Woody Biomass From Forests and Fields

Woody Biomass from Forests and Fields

Timothy A. Volk, Thomas Buchholz, Philip Castellano, Lawrence Abrahamson and Lawrence Smart

SUNY-ESF, Syracuse, NY

Heating the Northeast, April 29 - 30, 2009 Nashua, NH

© The Research Foundation of SUNY

Colleagues and Collaborators• SUNY - ESF

– Rebecca Allmond – Dr. Tom Amidon – Dr. Larry Abrahamson – Dr. Thomas Buchholz – Dr. Kim Cameron – Dr. Cathy Catranis– Doug Daley – Dr. Rene Germain – Michael Kelleher – Dr. Valerie Luzadis – Dr. Lawrence Smart – Dr. Arthur Stipanovic– Dr. Ed White

Graduate Students– Godfrey Ofezu – Amos Quaye – Michelle Serapiglia– numerous undergraduate students

• Academic Partners and Collaborators– Agrifood and Biosciences Institute – Canadian Forest Service– Cornell University – Michigan State University – Middlebury College – Montreal Botanical Gardens– SUNY Delhi – University of Connecticut – University of Guelph – University of Minnesota – University of Saskatchewan

• Industrial Partners– Agricultural Development Services – AgroEnergie – Antares Inc. – Case New Holland – Catalyst Renewables – Double A Willow– Honeywell International – Mesa Engineering – O’Brien & Gere


Overview

• Sources of woody biomass in NY– Woody biomass from forests - a NY example– Willow energy crop production and economics

» Effect of establishment costs, yield and policies

• Assessment of regional woody biomass supplies – Lyonsdale case study


Woody Biomass Feedstocks

Low value wood from forests can be harvested sustainably

Wood residues from primary and secondary wood product manufacturers

Willow biomass crops can be grown on under utilized open land


NY’s Forest Resources• 18.5 million acres of forest land• 15.4 million acres of timberland

– 774 million tons of standing biomass

• How much woody biomass is technically available from timberland in NY?

• Make use of FIA and TPO data sources

• Report on a county by county basis


Technically Available Woody Biomass from Forests in NY

• Merchantable growing stock (59%)– 70% of net annual growth – current removals

• Recoverable material from current harvesting operations (15%)– Assumes 65% of material collected

• Non growing stock (26%)– Assumes 1% of this standing biomass is

harvested each year


Socio-economic Potential• Amount of technically available resource will vary

due to a range of socioeconomic factors:– Perceptions and assessments of sustainability– Market prices for other energy sources (coal, oil,

natural gas)– Prices for biomass for other uses (i.e. pulp logs,

saw logs, pellets, firewood, mulch etc.)– Landowner opinions and management objectives– Incentives and policies that support renewable

energy


Willow Biomass Crops on Marginal Agricultural Land

• Over 7.5 million acres of agricultural land cover in NY

• About 1.0 - 2.0 million acres are under utilized

• Willow biomass crops could be an alternative crop for farmers and landowners

• Produces environmental and rural development benefits in addition to bioenergy and/or bioproducts

Land cover types in NY


Why Willow?• High biomass production

potential• Produces uniform

feedstock • Easily established with

unrooted cuttings• Resprouts vigorously after

each harvest• Limited insect and pest

problems• Wide range of genetic

variabilityThree-year old willow in Tully, NY


Willow Biomass Production CycleThree-year old after

coppice

One-year old after coppice

Coppice

First year growth

Site Preparation

Planting

Early spring after coppicing

Harvesting


Three Year Old Willow Biomass Crops

Willow yields are typically 4 odt/acre/yr in the first rotation and 5 odt/ac/yr in subsequent rotations


Willow Cash Flow Model

(Available to download from http://www.esf.edu/willow/download.asp/)


Willow Biomass - Economics• Cash flow model for willow biomass crop production and

delivery to end user• Allows for input parameters to be set by each user• Includes all components of willow crop production from site

preparation to delivery of biomass to end user– Land rental– Site preparation– Planting, maintenance and harvesting– 25 mile delivery of willow biomass– Multiple harvests over 22 years– Removal of willow crop at end of 20 years– Assumes a $30/green ton price at the plant gate


Economics of Willow – Base Case(Beta)

-1,500

-1,000

-500

0

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1,000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22Year

