BIOMASS INTEL

Biomass has come under considerable heat in 2009, and not without good reason.  By the time biomass is grown, harvested, aggregated, transported, converted, and burned, many argue that its comparative advantages against fossil fuels are lost.

In the face of sleeker and more clean-techie approaches to addressing energy security issues, foreign oil dependence, and diminishing sources of conventional energy, many argue that biomass is not efficient (read “renewable”) enough.  This relative inefficiency acts as an anchor on its increased utilization.  Accordingly, considerable questions remain about how biomass is defined under current legislation.

Biomass is a renewable resource, but not all feedstocks are created equal, and herein lies the challenge.

To date, most biomass legislative efforts have focused predominately on promoting the use of corn to produce liquid fuels.  The resulting food v. fuel debate coupled with lingering indirect land use change questions have tempered the hopes of even the most optimistic ethanol advocates, resulting in a growing emphasis on “sustainable” biomass sources (e.g. non-food cellulosic).  Biomass for power generation, on the other hand, has focused primarily on wood, wood residues, and milling waste, which raises concerns about deforestation.  The renewable biomass debate falls squarely within this context.

As utilities across the U.S. ramp up efforts to meet looming RPS mandates, climate legislation worms its way through Congress, and the EPA steps up efforts to regulate greenhouse gases, it appears that other sources of biomass are set to take off, including: other food crops, non-food crops, crop residues, wood wastes and byproducts, animal manure, and other sources.  Many of these feedstocks appear to fall under the most pervasive “renewable biomass” definitions contained in existing legislation.

Creating catch-all biomass definitions is tricky and results in confusion when assessing the virtues of various feedstocks.  According to this report produced by the Congressional Research Service, a total of 14 definitions of biomass have been included in legislation and the tax code since 2004.  Title IX of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the Farm Bill) and Title II of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) both contain extensive definitions of renewable biomass, but each defines the term differently.

Generally speaking, for feedstocks to fall within the category of renewable biomass in both bills, it must be an infinite feedstock that may be replenished in a short time frame.

The Farm Bill focuses on invasive species and trimmings from public lands and organic matter available on a recurring basis, waste materials and byproducts available on non-federal lands.

EISA prohibits the removal of biomass from federal lands, but includes (for the purpose of Renewable Portfolio Standard eligibility): thinnings from non-federal lands, trees from actively managed plantations (both public and private), dedicated energy crops grown on nonforested land, waste, biomass obtained from the immediate vicinity of buildings, and algae.

The problem with biomass legislation to date is that policymakers have taken a piecemeal approach to defining biomass resources when responding to various challenges: energy insecurity (EISA), climate change mitigation (ACES and Kerry-Boxer), and rural development (Farm Bill).  This approach has resulted in definitions that only address the physical demands on existing plants and land, such as preventing deforestation or protecting existing ecosystems from invasive species, and fail to account for the demands placed on water resources and climate change mitigation efforts.

While serious questions remain about how to characterize biomass energy so that the sustainable benefits and renewable properties are fully realized, a more sophisticated approach is needed in order to attract future investment.  Although sustainability standards are beginning to emerge, they remain voluntary to date.  Biomass will continue to be an important component of any renewable energy strategy going forward and ensuring that its increased utilization has little impact on the environment will be of central importance in the future.

Image: Flickr/Miracle Moods