I think is is GW's or Reagans fault!
And the world is ending tomorrow because of them - the chinese are talking over!
Well, back to the regularly scheduled program - there are many factors at play when large biomass operations are considered. As some of our resident engineers have noted, burning green biomass for electricity only is terribly ineffective! I think we are talking 10-30% total efficiency. So throwing it into a giant burner alone or mixed with coal DOES create a lot of carbon.......which is NOT offset by getting a lot of energy (poor efficiency).
My first suggestion is to not relate it to Rev. Wright, Freedom Fries or WMD. It is exactly the opposite. The reason you are hearing about this is BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY THINKING FOR ONCE. Look, we've already been making mistakes for 30-40 years or longer - for forge ahead blinding would just add to the problems!
A similar news story has made the rounds in Ma. for the last couple of months. Here is a simple explanation for these stories....
1. Green biomass plants which are electric only are inefficient.
2. Many of the plans put into place by states are supposed to cut the CO2 emissions in 10-15 years. Therefore, when you do an actual study, the carbon from the inefficient burning measured against the wood use and the low efficiency means that it is not a good deal WITHIN THAT TIME PERIOD.
In modern civilization we have to measure things on a large scale. We also have to use resources in the most efficient manner possible. It would seem that biomass wastes would be used for everything EXCEPT inefficient green burning, those uses being:
1. Building materials
2. Pellets
3. Biobricks, etc.
4. Combined heat and power plants using air-dried, solar driers or other more efficient methods.
No, the sky is not falling. In fact, quite the opposite! People are debating and thinking.....which really is a CHANGE for a CHANGE.