Community-Level Wood-Based Bioenergy

PRESENTATION TO OUTLOOK SERIES ON FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT Forum on Climate Change, Forests, and Bioenergy LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON, DC JANUARY 26, 2007 Tim Maker, Executive Director Biomass Energy Resource Center

Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC)

BERC is a national not-for-profit organization working to promote responsible use of biomass for energy.

BERC’s mission is to achieve a healthier environment, strengthen local economies, and increase energy security across the United States by developing sustainable biomass systems at the community level.

Where do rural communities fit into the discussion about climate change, energy, and sustainable forestry?

The economies of rural communities are threatened by: • The end of cheap fossil fuels • Global climate change

World Oil Production History & Forecast Peak in 2030 60 USGS Estimates of Ultimate Recovery 50 40 30 20 10 History Forecast 0 1900 1925 1950 1975 2000 2025 2050

Note: US volumes were added to the USGS foreign volumes to obtain world totals. Source: US DOE, Energy Information Administration

2075 2100

After the World Oil Peak – What Happens to Rural Communities?

• Very high, rapidly increasing oil and gas costs • Competitive disadvantage • Economic un-development • Dependence on an unfriendly global economy

Global Climate Change

Climate change is already observable and is negatively impacting the rural economy.

The Big Picture Global climate change represents unprecedented human changes to the natural world.

Peak oil and increasing fossil fuel prices represent an unprecedented threat to the security of our rural communities.

Meeting the Challenge

The communities of rural America can’t make a big direct impact on climate change or the price of fossil fuels.

However,

p ublic policy can help insulate and protect rural communities from these threats, by helping them substitute local biomass energy for fossil energy.

And

, this represents an opportunity for protecting forests from exploitation by the new energy economy.

Local Energy – A new paradigm for the relationship between communities and forests

What Does Local Energy Look Like?

• Community district energy (using wood fuel) • School and other institutional wood heating • Wood-fired campus energy systems • Small-scale power generation and CHP

Community District Heating

Wood-fired central heating plant, with buried hot water piping to individual buildings

Community District Energy

Small Scale Setting

Green Acres Family Housing

Community District Energy

Urban Setting

District Energy St. Paul

Community District Energy

Small Community Setting

Charlottetown, PEI, Canada

School Wood Heating

Fuels For Schools – First school in western states

Darby Schools, Montana

Wood Heating for Institutional and Public Buildings

Hospital State Office Building

Campus Wood Energy Mt. Wachusett Community College

Central plants on college campuses

Campus Wood Energy

Central plants on university campuses

University of Idaho, Moscow

Small-scale Distributed Generation using wood fuel Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico / Community Power Corporation

Power and heat from wood wastes

What Are the Characteristics of Local Energy?

• Uses community-scale technology • Replaces fossil fuels with local biomass, for heat and power • Uses efficient, clean technology • Has strict requirement for sustainable fuels

What Are the Benefits of Local Energy?

• Keeps local energy dollars circulating in the community • Displaces expensive fossil fuels and increases security • Scaled to link community energy economy with local resources • Acts as a force for sustainable forestry • Uses manageable volumes of biomass for each project • Supports forest-products industry and creates jobs

What Is Needed to Develop Local Energy for Rural Communities?

Much better wood-to-energy technology Current steam-cycle power and CHP technology is highly inefficient.

Assistance in organizing and financing community energy systems District energy technology is unfamiliar to communities and lenders.

Ideas for Legislation 1. Create a Local Energy Trust Fund

• Technology Innovation Fund • Community Energy Infrastructure Grants

Local Energy Trust Fund

The Technology Innovation Fund would finance rapid development and commercialization of biomass gasification, biogas turbines, and biogas fuel cells for community-scale use.

Local Energy Trust Fund

The Trust Fund would make Community Energy Infrastructure Grants to communities, institutions, public entities and other local uses to study, develop and implement community-scale local energy systems using biomass fuels

Local Energy Trust Fund Preliminary ideas for funding (outside of the federal budget)

• Levy on fossil power generation • Levy on natural gas sales • Recapture mechanism

Ideas for Legislation 2. Create a national Fuels For Schools program

Based on existing Fuels For Schools initiatives: • USFS “Fuels For Schools and Beyond” • BERC “Vermont Fuels For Schools”

Fuels For Schools Fuels For Schools and Beyond US Forest Service In partnership with State Foresters Numerous school and other installations in 5 states

Fuels For Schools

Parnters

BERC Vermont Superintendents Association’s School Energy Management Program Three state agencies 31 wood heated schools in 20 years (15 more to be added in 2007) 20% of all public school children in Vermont go to wood heated schools

What Would a National Fuels For Schools Program Do?

• Assist states to set up programs • Support state capital funding grants • Integrate third-party and private-

sector finance

Ideas for Legislation 3. Create a National REC Program for Biomass Thermal and CHP

• Renewable Energy Credits now focus only on incentivizing power projects • Use Arizona’s REST credits as model to incentivize heating and combined heat and power (CHP) projects

Conclusion

Local Energy, making the energy connection between rural communities and their forest resources, brings together climate change, renewable energy, and sustainable forestry at the right scale.

Contact Information Tim Maker, Executive Director Biomass Energy Resource Center PO Box 1611, 50 State Street Montpelier, VT 05601 802-223-7770 [email protected]

www.biomasscenter.org