May 2004 Newsletter

Biomass energy can help farms, rural areas

Friday, April 09, 2004
By David Garman, Guest Comment

The Department of Energy FY 2005 budget request for renewable technologies totals $374.8 million, a $17.3 million increase over the FY 2004 appropriation. We have requested increased funding in our programs for wind, hydropower, geothermal, hydrogen, and, when impact of congressional earmarks is taken into account, solar and biomass as well. Over the past three years we have invested more than $984.7 million in research, development and deployment of renewable energy technologies.

And that investment is paying off. Technology has brought us great strides in improved performance and competitiveness of renewable technologies. And the benefits of renewable energy are as abundant as the resource itself - minimal environmental impact, economic growth, and enhanced energy security.

Biomass - agricultural crops, trees, wood wastes, plants, grasses, fibers, animal and other wastes - represents an abundant, domestic and renewable source of energy that has tremendous potential to increase domestic energy supplies. Many think of biomass mainly as a source for liquid fuel products such as ethanol and biodiesel. But biomass can also be converted to a multitude of products we use every day. In fact, there are very few products that are made today from a petroleum base, including paints, inks, adhesives, plastics and other value-added products, that cannot be produced from biomass.

The department estimates that the total available domestic biomass, beyond current uses for food, feed, and forest products, is between 500 and 600 million dry tons per year. Within the continental United States, we can literally grow and put to use hundreds of millions of tons of additional plant matter per year on a sustainable basis. These biomass resources represent about 3-5 quadrillion Btus (quads) of delivered energy or as much as 5-6 percent of total U.S. energy consumption. In terms of fuels and power, that translates into 60 billion gallons of fuel ethanol or 160 gigawatts of electricity. This is enough energy to meet 30 percent of U.S. demand for gasoline or service 16 million households with power.

The goal of our biomass program is an integrated approach to the simultaneous production of liquid fuels, power and products. While it is difficult to make fuels or products or power alone at a competitive cost, simultaneous production of products and electricity provides synergies that can lower production cost significantly. As we state in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Strategic Plan, we are working toward the day when "rural America is revitalized through the sustainable production of biomass feedstocks for biorefineries that produce power, fuels, chemicals and other valuable products."

Increased demand for production and processing of biomass will create new cash crops for America's farmers and foresters, many of whom currently face economic hardship. New processing, distribution, and service industries will be established in rural communities, and as the agricultural and forestry industries begin to provide feedstock for more than just food, feed and fiber, they will become an integral part of the transportation and industrial supply chain.

A new bioindustry will also encourage better use of agricultural and forestry residues, such as woody biomass. Last December President Bush signed the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, which was aimed at reducing forest fire risks by making productive use of thinnings from forestlands. These efforts will yield cellulosic materials in the form of brush and small-diameter trees that could be converted into liquid fuels. Woody biomass utilization is an important part of a memorandum of understanding signed last year by the departments of agriculture, interior and energy.

Given the potential impact of our program on rural communities, we work very closely with the Department of Agriculture. The Biomass Act of 2000 created the formal framework that guides our efforts. The act created the Biomass R&D Technical Advisory Committee, an advisory group to the secretaries of energy and agriculture. The committee includes 30 industrial and other biomass experts that advise the department (and the Department of Agriculture) on program technical focus. The committee also facilitates partnerships among federal and state agencies, producers, consumers, the research community, and other interested groups. In October 2002, the Federal Advisory Committee released their Vision for the Bioenergy and Biobased Products in the United States. The report sets aggressive goals to increase the role of biomass in the US economy by 2020 and beyond. David Garman is assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy in the U.S. Department of Energy.