Tag Archives: united-states
Biofuel Blunder
Lobbying trumped science as politicians lavished more than $100-billion in subsidies on morally suspect energy Canada is not alone in doling out large sums of public money for biofuels. Globally, in 2011 Canada, the United States, the European Union, China, India, Brazil and Australia, to name the major players, spent more than $40-billion on biofuel subsidies in the name of energy security, green house gas reductions and regional economic development. Since 2005 more than $100-billion worldwide has been allocated to biofuel programs with very little, if any, net improvement in reducing green house gas emissions. China has had to abandon its goals for corn ethanol production in the face of food shortages and the need to import vast quantities of corn. In the U.S., after years to transferring hundreds of millions of tax dollars to corn growers and the ethanol industry, it is now generally recognized that biofuels are not the answer to energy security. The process of fracking the oil fields of the mid-west has taken its place, even though many of the biofuel support programs are still in place. Substituting ethanol and biodiesel fuel for fossil fuels in vehicles has had little if any impact on reducing green house gases. Independent research using life cycle analysis has revealed that, at best, ethanol and most biodiesel fuel create about the same carbon footprint as gasoline. Even in those circumstances where there is a small improvement in green house gas reduction, the cost to reduce green house gas, in carbon dioxide equivalents, is hundreds of dollars per ton. In addition, there is growing concern, supported by detailed independent research, that ethanol and biodiesel production impose long term costs on forest sequestering, land use and the quality of water. The most devastating impact of opening the “corn for fuel” envelope has been the rise in food prices and food products that utilize corn as an input. The poorest in the world have suffered more than any other group. Not only has the demand for corn for ethanol increased food prices, but the increased cost has limited the amount of food aid that the United States can make available to the lowest income areas of the world. Writers have questioned the morality of polices that deliberately impoverish less developed countries. If the present global policies to support biofuels continue, the cumulative social cost that takes into consideration all the effects of subsidies and regulated production in the next decade could be close to half a trillion dollars. Such waste cannot be justified on any reasonable grounds. Most of the public subsidies for biofuels are bad policies but governments find it difficult to admit errors in judgment, decision and execution. The energy challenges of the 21 st century will not be met with simple solutions. They will require sensible choices by governments that can place the long term public interest ahead of short term political gain. Continue reading
Big Coal –> Big Biomass At The U.K.’s Drax Power Station
By Share Print Situated on the River Ouse, the Drax Power Station provides about 7% of the United Kingdom’s electricity supply. With its 4 GW capacity , Drax is the second largest coal-fired power plant in Europe and the U.K.’s number one emitter of carbon dioxide. This spring, facility directors announced that half of the plant’s capacity would be converted to renewable sources. It is expected that, by 2015, the facility will burn 7.5 million metric tons per year of imported biomass (mostly wood pellets from the United States and Canada). Photo Credit: Photo taken on March 20, 2008 by thewritingzone and found using Creative Commons. Continue reading
DECC Doubles Down on Woody Biomass
By Tim Portz | September 03, 2013 On August 22, 2013 the United Kingdom’s Department of Energy & Climate Change released its much anticipated report, “Government Response to the consultation on proposals to enhance the sustainability criteria for the use of biomass feedstocks under the Renewables Obligation (RO)”. The title is certainly a mouthful, but after a few readings of the 52 page document it is clear the DECC intended the report to be its final word on the role that woody biomass would be allowed to play in meeting the nation’s ambitious Renewables Obligation. In a letter included in the annex of the report was a letter signed by a host of biomass industry professionals that asks DECC to not only firmly establish its support for biomass, but to buttress this support with some measure of long term certainty. The ministers at DECC clearly headed this advice and included in their report a commitment to “long term certainty” that deal makers and the investment community were advocating for. Specifically, on page 8 the report states, “ We have also decided to adopt a policy that the UK will no make further unilateral changes in the methodology underpinning the GHG targets or to other aspects of the RO sustainability criteria before 1 April 2027 ”. And so the DECC has spoken. The report establishes that woody biomass will play a significant role in the UK’s Bioenergy Strategy moving forward, but not without robust assurances of adherence to sustainability guidelines. While North American pellet producers, foresters and landowners were certainly aware of, and comfortable that they could achieve sustainability requirements the UK would set forth, the unresolved question hinged on the degree to which this adherence would be verified and reported. While the report establishes that final sustainability criteria will not be announced until the end of the year, so that they may be harmonized with the criteria being established by the European Commission, the report also establishes that once finalized, power producers would be “required to demonstrate that solid biomass and biogas feedstocks meet the sustainability criteria in order to be eligible for support under the RO”. Essentially, if power producers going to participate in the Renewables Obligation and generate Renewable Energy Credits, audits, verification and reporting must become a part of their supply chain program, beginning April 15 2015. By answering this one question, the DECC report introduces many others. Clearly, the finalized criterion that the report suggests will be issued at the end of the year is the biggest question for producers and their supply chains, but that isn’t the only one. As North American pellet producers continue to grow their exports and satisfy UK based demand, creating a chain of custody reporting program that their customers will need will have to become an extension of their production operation. Forest certification, while not widespread in the United States, does have a precedent. Both the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) have established certification programs and are certifying forest acres that later become paper and lumber products, all bearing proof of their certified status. This latest report from DECC confirms that the growth in the export market for North American producers will continue and along with it an industry wide reporting and verification program. Continue reading