US

$/ac

re (u

ndis

coun

ted)

Next GraphYearly cash flow in $ per acre


Economics of Willow – Base Case

NPV: $209/acre IRR: 8%

-2,000

-1,000

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22Year

US

$/ac

re

Realistic

Optimistic (Revenues +10%; Expenditures -10%)

Pessimistic (Revenues -10%; Expenditures +10%)

Accumulated cash flow in $ per acre


Distribution of Expenses over 22 Years

18%

3%

24%

3%

31%

14%

7%0%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%Interest

Stock removal

Transport

Harvest

Fertilizer

Establishment

Administration

Land cost andinsurance

Cost shares in %, undiscounted


Impact of Establishment Costs

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25

Costs per cutting in US$

Esta

b. c

osts

in U

S$/a

cre

0

2

4

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10

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Proj

ect's

IRR

in %

EstablishmentcostsProject's IRR

• Establishment costs in Europe have decreased by 30-50% as area planted to willow increased

• U.S. is benefitting from many of the learned lessons so reductions may not be as steep, but there are gains to be made

• Planting stock accounts for 60 – 80% of establishment costsChanges in establishment costs

and IRR with changes planting stock costs


Commercial Planting Stock Production• Double A Willow, Fredonia NY

– About 100 acres of willow nursery beds planted since 2005

– Produced about 5 million cuttings in 2007/08 for biomass crops and for other applications

– Potential production of 15 million cuttings in 2008/09

– Future production potential of about 30 million cutting 10 new willow varieties from SUNY ESF breeding and selection program

Shrub willows in nursery beds at Double A Vineyards, Fredonia, NY (www.doubleawillow.com).


Planting Equipment• Step planter introduced to US in 1999

by SUNY – ESF • Used to plant over 1,200 acres in the

US and Canada• Manufactured in Sweden so support

and parts are difficult to obtain• Working with local manufacturers to

have units assembled in US• Egedal planter introduced from

Denmark to US by Dennis Rak in 2008– Less complicated unit with fewer

moving parts– Initial experience is positive

Step planter

Egedal planter


Impact of Establishment Costs• Lack of experience and

understanding of willow crop production results in establishment problems

• Cutting corners on site preparation results in higher not lower establishment costs!– Paying rent for a year to

control perennial weeds may cost $ 30 – 40 /acre

– One post emergence herbicide application can be $ 60 – 80/acre

Limited control options result in outbreaks of hard to control weeds like yellow nut sedge


Harvester Development • Dormant season, single pass

cut and chip harvesting system based on New Holland (NH) forage harvester

• Trials over the past two years with a NH forage harvester and specially designed cutting head

• CNH has developing a new Short-Rotation-Coppice (SRC) header

• Field trials have been run in NY and WA and Europe

• Improvements in harvesting efficiency are being assessed

New CNH Short-Rotation Coppice header being tested in central NY in March 2009


Effect of Increased Yield

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

3.0 5.1 7.1 9.1

Biomass growth rate in odt/ac/year

IRR

in %

IRR for 22 yearsIRR for 13 years

• Yield increase has a significant impact on IRR

• Base case scenario includes ~4 odt acre-1

yr-1 in first rotation and 5 odt acre-1 yr-1 in subsequent rotations

• Initial traditional breeding efforts have increased yields by 20 – 30%Effect yield on IRR of willow

biomass crops


Trials with New Willow Varieties


Policy Incentive Options• Need for support to develop industry to a level where

benefits from economy of scale occur– CRP, CREP or biomass crop assistance program (BCAP)

• Consistent and reliable support for R&D– Number of questions and unknowns increases as

commercialization begins– Need to be able to respond quickly to resolve problems

» news of failures travels quickly » multiple successes are required to change the perceptions

generated from a single failure


Economics of Willow – With CRP$35/ac for 10 years rental rate and 50% establishment cost share

NPV: $942/acre IRR: 20%

Accumulated cash flow in $ per acre

-2,000

-1,000

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22Year

US

$/ac

re

Realistic

Optimistic (Revenues +10%; Expenditures -10%)

Pessimistic (Revenues -10%; Expenditures +10%)


Incentives

• Investment is about $900/acre – $550/acre establishment grant + $35/acre for ten

years• Potential biomass production

– Yield of 5 odt acre-1 yr-1 for 20 years = 100 odt» Cost is $9.00/odt or about $4.50 per green ton» with a yield of 80 gallon odt-1 cost is $0.12 per gallon

ethanol


Incentives

• What acreage is needed to begin to capture economies of scale – Use 20,000 acres as an example

• Incentive cost for 20,000 acres over several years is $18,000,000

• Small cost to launch a new home grown source of reneweable energy that has the potential to generate hundreds of new jobs, reduce greenhouse gases, generate taxes, increase landscape biodiversity etc.


