Restrictions on Woody Biomass Must be Removed to Guarantee New Energy Future
25x’25 and its forestry partners are continuing their efforts to reverse federal policy that denies the use of a wide variety of woody biomass resources to meet the nation’s renewable energy goals. It makes no sense to severely restrict the definition of eligible woody biomass – a policy that runs totally contrary to the statements of those in Congress who say they want to create a renewable energy future that will promote energy independence, enhance national security, boost the economy and improve the environment.
Congress is considering wide-ranging energy and climate change legislation, including provisions that would require a significant percent of the nation’s electricity to come from renewable resources by the year 2025. Yet, the Waxman-Markey legislative proposal would limit the renewable fuel feedstocks eligible to meet that mandate, picking up the extremely restrictive definition of eligible biomass as laid out in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), which mandates 21 billion gallons of second-generation biofuels by 2022.
Sadly, the EISA definition, and subsequently, the Waxman-Markey proposal, do not include such common-sense feedstocks as thinning materials and woody residues from federal forests; most woody material from non-plantation, native or naturally occurring forest land; and a wide array of feedstocks from municipal solid waste. Furthermore, Waxman-Markey excludes all material from federal land, except that removed from within 200 feet of any man-made structure or campground. It is incredibly short-sighted to not include as a renewable energy resource the millions of acres of dead and dying trees that, with one spark, could go up in wildfires, releasing billions of tons of greenhouse gases.
In a letter to key Congressional leaders, 25x’25 has joined with 67 other organizations in an effort to bring sanity to this debate. The American Farm Bureau Association, the American Forest Resource Council, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute and the National Association of Conservation Districts are among the dozens of groups telling policy makers that applying EISA’s restrictions on the “use of most renewable forest biomass negates the many benefits of this critical energy source, including its contributions to lower carbon emissions, and jeopardizes our renewable energy goals.”
Woody biomass advocates have no intention of turning our forestlands into “fuel farms.” In fact, those same advocates have consistently been telling lawmakers that strict rules and oversight on biomass harvesting and environmental concerns will be necessary to ensure a sustainable biomass industry. The letter lays out a set of principles to insure woody biomass policy will meet “our renewable energy needs, maintain forest sustainability and garner the support of a broad range of interests.”
It is time for policy makers to correct this ill-conceived restriction and capitalize on the clean energy solutions America’s forests can provide. Through sustainably managed forests we can provide much needed energy feedstocks while simultaneously improving soil, water and air quality.
Recent Comments & Trackbacks