Biomass Power & Thermal - December 2010

¦EVENT “In the forest products indusKeynote speaker David try, just about every product Tenny, president and CEO has a residual use for energy. of the National Alliance of If it’s no longer economic or Forest Owners, pointed out more efficient than a fossil to attendees that the Tailorfuel, that creates a very real ing Rule, if enforced on Jan. 2 consternation in terms of the as currently proposed, would marginal benefit that biomass no longer deem biomass comDavid Tenny of the energy is providing. It could be bustion as a renewable energy National Alliance the difference between a profit generation method. The rule of Forest Owners and a loss in such a razor-thin could drastically affect the said the U.S. EPA's Greenhouse Gas market, and it will have a real relationship between forest Tailoring rule as it's impact on existing capacity owners and biomass markets, currently written would impact and investment in biomass enTenny said, as it treats bioexisting capacity ergy today.” mass carbon emissions the and investment in Tenny said forest ownsame as fossil fuels, not tak- biomass energy. ers were surprised at the final ing into account the biogenic Tailoring Rule announcement, carbon cycle.

Tenny emphasized that despite the because there was no indication in the increased use of biomass as an energy draft rule that biomass energy would source, U.S. forest stocks have been be regulated identically to fossil fuels. steadily maintained over the past 100 “That’s the disconcerting aspect of the years—the nation’s total forest land base rule that has all of us concerned, as it is constitutes about 755 million acres— the ROI (return on investment) for forand total growing stock has actually est owners,—the carbon stored in prodincreased by 50 percent in the past 50 ucts and the environmental benefit that years. “From a carbon context, which is come from these markets over time— very important to forestry, we are netting taking that off the table poses a very about 800 million metric tons from these real question: What are the comparative forests, which is about 8 percent of all advantages to biomass energy over fossil net carbon sequestration, net that occurs fuel energy under this policy?”

Those in states with renewable portfrom all land uses so it’s very significant,” Tenny said. The products produced from folio standards looking to receive credit the forestry industry are sequestering an are aware that the EPA will regulate bioadditional 100 million metric tons per mass carbon emissions and may choose year, he pointed out, and there has been other sources of renewable energy, Tencontinuous replanting of trees for many ny pointed out. “Other sources won’t have this conflict, of where you’re getyears.

Historically, the housing and paper/ ting a benefit on one hand but creating paperboard industries have been signifi- costs on the other hand.”

Tenny encouraged attendees to educant markets for the forest industry, but right now both are at an all-time slump cate their delegates about the impact the and the paper industry capacity is not Tailoring Rule will have on their industry, expected to recover, according to Tenny. and to seek an amendment that recognizThese are two major markets that the for- es biomass carbon life cycles, measures est industry has traditionally banked on, forest carbon flux at a national scale, and if it is not amended, the Tailoring avoids differentiating between “good” Rule will negatively affect an additional and “bad” biomass, and fixes the problem now rather than deferring the solumarket—biomass energy.

“Now, biomass is a regulated source tion.

Panelists during the first plenary panof carbon as opposed to a voluntary source of carbon offsets,” Tenny said. el, which examined the viability, benefits 42 BIOMASS POWER & THERMAL | DECEMBER 2010