Wood Is New Coal!!!

[YCSTEVE]

I haven't been on this site in a long time but when I read this article I thought it would be something you guys would find interesting. I will try and paste the link Below. I read it on Bloomberg this afternoon.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20602099&sid=a8qIgRjqKhWY&refer=energy

 

[woodbooga]

Using biomass for power and heat -- mainly from poplar, willow and pine trees -- grew by 25 percent during the past two decades, according to the International Energy Agency, the Paris-based adviser to 28 oil-consuming nations such as the U.S.

good to see these species get some love.

I'm all for getting our energy from a mix of sources.

My concern is that if the general population and politicians begin seeing wood/biomass as a feasible alternative in a big way, it will come under more scrutiny.

 

[Circle B MN]

I got into Hybrid Poplars a few years back. Great, fast growing trees, with many uses one of which being Biomass. there are many farms in this area with Poplar crops growing.

 

[audible fart]

If wood is the new coal, I scrounged about 1500 lbs of oak and maple coal today. Party. Bonus.

 

[projectsho89]

If wood is the new coal, Obama and Company will tax it into oblivion....

 

[Ductape]

If wood is the new coal, Obama and Company will tax it into oblivion....

Give that man a cigar !

 

[Dalmatian90]

Although the plants in the Bloomberg article are using it a bit different, offsetting their coal pollution, I remember reading some good comments on boston.com from a forester in Western Massachusetts.

His take is, at least in this area, smaller plants of around 20Mw that pull from a "wood shed" of about 30 mile radius of the plant work best.

There's a couple 60Mw(?) plants planned, but they need to draw wood from a 75 mile radius and trucking costs go up quite a bit. He said during the last fuel spike the truckers to the existing plants were real unhappy if they had to haul more the 30 miles.

I seem to recall that wood is mostly carbon, converted from the air. Most of the nutrients trees pull from the soil are in the leaves and bark. Without researching it more, that seems to say to me as long as debark and blow off the bark mulch on site you don't really remove much nutrients when harvesting the trunks for fuel.

 

[whitemountain]

On one hand there is nothing wrong with our old coal. It is a great resource that we have in abundance here in our old US of A. We should be using it more. On the other hand if more people decide to use wood as a heat source maybe I can sell a little more firewood this winter, although biomass was the emphasis of this. It's those little trees and junk trees that can be used as biomass. I think as the technology improves biomass will become more viable in some of our more rural areas and could really help boost some of our sagging local economies. My concern as well is if burgeoning government gets ahold of it. Keep it private and let the free market figure it out!!

 

[ropensaddle]

So then if it is the new coal what is 500000 tons worth ? I may be rich ye haaaaaaaaaaa!

 

[A. Stanton]

Give that man a cigar !

What would say if the man was a lady and named Monica?

 

[Bobcatter]

If wood is the new coal, Obama and Company will tax it into oblivion....

or wait, maybe we could form a futures market and trade it internationally, corner the market and drive up the prices! It worked for oil, steel, gold, copper, lead (bullets), so why not.... Those silly peons will pay anything to keep their suvs going and their houses warm......

:monkey:

hmmm, time for us silly peons to buy our own land so we have our own wood, me thinks before the corporations corner the market and leave us out

 

[Wood Doctor]

What would say if the man was a lady and named Monica?

A. Stanton, shame on you. You posted that faster than I could get to the keyboard and do the same thing.
:monkey:

 

[audible fart]

or wait, maybe we could form a futures market and trade it internationally, corner the market and drive up the prices! It worked for oil, steel, gold, copper, lead (bullets), so why not.... Those silly peons will pay anything to keep their suvs going and their houses warm......

:monkey:

hmmm, time for us silly peons to buy our own land so we have our own wood, me thinks before the corporations corner the market and leave us out

You are 100 percent correct sir.

 

[bgiles117]

If wood is the new coal, Obama and Company will tax it into oblivion....

Give that Man a Cigar for his Insight....
Thats ALL I thought about. Here come the Greenies to scream save the forests and Tax us to Hell..

 

[woodlumn]

On one hand there is nothing wrong with our old coal. It is a great resource that we have in abundance here in our old US of A. We should be using it more.

let's not forget what a filthy and destructive process it is to mine the stuff.

what I like about wood is that it doesn't poison our streams and destroy our towns.

 

[whitemountain]

let's not forget what a filthy and destructive process it is to mine the stuff.

what I like about wood is that it doesn't poison our streams and destroy our towns.

Amen to the cleanliness of wood heat. My point is that we have a resource we can use to drive our economy. We are going to be dependant on petroleum fuels for the foreseeable future, let's use the resource we have more of than any other country on earth. If that decreases our dependance on foreign oil even better. And let's not forget that one oil spill and poof an entire ecosystem can disappear. Coal, is relatively easier on the environment, and again we have it in abundance, it can be burned clean, we should use more of it.

Coal is the resource the Chinese are using right now to drive their economy. Granted their pollution regulations are not tight enough, but we have the technology at a financially sound level to really pursue more coal-fired generating stations.

My .02

 

[olyman]

QUOTE=woodlumn;1575975]let's not forget what a filthy and destructive process it is to mine the stuff.

what I like about wood is that it doesn't poison our streams and destroy our towns.[/QUOTE]