Woody Biomass Tools and Resources

School systems, municipalities, and some commercial facilities increasingly are attracted by the idea of converting their small heating systems (roughly 10 million Btu/hour or less) from burning coal and oil to wood-fired boilers. Burning wood can raise concerns about local air quality. It is important for communities to ensure that smoke from these wood-fired boilers is minimized.

Health Impacts from Wood Smoke

Fine particles found in wood smoke have been linked to serious concerns, especially to the health of children, older adults, and people with heart or lung conditions. Woody biomass boilers have been built at facilities such as schools and hospitals, which are frequented by especially sensitive populations that may experience more severe health impacts from fine particles. For further information, visit EPA's Cleaner Burning Wood Stoves and Fire Places: Health Effects of Wood Smoke web page.

Minimizing Smoke from Wood-fired Boilers

There are ways to burn biomass more cleanly. By choosing the cleanest design and adding pollution controls, wood smoke can be minimized. For further information about cleaner burning technologies and effective emission controls, visit the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM): Commercial Wood Boilers web page.

• Woody Biomass Utilization Desk Guide, September 2007 (PDF, 1.7 MB) - The purpose of the desk guide is to:
  • Provide a quick reference guide and suggestions to local land managers regarding locating and collaborating with biomass stakeholders;
  • Assess the viability of offsetting the costs of accomplishing hazardous fuels and ecosystem restoration treatments by utilizing marketable small-diameter trees and other biomass;
  • Provide suggestions regarding how to use current National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) planning tools to start up quickly and then maintain a biomass-utilization program;
  • Provide suggestions regarding how to use cost-effective sale preparation techniques and cost-effective timber sale/stewardship/service contract preparation techniques to provide increased supplies of biomass.
• Hazardous Fuels Treatment (PDF, 18 KB) - This flowchart developed by the Partnership Resource Center will help you determine the appropriate authority or instrument to accomplish your hazardous fuel or woody biomass project.
• The Hidden Treasure, Forests and Woody Biomass - NACD Comic Book showing the riches of woody biomass.

• Billion Ton Report Note: Woody Biomass Feedstock: Providing a Reliable, Predictable Supply (PDF, 13 KB) - Summary of Woody Biomass Feedstocks on Forest Lands.
• Biomass as Feedstock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply (PDF, 5.5 MB) - The purpose of the Billion Ton report is to determine whether the land resources of the United States are capable of producing a sustainable supply of biomass sufficient to displace 30 percent or more of the country’s present petroleum consumption.
• Eastern Hardwood Forest Region Woody Biomass Energy Opportunity, October 2007 (PDF, 1.5 MB) - The report examines the woody biomass energy opportunity for the 35 states comprising the Eastern Hardwood Forest Region (EHFR), with the dual objectives of providing an educational overview of the market as it exists today, and offering a baseline reference resource for advanced, targeted feasibility studies within the wood fuel arena.
• EPA Office of Solid Waste - Large amounts of woody biomass are often produced during natural disasters. The EPA provides guidance on natural disaster debris management.
• Regional Biomass Energy Feedstock Partnership Program - The U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture, in partnership with the Sun Grant Initiative universities and the members of the National Biomass State and Regional Partnership, have established the Regional Biomass Energy Feedstock Partnership. The Partnership consists of five separate regions: Southeast, North Central, South Central, Western, and Northeast. The overarching goal of the Partnership is to develop biomass feedstock resources on a regional basis in order to realize each region’s potential contribution to the 1.3 billion ton annual biomass feedstock goal, as identified in the joint study by Departments of Energy and Agriculture Billion Ton Study.
• Coordinated Resource Offering Protocol (CROP) - The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management has utilized the CROP model for pilot projects as a means of addressing the growing fuel load problem within major forest systems across the United States.

• Forest Products Laboratory - The Forest Products Laboratory promotes healthy forests and forest-based communities through the efficient, sustainable use of wood resources.
  • Small-Diameter Success Stories (PDF, 1.0 MB) - Successes with a variety of products and markets are described in the Forest Products Laboratory booklet.
  • Small-Diameter Success Stories II, FPL-GTR 168 (PDF, 2.1 MB) - Successes with a variety of products and markets are described in the Forest Products Laboratory booklet.

