Citizens Action Coalition Education Fund

"To many people, the most familiar forms of renewable energy are the wind and the sun. But biomass (plant material and animal waste) supplies almost 15 times as much energy in the United States as wind and solar power combined – and has the potential to supply much more." Biomass "is the oldest source of renewable energy known to humans, used since our ancestors learned the secret of fire."

"Biomass is a renewable energy source because the energy it contains comes from the sun. Through the process of photosynthesis, chlorophyll in plants captures the sun’s energy by converting carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground into carbohydrates, complex compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. When these carbohydrates are burned, they turn back into carbon dioxide and water and release the sun’s energy they contain. In this way, biomass functions as a sort of natural battery for storing solar energy. As long as biomass is produced sustainably – with only as much used as is grown – the battery will last indefinitely."

Biomass energy is derived from three distinct energy sources - wood, waste, and alcohol fuels or biofuels. "Wood energy is derived both from direct use of harvested wood as a fuel and from wood waste streams. The largest source of energy from wood is pulping liquor or 'black liquor,' a waste product from processes of the pulp, paper and paperboard industry. Waste energy is the second-largest source of biomass energy. The main contributors of waste energy are municipal solid waste (MSW), manufacturing waste, and landfill gas. Biomass alcohol fuel, or ethanol, is derived almost exclusively from corn. Its principal use is as an oxygenate in gasoline."

One of the more economically viable ways to increase biomass power generation today is to use biomass as a feedstock to co-fire with coal. "Biomass feedstock can substitute up to 20% of the coal used in a boiler. The benefits associated with biomass co-firing include lower operating costs, reductions of harmful emissions, and greater energy security." Other methods for converting biomass to energy do not require combustion. "These processes convert raw biomass into a variety of gaseous, liquid, or solid fuels that can then be used directly in a power plant for energy generation. The carbohydrates in biomass, which are comprised of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen, can be broken down into a variety of chemicals, some of which are useful in fuels." A fermentation process similar to making wine is used to turn corn into grain alcohol or ethanol, which can be mixed with gasoline.

"Biomass oils, like soybean and canola oil, can be chemically converted into a liquid fuel similar to diesel fuel, and into gasoline additives. Cooking oil from restaurants, for example, has been used as a source to make 'biodiesel' for trucks. (A better way to produce biodiesel is to use algae as a source of oils)." In recent years corn has become a valuable commodity for producing ethanol. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 14% of corn use in the 2005-2006 crop year went for production of ethanol, up from 11% in the 2004-2005 crop year and 6% in 1999-2000. "Furthermore, the price of corn hit nearly $4 per bushel during 2006, the highest price seen in the last two decades and considerably higher than the average price of $2.40 seen over that twenty-year-period. Increased ethanol production in the U.S., coupled with increased demand from Asian countries for meat from corn-fed livestock, is contributing to the increased demand for corn."

Current debate centers on developing ethanol using energy crops other than corn. "Corn is one of the most energy-intensive crops, and current corn-based ethanol production uses just the kernels from the corn plant, and not even the entire kernel. By making ethanol from energy crops [i.e., switchgrass and fast-growing trees], we could obtain between four and five times the energy that we put in, and by making electricity we could get perhaps 10 times or more." "Estimates of the ultimate potential for biomass energy vary, and depend on agricultural forecasts, waste reduction by industry, and paper recycling. The Department of Energy believes that we could produce 4% of our transportation fuels from biomass by 2010, and as much as 20% by 2030. For electricity, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that energy crops and crop residues alone could supply as much as 14% of our power needs."

In 2003, only 0.4% of Indiana’s electric generation came from renewable resources. "Moreover, only 0.1% of the total energy generated came from biomass sources." The promising news is that Indiana has a large agricultural residue biomass resource potential. "It is estimated that over 16 million dry tons of agricultural residues, mainly from corn stover, are available each year within Indiana." "An estimated 27,100 GWh of electricity could be generated using renewable biomass fuels in Indiana. This is enough electricity to fully supply the annual needs of 2,706,000 average homes, or 100% of the residential electricity in Indiana. These biomass resource supply figures are based on estimates for five general categories of biomass: urban residues, mill residues, forest residues, agricultural residues, and energy crops."

"Overall, Indiana’s greatest potential for biomass is corn stover. Crop residues production in the state is significantly higher than the rest of biomass sources; such as logging residue, other removal residue, fuel treatment thinnings (from timberlands), mill residue and urban wood residues. . . . Central Indiana has the higher potential of producing crop residues . . . , accounting for the 45% of the total production of Indiana. The northwest, north central and northeast regions also produce significant amount of crop residues accounting for 18%, 14% and 13%, respectively."

Increasing reliance on biomass for our energy also brings numerous environmental benefits. "Biomass reduces air pollution by being part of the carbon cycle . . . , reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 90% compared with fossil fuels. Sulfur dioxide and other pollutants are also reduced substantially. Water pollution is reduced because fewer fertilizers and pesticides are used to grow energy crops, and erosion is reduced. . . . In contrast to high-yield food crops that pull nutrients from the soil, energy crops actually improve soil quality. . . . Finally, biomass crops can create better wildlife habitat than food crops. Since they are native plants, they attract a greater variety of birds and small mammals. They improve the habitat for fish by increasing water quality in nearby streams and ponds. And since they have a wider window of time to be harvested, energy crop harvests can be timed to avoid critical nesting or breeding seasons."

"In addition to the many environmental benefits, biomass offers many economic and energy security benefits. By growing our fuels at home, we reduce the need to import oil and reduce our exposure to disruptions in that supply. Farmers and rural areas gain a valuable new outlet for their products. Biomass already supports 66,000 jobs in the United States; if the DOE’s goal is realized, the industry would support three times as many jobs."

• Union of Concerned Scientists, Clean Energy, How Biomass Energy Works, (last revised 8/25/06), found at: http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/renewable_energy_basics/offmen-how-biomass-energy-works.html.
• U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Biomass, found at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/biomass/biomass.html.
• U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Renewable Energy Consumption and Electricity, Preliminary 2006 Statistics, (citations omitted, August, 2007), found at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/prelim_trends/pretrends.pdf.
• State Utility Forecasting Group, 2006 Indiana Renewable Energy Resources Study, (September, 2006), found at: http://www.purdue.edu/dp/energy/pdfs/SUFG/publications/Renewables_Report_2006.pdf.