Pennsylvania Low-Use Wood Potential

1. Pennsylvania Low-Use Wood Potential PSU School of Forest Resources College of Agricultural Sciences November, 2007

2. U.S. Wood Energy Potential • By 1980 USDA estimate, 600 million dry tons/year of “unused” wood • Using standard btu conversions, this is equivalent to 1.675 billion barrels of oil • US oil consumption is currently 7.3 billion barrels oil/year • Nearly one quarter of our oil consumption could be eliminated by full utilization of unused woody biomass • Carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels

3. Definition • “LUW” – Low-use wood, defined by Luppold and Bumgardner (2003) as wood material that is underutilized, usually of poor form, size, quality, and value. • McWilliams and Frieswick (2007) – identify 57% of Pennsylvania’s 1.145 billion tons as LUW (658 million tons) • 71% of this (469 million tons) is available under PA operability constraints • Social constraints will reduce this availability more; how much = ?

4. www. pabiomass. org

6. Pennsylvania’s Forests – 16 million acres of biological “solar panels” storing carbon energy! 600 District Energy Projects 10 Wood Ethanol Plants 300 Million 40 lb bags of wood pellets 3 million homes 475 - 500 million gallons of #2 heating oil (Karakesh, 2007) 480-600 million gals ethanol • 658 million tons of our forest is in “under-utilized small diameter” stems; 469 million tons are potentially available for harvest • This volume of forest wood will sustainably yield about 6 million dry tons per year in perpetuity 6 Million Dry Tons Per Year is Equivalent to:

7. Pressure on the Resource? • 6 million dry tons annually – from growth only • “Energizing” forests could be utilized in efforts to accelerate mixed-aged “old-growth” forest structure and increase professional management options

8. Key Concepts for Wood Energy • On-site chipping or bundling • Transport minimization • Concentration and storage near processors • Harvest scheduling • Contractor recruitment and incentive • Site-specific sustainability criteria • Phytosanitary data and tactics • Community buy-in • Project-appropriate solutions • Ownership standards and agreements • Local industry database • Current and proposed project specifications • Data collection consolidation

9. http://fia.fs.fed.us

10. USFS FIA • Historical data and future projections • Species, size, and health of trees • Total tree growth, mortality, and removals • Wood production and utilization rates • Forest land ownership • Recently expanded to annual surveys and to include data on: • Soil • Understory vegetation • Tree crown conditions • Coarse woody debris • Lichen community composition

23. Conclusion • There is a public groundswell for small and medium localized energy production • Sustainable harvest of available PA LUW will yield tremendous amounts of energy • In PA, we need resource utilization and biomass flow databases, state forest harvest plan requirements, and site-specific LUW harvest standards for proper planning, economic development, and landowner assistance • National greenhouse gas emission standards and federal biomass production incentives will make wood-based bioenergy happen – and move the U.S. closer to energy self-sufficiency