 Cellulosic Biofuels

• The Biofuels FAQs: The Facts About Biofuels - Presented by The Energy Future Coalition and the United Nations Foundation in partnership to provide the facts about biofuels and the benefits of biofuels production and use.
• The National Biofuels Action Plan Workshop Summary Report Final (5-30-07) (PDF, 1.79 MB) is being prepared for the existing interagency Biomass Research and Development Board, established by the Research and Development Act of 2000 and revised by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The document is the result of a Federal agency workshop held November 28-29, 2006, in Washington, DC, to initiate the interagency coordination process. The main objectives of the workshop were to define current and future Federal agency and program roles and activities, identify gaps and opportunities to collaborate, and assess budgets related to biofuels production and use to meet the President’s Advanced Energy Initiative and the DOE’s “30x30” goals. (Note: at the time of this workshop, the President’s 2007 State of the Union “20 in 10” goal was not announced.) The goal of the Workshop Summary Report is to identify the overall administrative and management needs to meet the President’s goals that should be addressed by the Board, as expressed by the interagency teams. The Workshop Summary Report will also provide a focus for the interagency coordination teams in their future work, and will provide a framework for a more detailed National Biofuels Action Plan to be developed through the interagency teams’ future efforts.
• Water Implications of Biofuels Production in the nited States (PDF, 1.4 MB)

 Biomass Power and/or Heat

• Fuels for Schools and Beyond - a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service State and Private Forestry and the Bitterroot Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Area, Inc. There are currently six state forestry departments participating in this program providing technical and financial assistance to interested parties in Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota. Fuels for Schools mission is to promote and encourage the use of woody biomass as a renewable, natural resource to provide a clean, readily available energy source suitable for heat and power generation in public and private buildings; and, to facilitate the removal of hazardous fuels from our forests by assisting in the development of viable commercial uses of removed material.
  • Making Wood Work: Local Energy Solutions, October 16-18, 2007
    • Workshop Presentations
• EPA Combined Heat and Power Partnership - Provides technical assistance to candidate sites for Bioenergy CHP projects and maintains a number of tools and resources to assist those considering or implementing projects including a funding and regulatory/ rates opportunities database, an emissions calculator, information on strategic markets for biomass CHP, a project development guidebook and a biomass catalogue of technologies.
• EPA’s Risk Management Research - Best practices for bioenergy production include effective control of emissions from the process. Modern industrial systems employ technologies that extract as much energy from the biomass as possible, which in turn minimizes the amount of unburned material that could be emitted into the air. These processes then use air pollution control technologies to reduce emissions as needed to meet applicable emission limits. Further information on control technologies and emission measurements can be found at EPA’s Risk Management Research web page.
• EPA Sector Strategies Program - Provides multi-media environmental and policy analysis for the forest products sector, including forest biorefineries. Works with industry partners to develop innovative policies and practices that can improve the industry’s environmental performance as it evolves.
• Primer on Wood Biomass for Energy, January 2008 - A paper by the U.S. Forest Service State & Private Forestry Technology Marketing Unit explaining and describing the concepts of wood energy on a residential, commercial, and industrial scale in the United States so that the Forest Service can help meet the demands of communities involved in the forest-products industry.
• Small Modular Biopower Systems - The DOE Small Modular Biopower Systems Project worked with industry to develop small modular biopower systems that are efficient and clean.
  • A fact sheet about this past initiative is available: Small Modular Biopower Systems (PDF, 0.3 MB).
  • A related presentation by the Community Power Corporation is available: Small Modular Biopower Systems, Sustainable Power, Heat, and Cooling for the 21st Century (PDF, 0.8 MB)
• State Energy Program (SEP) Grants for Woody Biomass
  • Market-Based Green Tag Program for Electricity from Forest Biomass and Coal, SEP Special Project, Colorado, 2003
  • Harvesting Mesquite Biomass for Energy on Texas Rangelands, SEP Special Project, Texas, 2003

 Programs

• The DOE Poplar Genome Based Research for Carbon Sequestration in Terrestrial Ecosystems - This program conducts basic research to obtain scientific understanding to help select, breed, or manage trees to meaningfully enhance long-term biological carbon sequestration in forested ecosystems.

 Reports & Documents

• The Value of the Benefits of U.S. Biomass Power (NREL/SR-570-27541) (PDF, 0.5 MB) - This report describes an attempt to estimate the value of the ancillary services provided by biomass power generation, in order to provide policy makers with a yardstick against which to judge the cost of policy interventions that might preserve the viability of the biomass power industry.
• The Carbon Cycle, Forestry Never Looked So Cool (PDF, 357 KB) - A poster displaying and describing the carbon cycle, available from the Oregon Forest Resources Institute.