Biomass Crop Assistance Program

• Biomass Crop Assistance Program in Energy Title (Title IX) of Farm Bill

• A new program to support the establishment and production of crops for conversion to bioenergy in project areas

• Assist with collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of eligible material for use in a biomass conversion facility.


Economics of Willow – With BCAP$40/ac rental rate and 75% establishment cost share


Economics of Willow – With BCAP$40/ac rental rate and 75% establishment cost share

NPV - $1,036/acre IRR – 26.8%


Assessment of Technically Available Woody Biomass Supply

• Determine amount of technically available woody biomass from forests and willow biomass crops available in 50 mile radius around Lyonsdale, NY

50 mile radius woody supply shed around Lyonsdale, NY


Assessments of Technically Available Woody Biomass from Forests

• 1.5 million acres of forest cover

• Remove forest land:– preserves– excessive slope– small parcels– classified wetland

• ~ 900,000 acres of timberland

• Potential production of 469,000 odt per year– 65% of 50 mile radius

assessmentTimberland within the 50 mile road network around Lyonsdale, NY


Assessments of Technically Available Woody Biomass from Agricultural Land

• 518,000 acres of agricultural land cover

• Remove land:– not classified for agriculture– excessive slopes– wetlands– small parcels

• ~ 250,000 acres remaining• On 10% of this land (25,000

acres) could produce 125,000 odt/yr– 62.5% of 50 mile radius supplyAgricultural land in a 50 mile radius around

Lyonsdale, NY


Assessment of Technically Available Woody Biomass Supply

• A total of 917,000 odt of woody biomass is technically available from a 50 mile radius

• Using the 50 mile road network, 594,000 odt (65%) are technically available– 469,000 from timber land– 125,000 from willow crops

• Willow biomass crops grown on a land area that is 3% of the timberland area could produce 21% of the total biomass

50 Mile radius and road network around Lyonsdale, NY.


Limitations of Technically Available Woody Biomass Supply

• Missing the essential human element or ‘people factor’ from these GIS assessments– Who owns the land– What are their objectives for the

land now and in the future– At what price would they be

interested in producing biomass from their land

50 Mile radius and road network around Lyonsdale, NY.


Biomass Supply Model Development• Collaborative project with CNY Land

Management and Farm Credit of Western NY

• Working with GIS data base developed for a 25 mile around Syracuse, NY

• Randomly selected a set of parcels that fit size and land cover criteria

• Visiting the properties – quick assessment of biomass

production potential– Interview with landowners about interest

in biomass production• Using data to develop an economic

model that will provide cost supply curves for different sources of biomass


Summary• A large amount of woody biomass is technically

available from forests in the NE U.S.• Potential for large amounts of woody biomass

from dedicated energy crops like willow biomass• Support both forestry and agriculture is needed

to develop these opportunities• Need a much better understanding of the social

and economic barriers to transform technical potential into woody biomass for heat, power, fuels and products


Where’s the Northeast in all this?

Policy environment neither strongly supports nor undermines residential heat applications; little direct policy attention.Development of mature wood chip market harmed if renewable power and fuel from wood sources are “non-renewable”.In general, policy is being driven by concerns in other regions – chiefly the far West and the South.


Getting Our Region into the Discussion

We have formed a business alliance in New York State to supports the development of a biomass industry

Build public support and a sound policy environment for biomass energyPrinciples: technology neutral, scale neutral, feedstock neutral; all forms of biomass energyVision is to make this a Northeast alliance; looking for champions in each of the New England States


AcknowledgementsHoneywell International

NY Farm Viability Institute NYS Dept. Agriculture and

MarketsNYS Energy Research and

Development Authority (NYSERDA)

NYSTAR USDA CSREES

USDA Rural Development

Woody Biomass From Forests and Fields

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