A burning question: Throw wood on the fire for 21st-century electricity?

View Only

A burning question: Throw wood on the fire for 21st-century electricity?

By District Energy posted 09-18-2017 00:00

Recommend

Zachary Basu, CNBC

Summary

Biomass power plants — which burn wood pellets and other organic materials to generate electricity — are tied up in U.S. political debate over what can be defined as a carbon neutral source of energy.

In Europe, demand for wood pellets has skyrocketed to 19 million metric tons per year, as the EU favorably ruled on biomass as part of its effort to move away from dependence on fossil fuels.

More than 96 percent of the total U.S. domestic wood-pellet output is being exported to two European countries: the U.K. and Belgium.

In 2011 the EPA embarked on a mission to develop a framework for biomass accounting, scheduled to take three years. Six years later the framework has still not been finalized.