USDA Forest Service, Centers for Urban and Interface ForestryUniversity of Florida, School of Forest Resources and Conservation

• Alachua County’s population is increasing by 0.5% annually

• Electricity demand in Gainesville has been increasing by about 3.3% per year

• The City and Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) are increasing conservation efforts

• There is a projected need for more electricity within 5 years (2011)

• Increasing population• Existing forest cover• Currently using fossil fuels

• How many strategies can we use to improve the situation?

• Wood is one of many possibilities

• Urban waste wood Yard trimmings Storm damage

• Land-clearing debris• Forestry residues

Thinning for forest health, wildfire risk reduction

Branches from harvesting• Wood grown specifically

for energy production

• Additional wood market for landowners interested in sustainable forestry

• Forest management can: reduce wildfire behavior enhance forest health improve wildlife habitat

• Wood is renewable• Useful way to process

“waste wood”• Can produce lower levels of

sulfur, nitrogen, and heavy metals such as mercury

• Carbon neutral• Creates local jobs

• Reduced soil fertility• Long term sustainable yields• Habitat change

Potential Solutions:• Best management practices• Sustainable forestry• Forest certification

• Unfamiliar technology• Cost

–However, it’s much cheaper than other renewables

The Carbon Cycle

Resource

Estimated purchase cost

($/dry ton)Urban Wood Waste -$25

Forestry Residues $0

Pulpwood $16

Cheapest

Most Expensive

•Harvest and process: $20-$30 per dry ton.•Transportation: $5-$12 per dry ton.

Cost Assumptions for Biomass Sources

$-

$0.50

$1.00

$1.50

$2.00

$2.50

$3.00

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14Trillion BTUs Per Year

$/M

Mbt

uLocal Biomass Supply Curve

1 trillion btus=9.8 MW=3,934-8,852 homes

Deerhaven Facility, FLOther SE US communities

$-

$0.50

$1.00

$1.50

$2.00

$2.50

$3.00

$3.50

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 MW$-

$0.50

$1.00

$1.50

$2.00

$2.50

$3.00

$3.50

0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 Green Tons/year$-

$0.50

$1.00

$1.50

$2.00

$2.50

$3.00

$3.50

0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000

Truckloads/yearTruckloads/year

$-

$0.50

$1.00

$1.50

$2.00

$2.50

$3.00

$3.50

0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000

Homes/Year

Homes powered/year

Economic Structure of the Wood Energy Industry

Rest of United States and World Economy

Exports

Imports

Goods and Services

Monetary FlowsLocal Economy

Purchased Inputs

Wood Energy Industry

Local Consumption

Distribution SupplierConsumer Spending

Employee Households

Labor and WagesTaxes

Local Govt.

Forest Management &

Timber Production Logging and

Transportation

Construction, Infrastructure Electric Utilities and

Other Wood Users

County

20 MW Plant 40 MW Plant

Revenue ($Mn) Jobs

Value-added ($Mn)

Revenue ($Mn) JobsValue-added ($Mn)

Alachua 8.0 81 4.3 10.8 107 5.5

Clay 7.6 74 3.7 10.3 98 4.8

Leon 7.8 74 4.1 10.7 100 5.4

Nassau 6.7 63 3.3 9.0 82 4.2Santa Rosa 37.7 335 15.4 65.5 578 26.3

Capital Construction Impacts for a 20 or 40 MW Wood-Fueled Power Plant in Selected Florida Counties

County

20 MW Plant 40 MW Plant

Revenue (Mn$) Jobs

Value-added (Mn$)

Revenue (Mn$) Jobs

Value-added (Mn$)

Alachua 11.9 169 7.4 22.8 334 14.2

Clay 10.2 152 6.2 20.3 323 12.3

Leon 11.4 132 7.3 22.0 257 14.0

Nassau 9.2 116 5.7 18.4 234 11.4

Santa Rosa 10.2 120 6.2 20.2 239 12.5

Annual Operating Impacts (first year) for a 20 or 40 MW Wood-Fueled Power Plant in Selected Florida Counties

Employment Impacts by Occupational Group for Ongoing Operations of a 40MW Wood-Fired Power Plant in Alachua County, FL

Occupational Group JobsFarming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations 98.7Other Non-specified Occupations 48.8Office and Administrative Support Occupations 34.2Transportation and Material Moving Occupations 28.4Sales and Related Occupations 20.3Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 14.2Architecture and Engineering Occupations 10.9Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 10.0Management Occupations 9.5Production Occupations 9.2Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 7.4Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations 6.5

Business and Financial Operations Occupations 6.3Construction and Extraction Occupations 5.8Personal Care and Service Occupations 5.4Healthcare Support Occupations 4.0Computer and Mathematical Occupations 3.3Education, Training, and Library Occupations 2.6Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations 2.4Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations 2.2Community and Social Services Occupations 1.5Legal Occupations 1.1Protective Service Occupations 1.0Total 333.6

• Coal systems much larger Individual units 100 to 1000 MW Typically pulverize the coal and burn it in suspension

• Biomass systems much smaller Typically 1 to 50 MW Typically burn on a grate

• Energy content (Btu/lb)• Moisture content• Alkali metals (Sodium & Potassium)• Ash content

• Gasify by heating in the absence of air

• Convert to liquid through pyrolysis• Gases and liquids can be used in

boilers, engines, turbines