Biomass isn’t one size fits all, says report

Schools, hospitals and power plants that successfully use logging leftovers as fuel do so because the wood is nearby, readily and reliably available, and – in some cases – its use is subsidized.

That’s according to a recently released analysis of 13 woody biomass users’ experiences – and the lessons they offer for government efforts to promote biomass as fuel – by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Biomass is the term given the small-diameter trees and underbrush cut during thinning projects prescribed as an antidote to fire-prone, overgrown forests. The trees are so small they cannot be used by sawmills or log home builders.

So they are chipped and delivered to paper mills, public buildings and power plants that have boilers equipped to burn wood.

But the use of biomass is not without challenges or unintended consequences, the GAO found.

By SHERRY DEVLIN of the Missoulian

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/articles/2006/08/01/trends/trends91.txt