 Training

• Biomass Benefits 101 - This presentation provides basic information regarding benefits of woody biomass utilization.
  • Biomass Benefits 101 (PDF, 1.0 MB)
  • Biomass Benefits 101 (.ppt, 2.9 MB) - Microsoft PowerPoint version, to be used for training purposes.
  • Biomass Utilization Communications Tool Background Information (PDF, 33 KB) - Biomass Benefits 101 background paper.
• UWTV Series: Denman Forestry Issues - Produced by the University of Washington Television (UWTV), University of Washington College of Forest Resources, a webcast providing information about timely forestry and natural resources issues. The Denman Forestry Issues series includes programs about bioenery, biofuels, and other related topics.

 The Department of the Interior (DOI)

 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

 U.S. Department of Energy Office (DOE)

 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

 Interagency Woody Biomass Utilization Group

 Reports

• Energy Consumption and Renewable Energy Development Potential on Indian Lands, April 2000 (PDF, 3.4 MB) - A study of energy on Indian lands to include: the electricity use and needs of Indian households an tribes; the comparative electricity rates that Indian households are paying, and; the potential for renewable resources development of Indian lands.
• Western Governors Association, Biomass Taskforce Report - The Western Governors’ Association’s Clean and Diversified Energy Advisory Committee (CDEAC) commissioned this task force report in February 2005.

 Training/Outreach Materials

• National Association of Conservation Districts - Provides woody biomass information to help districts meet forestry needs on private forest, urban and agricultural lands.

 Financing Opportunities

• Florida Renewable Energy Technology Grants Program - Provides grant information for renewable energy projects.

 Contacts

• California Biomass Collaborative - The mission of the California Biomass Collaborative is to enhance the sustainable management and development of biomass in California.
• Western Governors Association, Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative - In order to help achieve the Governors' clean and diverse energy goals and track the implementation of the Advisory Committee's recommended policies, WGA has developed an implementation strategy.
• National Biomass State and Regional Partnerships - This Biomass Program primarily carries out state and regional partnerships through cooperation with the National Biomass State and Regional Partnerships which consists of five Regional Organizations: Coalition of Northeastern Governors Policy Research Center, Council of Great Lakes Governors, Southern States Energy Board, Western Governors Association, and DOE's Western Regional Office.

• 25 x 25 Renewable Energy Initiative - A coalition of agriculture, industry and environmental leaders with goal to have America get 25% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025.
• Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance - The Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance is an industry-led partnership with government and academia that holds the promise of reinventing the forest products industry through innovation in processes, materials and markets.
• American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) - Works to bring all forms of renewable energy into the mainstream of America's economy and lifestyle.
• Council on Sustainable Biomass Production (CSBP) - The Council on Sustainable Biomass Production (CSBP) is a multi-stakeholder group developing voluntary biomass to biofuel sustainability principles and standards for the production of feedstocks for second generation refineries (feedstocks for cellulosic refineries).
• Farm Foundation - The Farm Foundation focuses its programming on six priority areas: Globalization; Environmental and Natural Resource Issues; Consumer Issues; Role of Agricultural Institutions; Rural Community Viability; and New Technologies.
• Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act Implementation On the Eagle Lake Ranger District, Lassen National Forest - Illustration of projects being implemented by the staff of the Eagle Lake Ranger District of Lassen National Forest under the Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act of 2000, which can be implemented in a cost effective manner and still provide for owl habitat and old-growth characteristics.

• Pinchot Institute - The Pinchot institute advances conservation and sustainable natural resource management by developing innovative, practical, and broadly supported solutions to conservation challenges and opportunities.

  • Pinchot Institute's Wood-Based Bioenergy: A National Dialogue - The Pinchot Institute, in collaboration with a myriad of other interested groups, convened a national dialogue on how best to take advantage of opportunities provided by wood bioenergy technologies. The dialogue introduced those in the conservation community along with organizations from the energy, agricultural, rural economic development and sustainable forestry interests to identify potential risks to important conservation values which may arise from the development of these new and emerging technologies.
• U.S. Combined Heat and Power Association - Works in coordination with a variety of government programs in the promotion of combined heat and power.
• Western Forestry Leadership Coalition - Programs assist family forest-owners, rural and state fire organizations, and community forestry groups to help improve forest health, encourage land conservation, and stimulate community economic recovery.