WHAT ROLE FOR BIOMASS POWER IN A CLEAN ENERGY STANDARD?

Mary S. Booth, PhDPartnership for Policy Integrity

April 2, 2011

“BIOMASS ENERGY”– Combustion of wood and other biological materials

to produce steam and generate heat and power; or gasification of fuel to drive a turbine.

– Combustion at “direct-fired” plants or as co-firing with coal

– “Biomass” = wood. Few facilities using agricultural residues or energy crops

– Considered “renewable energy”: eligible for same incentives and subsidies as wind and solar power.

– Has been considered “carbon neutral” –now changing

For the purposes of this talk:

McNeil Power Plant, Burlington, Vermont

Photo: Chris Matera, Massachusetts Forest Watch

What role for biomass in a “clean” energy standard?

First, what’s “clean”? Bingaman bill: Carbon emissions only. PFPI’s position: “Clean” should mean…

CLEAN. Emission rates of top performers listed in EPA’s RACT/BACT/LAER Clearinghouse (lb/mmbtu)

PM10 (fil) NOx CO SO2Coal 0.01 - 0.12 0.067 - 0.07 0.1 - 0.135 0.1 - 0.245

Biomass 0.02 - 0.03 0.065 - 0.15 0.1 - 0.24 0.02

Except for SO2, biomass emits as much or more pollution than coal

Filterable PM rate (lb/mmbtu) Coal Biomass "wet" Biomass "dry"Existing Stoker 0.028 0.029 0.32ExistingFluidized bed 0.088

New Stoker 0.028 0.029 0.32New Fluidized bed 0.0011

0.11

0.0098

EPA’s “boiler rule” (control of Hazardous Air Pollutants)

Filterable PM: EPA sets higher allowable rates for biomass than coal• Carbon monoxide gap is even larger

Biomass energy is opposed by health organizations

Massachusetts Medical Society resolution: (December, 2009)

• “biomass power plants pose an unacceptable risk to the public’s health by increasing air pollution”

American Lung Association Energy Policy: (June 11, 2011)

• The American Lung Association does not support biomass combustion for electricity production, a category that includes wood, wood products, agricultural residues or forest wastes, and potentially highly toxic feedstocks, such as construction and demolition waste. 

• The American Lung Association strongly opposes the combustion of wood and other biomass sources at schools and institutions with vulnerable populations.

Carbon dioxide emissions from biomass versus fossil fuel power

facilities

Biomass plants emit~50% more CO2 than coal plants~250% more CO2 than gas plants• (emissions are 340% greater than combined cycle gas

plants)

Fuel CO2 per heat content (lb/mmbtu)

Facility efficiency

Fuel mmbtu required to

generate 1 MWh Lb CO2/MWh

Gas combined cycle 117.1 0.45 7.54 883

Gas steam turbine 117.1 0.33 10.40 1,218

Coal steam turbine 205.6 0.34 10.15 2,086

Biomass steam turbine 213 0.24 14.22 3,029

Not controversial that biomass emits more CO2 per unit energy than fossil fuels…

– The “waste” argument: Materials burned are “waste” and would decompose and emit CO2 anyway – e.g. forestry residues – tops and branches left over after commercial timber harvesting. No net release of carbon.

– The “resequestration” argument: Ongoing or future forest growth re-sequesters carbon that’s released by burning, thus no net release of carbon.

So why has biomass energy been treated as “carbon neutral”?

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Biomass Combustion

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Forest Regrowth

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Biomass power is a perpetual emitter

Biomass Combustion

Forest Regrowth

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Manomet Study

Oil (#6), Thermal Gas, Thermal Coal, Electric Gas, ElectricMixed Wood 15 - 30 60 - 90 45 - 75 >90Logging Residues Only <5 10 10 30

Harvest Scenario

Years to Achieve Equal Flux with Fossil FuelsFossil Fuel Technology

Commissioned by the State of Massachusetts to examine carbon and forest cutting impacts of biomass power

When using whole trees as fuel, net CO2 emissions are greater than coal emissions for more than 45

years.

Any meaningful increase in biomass energy will require a large increase in whole-tree

harvestingUSFS: ~100 million green tons of forestry residues generated each year; ~25 – 30 million tons available?

EIA’s BAU biomass power build-out scenario Generation (TWh) 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

direct 9 9 9 9 9co-fire 2 28 24 24 24CHP 31 60 122 139 170

Fuel demand (green tons)direct 12,988,161 12,988,161 12,988,161 12,988,161 12,988,161 co-fire 2,254,889 31,568,446 27,058,668 27,058,668 27,058,668 CHP 48,627,172 94,117,106 191,371,450 218,037,963 266,665,135

Total (tons per year) 63,870,221 138,673,713 231,418,278 258,084,792 306,711,963

CO2 (tons per year) 64,381,183 139,783,103 233,269,625 260,149,470 309,165,659

Proposed Facilities: Biomass energy, wood pellet, and ethanol using wood as feedstock

Examples of facilities that will use whole trees for fuel

• Laidlaw plant, Berlin NH: 70 MW– ~850,000 green tons/yr– 113 tons “whole log” chips/hr

• Russell Biomass, Russell, MA: 50 MW– ~630,000 green tons/yr– “The expected total volume of whole tree fuel

to be purchased will be 250,000-350,000 tons per year.”

• Beaver Wood Energy/Pellet plant, Fair Haven, VT: 34 MW, + 115,000 tons pellets– ~600,000 green tons/yr

2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 20301,750

1,950

2,150

2,350

2,550

2,750

2,950

EIA projected emissions

EIA projected emissions plus biomass emissions

EIA projected emissions plus biomass emissions, without the benefit of CCS

Mill

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carb

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deBIOGENIC EMISSIONS MAKE FEDERAL

EMISSION REDUCTION GOALS IMPOSSIBLE TO MEET: ACESA PROJECTIONS

19

14% reduction from 2006

3% reduction from 2006

ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP, “CLEARCUT DISASTER”

The problem is international

Euroactiv, April 2, 2012: Biomass 'insanity' may threaten EU carbon targets

“We’re paying people to cut their forests down in the name of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and yet we are actually increasing them. No-one is apparently bothering to do any analysis about this,” one Brussels insider told EurActiv.

“They’re just sleepwalking into this insanity”.

mbooth@pfpi.net