Woody Biomass Feedstock Supply Potential in NY State

T.A. Volk1, P. Woodbury2, P. Castellano1, R. Germain1, T. Buchholz1

1SUNY-ESF, 2Cornell University

Woody Biomass Energy Research Symposium for the Northern Forest

April 28-29, 2011, Burlington, VT

Renewable Fuels Roadmap Funders

Overview• Energy Use in the U.S.• Woody Biomass• NY Renewable Fuels Roadmap• Woody Biomass from Forests• Potential Biomass Supply in NY• Bioproducts from Woody Biomass

History of U.S. Energy Use

Wood Used for Energy in the U.S.

(Bain and Overend, 2002)

The chemical wood industry in southern NY and Pennsylvania was a major forest industry in the late 1800s and early 1900s

(EIA 2010)

U.S. Energy Sources

• We use almost 100 quads of energy in the U.S. each year- This is 22.5% of the

world’s primary energy consumption

- But we are only 4.6% of the world’s population

• Wood is the second largest source of renewable energy

NY Renewable Fuels Roadmap

• Feedstock assessment• State of conversion

technology• Potential biofuels production

in NY• Potential environmental and

economic impacts• Assessment of policies related

to the development of a biofuels industry

NY’S Abundant Resource Base• Potential sources of

biomass for biofuels:– Perennial energy crops

» Cool or warm season grasses» Short rotation woody crops

like shrub willow – Woody biomass from forests

including low value material and residues

– A portion of crop residues such as corn stover

– Waste streams such as grease for biodieselLand cover in NYS (Woodbury et al. 2009)

Switchgrass trial – courtesy of H. Mayton, Cornell University

Harvesting three year old willow biomass crops

Perennial Energy Crops in NY

NY’s Forest Resources• 18.5 million acres

of forest land• 15.4 million acres

of timberland• 774 million tons of

standing biomass on timberland

• Steep decline in pulp and paper operations in NY in the past 25 years from over 15 to 2 operations today.

Forest land is the dominates land cover in NY

Determining Forest Biomass Availability

• Two step process:1. Calculate technically available biomass – the amount

of biomass that is available and accessible on the ground and within certain defined limits » Used FIA and TPO data from 2002 - 2007on a county by

county scale2. Estimate the amount of biomass that might be

harvested» Used a sustainable yield management model (Vickery et al.

2009) based on road density for each of the 950+ townships in NY

Limitations on Forest Biomass• Restrictions applied during forest biomass

assessments:– prohibited harvesting in the forest preserve and other

protected areas– limited the size of the harvest of traditional forest products

and additional biomass for biofuels based on the net annual growth rate of forests in each county

– restricted the proportion of tops and residues collectedand prohibited the collection of mortality to address concerns related to nutrient depletion and biodiversity

– used a sustainable yield model to address concerns related to site conditions, future demographics, or potential development that might impact long term sustained yield management

Net annual growth of growing stock based on 2002-2006 FIA dataTotal = 9.6 million odt

Technically Available Merchantable Biomass

Available Biomass = 0.70 * Net Annual Growth - Current RemovalsCalculated for each countyDid not include additional tops and harvest residues associated with the increased harvesting for bioenergy

© The Research Foundation of SUNY 2007

46% Reduction

Net annual growth of growing stock minus removals Total = 5.1 million odt

Non Commercial Species

• Determined biomass of non commercial species by county

• Removed small diameter material <5”• Assumed 3% of the biomass could be

recovered each year• Provides 2.9 million odt/yr

Recoverable Material

• Assume that 65% of logging residues can be recovered from current harvesting operations

• Adds another 0.91 million odt/yr• Logging residues makes up >90% of

recoverable material in all counties• Additional biomass is from land

clearing/conversion

Technically Available Woody Biomass

• 9.0 million odt/yr of technically available woody biomass– 75% hardwoods– Majority (57.4%) from

merchantable category followed by non-commercial (32.4%) category

• Equates to ~0.6 odt/acre of timberland

Technically available woody biomass from timberland in each county in NY (Woodbury et al. 2010)

Socio-economic Potential

• Amount of technically available resource will vary due to a range of socioeconomic factors:– Market prices for other energy sources (coal, oil,

natural gas)– Prices for biomass for other uses (i.e. pulp logs, saw

logs, mulch)– Landowners opinions and management objectives– Competition from other biomass users– Incentives and policies that support renewable energy– Pubic opinions about biomass resources and their use

Sustainable Yield Management

• Applied a SYM model (Vickery et al. 2009) based on road density for 983 townships in NY

• Calculated county means based on a township land area weighted average

• Across the state potential for SYM occurs on 49% of the land area

• Reduced potential available biomass by 46%

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0-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-100

Percent Sustainable Yield Management Based on Road Density

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Distribution of counties based on predicted sustainable yield management potential using the model developed by Vickery et al. (2009).

Sustainable Yield Management Model

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Potentially Available Biomass

• 4.8 million odt/yr available – 54% of technically available figure– Hardwoods make up

72% of this biomass– Merchantable category

is 54% and non commercial species is 34%

– Recoverable material is only 12%

Potentially available woody biomass from timberland in each county in NY for scenario #1.

Potentially Available Biomass –Scenario 2 and 3

• Adjusted factors from SYM management model

• Result is 6.4 million odt of woody biomass per year

OR• Assume use of 100%

net growth adds about 2 million odtPotentially available woody biomass from

timberland in each county in NY for scenario 2 & 3.

Potential Biomass Production

Perennial Energy CropsForest Biomass - HardwoodsForest Biomass - SoftwoodsCorn Stover

9.5 million dry tons 14.6 million dry tons

46%

3%15%36%

12%32%

54%

2%

Potential biomass production (million odt/yr) in NY from different sources in two scenarios (NYSERDA 2010)

5.6%to 16% of NY’s gasoline consumption508 – 1,449 MGY biofuel

Potential Biomass Production

(Woodbury et al. 2009)

Current Production ~ 12 million odt

Future Potential~ 14.6 million odt

(Amidon et al. 2008)

(Amidon et al. 2008)

Heating Opportunities• 25% of thermal needs met by

renewables by 2025– Majority is biomass with

some solar thermal• Significant potential in the NE• Offset 1.14 billion gallons of

heating oil annually• Reinvest $4.5 billion in local

economies• Create 140,200 jobs in the

region

Summary

• Woody biomass is already a large source of renewable energy

• Potential for additional woody biomass production from forests and SRWC like willow is significant in NY

• Better use of this complex resource will provide a wider range of products and better returns

Now is the Time for Action• “The stone age did not

end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil.”– Sheikh Zaki Yamani, former

oil minister for Saudi Arabia

• "We must be the change we wish to see."~M. Ghandi