You may know that state trust lands are part of wind energy projects across Washington, helping utilities meet clean energy goals. Last week, we talked about geothermal research to find the best places in the state to build facilities with geothermal turbines to generate clean energy. Today we look at the energy in our forests.
A changing climate will cause challenges for Washington’s forests: increased incidence of forest fires and forest fire severity, heightened pest and disease pressures. When our forests are not being actively managed, the impacts of these stressors are magnified. This is especially true in eastern Washington where significant declines in the forest products sector have been coupled with significant fire prevention activities.
West of the Cascades, where forest activities are still abundant, we face the challenge of what to do with the slash—the branches and leaves left after a timber harvest. Traditionally, this material is put into a pile—a slash pile—and burned. The burning of slash piles releases greenhouse gases and other particulates.
The potential solution—a forest biomass-to-energy industry—is being studied carefully by public and private scientists and forest managers.
Seeking the answers for Washington State
Jump-starting this process was Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark’s Forest Biomass Initiative, which laid the groundwork for DNR to move forward forest biomass-to-energy demonstration projects. These demonstration projects, through the use of multiple energy generating technologies, are helping the state learn where barriers exist and what incentives are needed to ensure both the economic success and the environmental sustainability of this emerging sector. DNR, with our partners are studying possible contracting methods, technical limitations, how forest practices rules apply, and more through this effort.
Through the pilot process, it became evident that if forest biomass-to-energy projects are to succeed in Washington, businesses would need to have opportunities to enter into long-term supply contracts. In 2010, DNR requested that legislation be passed that authorized the agency to sell, through long-term contracts, forest biomass from state trust lands. The bill also directed the agency to conduct a supply study to ensure that contracts for biomass from the trust lands are crafted in a manner that ensures economic and environmental sustainability.
In July 2010, DNR received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), a portion of which is intended to complete a statewide forest biomass supply study. The study will help assess forest biomass availability and sustainability throughout Washington State as well as fulfill DNR’s specific requirements under Section 2(1). The grant will, in addition to the supply study, enable DNR and partners to test methods for making forest biomass material available from broad, multi-landowner areas with the aim to improve the economic feasibility of protecting forests from wildfire and restoring forest health.
The forest biomass supply assessment will build on previous biomass supply analyses, refining and improving upon them by using finer-scale data and evaluating individual land managers’ objectives, operational and economic factors for biomass availability, and environmental sustainability. A range of supply estimates will be developed encompassing all forest landowners statewide, and will further break down these estimates within a series of logical supply tributary areas. The project also will result in the development of a biomass calculator tool that allows for customized biomass availability estimates based on user-defined inputs.
Encouraging the forest biomass industry could provide a market for products that come from materials that are currently considered ‘waste’ and burned on-site, as well as forest health thinnings. These small tree thinning activities often are not done due to lack of a market for the product. A vibrant forest biomass-to-energy sector not only would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from burning slash, but can also spur much needed treatments in many forests in our state.
Washington’s forest biomass-to-energy industry would contribute to the maintenance of the State’s forest products industry, create green jobs and maintain existing forest sector jobs, and become a significant contributor to Washington’s clean energy economy. Forest biomass will provide forest landowners with an additional revenue stream. In so doing, it would help maintain our forest land base and help avoid land conversions.
| Follow DNR on: |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
