Private landowner intent to supply woody feedstock for bioenergy production

In this research, we evaluated the intent of engaged private forest landowners to supply woody biomass for bioenergy production. The study was conducted in a U.S. state (Kentucky) where private individuals own a majority (78%) of the state's forest resources. Intent of family forest owners was measured using a mail-based survey. We used the Theory of Planned Behavior to model factors that affect landowner intention, and we tested the effect of educational materials on participates' reported intent. Two-thirds of respondents indicated that they intend to include energy wood in future harvests, but the educational material treatment did not affect intentions. Respondents' attitudes, perceived subjective norms, and perceived control each had a significant effect on intent to harvest. No demographic or land ownership characteristics had an effect on behavioral intent. The only prior harvest activity that significantly increased intent was whether the subject had harvested pulpwood from their forest in the past. Respondents identified barriers that may prevent them from harvesting energy wood, providing forestry professionals with a list of challenges to overcome if supply is to be maximized. Lack of bioenergy markets and woodland access issues were the most frequently reported barriers.     

Factors affecting nonindustrial private forest landowners' willingness to supply woody biomass for bioenergy

Bioenergy is a renewable form of potential alternative to traditional fossil fuels that has come to the forefront as a result of recent concerns over high price of fuels, national security, and climate change. Nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners form the dominant forest ownership group in the southern United States. These forests often tend to have large quantities of small diameter trees. Use of logging residues and non-marketable small diameter trees for bioenergy production can create economic opportunities for NIPF landowners. The results demonstrated that landowners’ willingness to harvest woody biomass was influenced by their ownership objectives, size of the forest, structure and composition of tree species, and demographic characteristics. The model found that relatively younger landowners who owned large acres of forestland with pine plantations or mix forests had the potential to become a preferable choice for contractors, extension foresters and bioenergy industries as they were more likely to supply woody biomass for bioenergy. Findings of this study will be useful to bioenergy industries, extension foresters, nonindustrial private forest landowners and policy makers.     

A supply chain analysis framework for assessing state-level forest biomass utilization policies in the United States

The number of state policies aimed at fostering biomass utilization has proliferated in recent years in the United States. Several states aim to increase the use of forest and agriculture biomass through renewable energy production. Several more indirectly encourage utilization by targeting aspects of the supply chain from trees standing in the forest to goods sold. This research classifies 370 state policies from across the United States that provides incentives for forest biomass utilization. We compare those policies by types of incentives relative to the supply chain and geographic clustering. We then develop a framework for policy evaluation building on the supply chain steps, which can be used to assess intended and unintended consequences of policy interactions. These findings may inform policy development and identify synergies at different steps in the supply chain to enhance forest biomass utilization.     

Woodland owners' attitudes towards energy from forest biomass in a carbon-intensive jurisdiction: Case study of Nova Scotia,Canada

The use of forest biomass in thermal generation processes has been recognized by the Government of Nova Scotia (NS) as one option that could help meet its renewable electricity goals (25% by 2015 and 40% by 2020). Over half of the woodland in NS is owned by small-private woodland owners (51%), indicating that they could significantly influence the future of NS forests and its potential use for energy purposes. This paper presents the results of a survey of small-woodland owners on their attitudes towards using energy from forest biomass. 489 small-woodland owners responded to mail-out surveys and 14 rural community members participated in three focus groups. Three major findings emerged. First, it was found that the acceptability of using forest products varied depending on multiple factors – the source of biomass, harvesting methods, and [predicted] end-use. Second, forest sustainability and keeping resources local were the two most important concerns amongst respondents. Finally, respondents felt that better collaboration with other stakeholders and education around the issues would be the best strategies for overcoming these concerns. The paper also highlights the barriers and drivers as perceived by the woodland owners as they relate to the possibility of using more biomass for energy in the future.     

