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Nebraska is ripe for wood-based biomass production
27/02/2009
According to the Nebraska Forest Service (NFS), a recent study has found that the state has sufficient wood supply to support woody biomass-based production enterprises.
The study found that there are 1.3 million acres of timberland in the state, which contain 41 million oven-dry tons of woody biomass. Each year, 270,000 tons of woody biomass is generated through range improvement, timber harvest operations, forest fuels treatment programmes and urban wood processing operations. Furthermore, timberland growth produces a further 1 million tons of biomass each year.
Some 90% of this waste wood is going unused, with the remaining 10% is used as a reliable source of heating and energy generation, suggesting there is no reason the remaining waste wood cannot also be used to generate clean energy. “Years of steadily rising energy costs have negatively impacted Nebraska’s rural communities, some of which were already facing serious economic decline,” says the spokespersn from the NFS, “Woody biomass utilization serves as a catalyst for rural economies. In the Pine Ridge, fuels treatment projects and the associated woody biomass utilization have resulted in six full-time, year-round jobs and more than $1 million in economic impacts for the area,” he added.
The process of geospatially mapping the state’s forests is underway.
The study found that there are 1.3 million acres of timberland in the state, which contain 41 million oven-dry tons of woody biomass. Each year, 270,000 tons of woody biomass is generated through range improvement, timber harvest operations, forest fuels treatment programmes and urban wood processing operations. Furthermore, timberland growth produces a further 1 million tons of biomass each year.
Some 90% of this waste wood is going unused, with the remaining 10% is used as a reliable source of heating and energy generation, suggesting there is no reason the remaining waste wood cannot also be used to generate clean energy. “Years of steadily rising energy costs have negatively impacted Nebraska’s rural communities, some of which were already facing serious economic decline,” says the spokespersn from the NFS, “Woody biomass utilization serves as a catalyst for rural economies. In the Pine Ridge, fuels treatment projects and the associated woody biomass utilization have resulted in six full-time, year-round jobs and more than $1 million in economic impacts for the area,” he added.
The process of geospatially mapping the state’s forests is underway.
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