technology to make CE is expensive but the cost continues to come down as the manufacturing process improves. CE is also preferred to corn because it doesn’t affect food prices.
There is no doubt we will hear more about wood to energy in the future. Potential Cap and Trade legislation will give producers of these wood products the assurance they need to make the investments in new facilities. It will also give forest landowners and loggers another market for their wood. Most importantly it will provide a portion of our nations energy needs while simultaneously circulating money in our economy that would otherwise be sent oversees to oil producing countries.

Terry Godwin is a consulting forester in Franklin, VA. and can be reached at tgodwin@gferforestry.com or 757.556.5271 or www.gferforestry.com