Cost estimates of post harvest forest biomass supply for Canada

This study estimates the potential physical amounts and financial costs of post-harvest forest residue biomass supply in Canada. The analyses incorporate the locations of harvest activities in Canada, the geographical variation of forest productivity patterns and the costs associated with the extraction and transportation of residue feedstock to bioenergy facilities. We estimated the availability of harvest residues within the extent of industrial forest management operations in Canadian forests. Our analyses focused on the extraction of biomass from roadside harvest residues that involve four major cost components: pre-piling and aggregation, loading, chipping and transportation. The estimates of residue extraction costs also included representation of basic ecological sustainability and technical accessibility constraints. Annual supply of harvestable residual biomass with these ecological sustainability constraints were estimated to be approximately 19.2–23.3 Tg_*year⁻¹ and 16.5–20.0 Tg_*year⁻¹ in scenarios that included both ecological and technical accessibility limitations. These estimates appear to be less than other similar studies, due to the higher level of spatial details on inventories and ecological and operational constraints in our analyses. The amount of residual biomass available in baseline scenarios at a supply cost of $60 ODT⁻¹ and $80 ODT⁻¹ were 1.08 and 1.38 Tg year⁻¹ and 7.82 and 10.14 Tg year⁻¹ respectively. Decreasing residue extraction costs by 35% increased the amount of residues available at a $60 ODT⁻¹ and $80 ODT⁻¹ supply price by ∼5.5–5.7 and ∼1.5–1.6 times respectively. The assessment methodology is generic and could be extended to examine residue supplies for specialized biomass markets such as lignocellulosic ethanol production.     

Stakeholder perspectives on converting forest biomass to energy in Oregon, USA

Within the state of Oregon, USA, there is considerable interest in the possibility of converting forest biomass to energy. A number of studies have assessed the technical feasibility of forest biomass energy, but few have focused on social aspects, an important consideration in projects involving public forests. This study explores the social context of converting forest biomass to energy, using qualitative research methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with forty individuals representing nine different stakeholder groups. Information gained through interviews was used to understand stakeholder views on forest biomass energy, including their perspectives on potential barriers and opportunities in Oregon. Findings indicate the most challenging barrier will be access to long-term, consistent supply. A related challenge is the long history of contention between parties over forest products coming from public lands. However, findings also show that there are many areas of common ground between these groups that have historically been at odds, such as agreement on the necessity of restoration treatments in certain forest types, the by-product of which could be used for biomass generation. Potential conflicts still exist, for instance over projects in mixed conifer forests. Development of policies and projects through inclusive, collaborative approaches could alleviate controversies, potentially allowing more activities to move forward. Information provided by this research creates a foundation for discussions as forest biomass energy becomes an increasingly prominent issue in Oregon, the western USA, and other regions of the world.     

Biofuels and biochemicals production from forest biomass in Western Canada

Biomass can be used for the production of fuels, and chemicals with reduced life cycle (greenhouse gas) emissions. Currently, these fuels and chemicals are produced mainly from natural gas and other fossil fuels. In Western Canada, forest residue biomass is gasified for the production of syngas which is further synthesized to produce different fuels and chemicals. Two types of gasifiers: the atmospheric pressure gasifier (commercially known as SilvaGas) and the pressurized gasifier (commercially known as RENUGAS) are considered for syngas production. The production costs of methanol, (dimethyl ether), (Fischer-Tropsch) fuels, and ammonia are $0.29/kg, $0.47/kg, $0.97/kg, and $2.09/kg, respectively, for a SilvaGas-based gasification plant with a capacity of 2000 dry tonnes/day. The cost of producing methanol, DME, F-T fuels, and ammonia in a RENUGAS-based plant are $0.45/kg, $0.69/kg, $1.53/kg, and $2.72/kg, respectively, for a plant capacity of 2000 dry tonnes/day. The minimum cost of producing methanol, DME, F-T fuels, and ammonia are $0.28/kg, $0.44/kg, $0.94/kg, and $2.06/kg at plant capacities of 3000, 3500, 4000, and 3000 dry tonnes/day, respectively, using the SilvaGas-based gasification process. Biomass-based fuels and chemicals are expensive compared to fuels and chemicals derived from fossil fuels, and carbon credits can help them become competitive.     

The influence of home-site factors on residents’ willingness to pay: An application for power generation from scrubland in Galicia,Spain

The main objective of this paper is to measure how much home-site factors can help to explain the individual WTP for an environmental improvement in power generation in Galicia, Spain. The results show that home-site variables such as a dispersed population, local community income, population growth and coastal/inland emplacements have significant effects on the residents’ WTP. Individual and home-site models are compared using goodness-of-fit measures, and implications for forestry resources management and energy planning are discussed. The results favor to take into account the home-site variables into the WTP function. Moreover, a different structure of preferences for coastal and inland inhabitants is identified. A cross-validity analysis shows that some home-site coefficients are common to both sub-samples, but the scale parameters are not homogenous. This analysis could be useful to inform and support the public energy policy when designing incentives that promote the electric use of biomass.     

Review of consumption trends and public policies promoting woody biomass as an energy feedstock in the U.S.

