Dear Friends--The following has been forwarded from the mailing list maintained at Cornell by BZ Marranca. I thought it might be of interest to some of us as it deals with an alternative energy source that could be a local product as well. Tom
>Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 10:26:34 -0400 >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From: Peter Smallidge <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (by way of BZ Marranca ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]>) >Subject: DEC: woody biomass as an alternative energy > >FYI, >Peter > >=================== >DEC Explores Woody Biomass as Alt Energy Source >Feasibility study centers on Adirondack logging leftovers > >ALBANY, NY (08/31/2007; 1109)(readMedia)-- Every year, one million tons of >green energy rots on the Adirondack forest floor. Now, the State >Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is studying ways to convert >that material to a woody biomass fuel. > >DEC has secured a grant from the U.S. Forest Service to explore the >feasibility of converting leftover wood from logging operations on private >lands into a fuel source. The $64,000 award will fund a one-year project >to evaluate whether there would be enough potential users in and around >the Adirondack Park to make woody biomass a go. > >"This is an idea we really want to explore,'' DEC Commissioner Pete >Grannis said. "As we look for innovative ways to enhance the economic and >environmental health of North Country communities, harnessing locally >grown energy sources such as low-grade wood might be part of the answer. >Also, the program could help private forest land owners in the Adirondacks >find new markets for low-grade wood, contributing to a sustainable economy >for the Adirondacks and reducing the region's reliance on fossil fuels." > >Typically, this material consists of the tops of hardwood and softwood >trees, including maple, birch, beech, white pine, spruce and fir, that >logging operations discard. The study would focus only on private lands. > >Currently, about two million tons of wood chips harvested from private >Adirondack lands go into the low-grade wood market, as pulp or biofuel. >Some of that goes to two cogeneration facilities in the North Country. DEC >estimates at least another one million tons gets left behind. > >The potential customers would be community colleges, prisons, other state >facilities and additional medium-scale energy users because they have the >capacity to store the wood chips. Also their heating and cooling systems >incorporate the appropriate emissions controls to protect air quality. >Currently, these facilities predominately rely on oil for fuel. > >The study would evaluate interest, storage capabilities, heating systems >and engineering concerns. It also would look at whether prospective >customers could switch to wood and meet air emissions standards. Plans >also include hosting at least two regional workshops. > >New York State has set a goal to have 25 percent of its electricity come >from renewable energy sources by 2012. Woody biomass is one potential >source. Further, State Forester Robert K. Davies said the project, if >successful, could create a synergy between "benefits to the forest and >biomass energy." Davies noted that DEC has been providing technical and >other assistance to parties involved in the emerging woody biomass industry. > >"The Northern Forest region of New York contains vast forestry resources >that can be responsibly tapped to help meet our energy requirements in an >environmentally sound way,'' Davies said. > >The grants were awarded through the U.S. Forest Service's Wood to Energy >``Jump Start'' program. > >"These grants are another step for the conservation of the hundreds of >thousands of family forests in the Empire State. The future of private >forests depends on markets that keep timberland valuable for use other >than development,'' said Anne F. Archie, U.S. Forest Service Northeast >Field Representative for State and Private Forestry. > >The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks, which recently >helped form a new Adirondack Energy $mart Park Coalition, endorsed the >woody biomass feasibility study. > >"One of our goals is to make the Adirondacks a model of energy >conservation and efficiency with an emphasis on renewable resources. The >coalition considers the production of energy from woody biomass to be a >critically important component of our vision for the region,'' said David >Gibson, executive director of the Association for the Protection of the >Adirondacks. > >This article was found on: ><http://www.readmedia.com/news/show/DEC-Explores-Woody-Biomass-as-Alt-Energy-Source/8119>http://www.readmedia.com/news/show/DEC-Explores-Woody-Biomass-as-Alt-Energy-Source/8119 > > > >Peter J. Smallidge >NYS Extension Forester and Director, Arnot Teaching and Research Forest >Cornell University >116 Fernow Hall >Ithaca, NY 14853 > >607-592-3640 voice (cell) >607-255-2815 fax > >www.ForestConnect.info >www.CornellMaple.info >www.ArnotForest.info Tom Shelley 118 E. Court St. Ithaca, NY 14850 607 342-0864 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.myspace.com/99319958 _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