A review of the four main wood energy sectors in the U.S. was conducted to explore historic trends and the impact of alternative energy prices and public policies on wood energy consumption. High oil prices have triggered the adoption of government regulation and financial incentives to promote greater use of wood energy over the last four decades. However, the amount of wood energy consumed in the U.S. industrial sector was driven mainly by the output of the pulp and paper products industry and not by energy prices or any particular public policy incentive. Residential consumption of wood energy was positively correlated with competing energy prices. Public policies seem to have had a greater impact on wood energy consumption in the electric power sector and over the last four decades have concentrated on promoting biopower with a recent shift to liquid cellulosic biofuels. High oil prices and a series of public policies such as tax credits, loans, grants, and renewable energy standards have resulted in higher consumption of wood energy from 2004 to 2009 in the residential, electric power and commercial sectors by an estimated 5, 2, and less than 1 percent annually, respectively. The impact of new federal programs such as the Biomass Crop Assistance Program remains to be observed. Continuation of public incentives and preferential regulations for renewable energy appears to be necessary for a steady increase in U.S. wood energy consumption.     

A GIS-based analysis on the relationship between the annual available amount and the procurement cost of forest biomass in a mountainous region in Japan

The feasibility of utilization of forest biomass for energy in a mountainous region in Japan is discussed based on analyses with a geographic information system (GIS). In this study, ‘forest biomass’ denotes logging residues, thinned trees, and trees from broad-leaved forests. First, using the GIS, the distribution map of biomass resources was completed, and the topographical information of each sub-compartment was prepared. Second, harvesting and transportation systems were classified into six types by fraction of tree for energy (two types) and by topographical conditions (three types). Equations for cost calculation were developed and included the variables slope, skidding/yarding distance, and transportation distance. Finally, the relationship between the mass and the procurement cost of forest biomass in the region was analyzed. The results show that logging residues (the available amount was 4.035 Gg y⁻¹ on a dry-mass basis) were the least costly followed by broad-leaved forests (20.317 Gg y⁻¹) while thinned trees (27.854 Gg y⁻¹) were the most costly. The analysis may support operational planning, especially the decision of selecting sub-compartments to be felled. For instance, the amount of biomass needed to supply a power-plant covering 24.8% of the regional household need was calculated to 30.106 Gg y⁻¹. This amount of forest biomass could optimally be harvested from sub-compartments whose procurement costs were lower than 108.6 US$ Mg⁻¹.     

Mobilization of biomass for energy from boreal forests in Finland & Russia under present sustainable forest management certification and new sustainability requirements for solid biofuels

Forest biomass is one of the main contributors to the EU's renewable energy target of 20% gross final energy consumption in 2020 (Renewable Energy Directive). Following the RED, new sustainability principles are launched by the European energy sector, such as the Initiative Wood Pellet Buyers (IWPB or SBP). The aim of our study is the investigation of the quantitative impacts from IWPB's principles for forest biomass for energy only. We deploy a bottom up method that quantifies the supplies and the costs from log harvest until forest chip delivery at a domestic consumer. We have a reference situation with existing national (forest) legislation and voluntary certification schemes (scenario 1) and a future situation with additional criteria based on the IWPB principles (scenario 2). Two country studies were selected for our (2008) survey: one in Finland with nearly 100% certification and one in Leningrad province with a minor areal share of certification in scenario 1. The sustainable potential of forest resources for energy is about 54 Mm³ (385 PJ) in Finland and about 13.5 Mm³ (95 PJ) in Leningrad in scenario 1 without extra criteria. The potential volumes reduce considerably by maximum 43% respectively 39% after new criteria from the IWPB, like a minimum use of sawlogs, stumps and slash for energy, and by an increased area of protected forests (scenario 2A Maximum extra restrictions). In case sawlogs can be used, but instead ash recycling is applied after a maximum stump and slash recovery (scenario 2B Minimum extra restrictions), the potential supply is less reduced: 5% in Finland and 22% in Leningrad region. The estimated reference costs for forest chips are between €18 and €45 solid m⁻³ in Finland and between €7 and €33 solid m⁻³ in the Leningrad region. In scenario 2A, the costs will mainly increase by €7 m⁻³ for delimbing full trees (Finland), and maximum €0.3 m⁻³ for suggested improved forest management (Leningrad region). In scenario 2B, when ash recycling is applied, costs increase by about €0.3 to €1.6 m⁻³, depending on the rate of soil contamination. This is an increase of 2%, on top of the costs in scenario 2A.