Woody Biomass Power Conference

This invitational conference was convened by the Energy Foundation to gather diverse perspectives, promote dialog, and advance mutual understanding of the potential roles and limitations of woody biomass power in addressing the nation’s climate, environmental, economic, and energy security challenges. A diverse group of 40 participants from the biopower industry, federal and state agencies, national and state environmental groups, state and regional bioenergy groups, and academic research institutions explored whether and how woody biomass power can contribute to advancing policy goals such as:

Reducing demand for fossil fuels and preventing harmful climate change;
Providing reliable, renewable electric power;
Sustaining and creating local jobs, sustainable industries, and local energy self-reliance;
Protecting air quality and human health;
Assuring environmental sustainability;
Restoring and sustaining healthy forest ecosystems; and
Transitioning to a sustainable, renewable energy future.

Through a grant from the Energy Foundation, EESI served as the lead consultant for the conference. The agenda and links to the slides from most of the presentations are below.

Luncheon Keynote Speakers

St. Paul Biomass District Energy System - Michael Burns, Senior Vice President of Operations and Engineering, Ever-Green Energy (District Energy St. Paul)
Biomass Energy in Sweden - Anders Rydaker, Executive VP, Sustainable Energy Solutions
Koda Energy: Biomass to Energy - Paul Kramer, Vice President, Rahr Malting Co.

Panel 1: Biomass Power: Status, Trends, Challenges

Overview of Biopower in the United States - Ned Stowe, Policy Associate, Environmental and Energy Study Institute
Biopower Perspectives and Priorities at DOE (Powerpoint available upon request) - Elliott Levine, Technology Manager, Office of Biomass Program, U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Forest Biomass Supply for Bioenergy - Ken Skog, Project Leader, Forest Products Laboratory, USDA Forest Service
Biopower's Role in Meeting Renewable Goals in the Midwest - Claudio Martinez, Risk Analyst – Clean Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists

Panel 2: Biopower Greenhouse Emissions and the EPA Tailoring Rule

Tailoring Rule and CO2 Regulation: Implications for Biomass - Mike Cashin, PE, Environmental Policy Manager, Minnesota Power (Allete)
Biomass Power Feedstock and Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Margaret K. Mann, Group Manager, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Unintended Consequences of Biomass Policies and the Tailoring Rule - Bruce Lippke, Professor Emeritus, University of Washington, and President Emeritus, Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (presented by Jim Bowyer, Professor Bio-based Products, University of Minnesota)
Perspectives on the Tailoring Rule - Jimmie Powell, Director of Government Relations, The Nature Conservancy

Panel 3: The Massachusetts RPS Revision and Biopower

Biomass Policy Development in Massachusetts: RPS Rulemaking - Dwayne Breger, PhD, Director, Renewable Energy Division, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
Carbon Emissions Accounting and Manomet Carbon Policy Study Review - Jay O’Laughlin, Professor, Forestry and Policy Sciences, and Director, College of Natural Resources Policy Analysis Group, University of Idaho
Regional Estimates of the Status, Growth and Harvest of Woody Biomass - Steve Hamburg, Chief Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund
Sustainable Forest Biomass Energy: Carbon, Efficiency, Current Policy, Future Directions - Andi Colnes, Policy Director, Biomass Energy Resource Center

Panel 4: Policies to Advance Appropriate Use of Biopower

Analysis of State Level Wood-to-Energy Policies State Policies to Advance Biopower - Francisco X. Aguilar, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Forestry, University of Missouri
Biopower: A Southern Perspective - John Bonitz, Farm Outreach and Policy Advocate, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) (Presented by Anne Blair, Diesel and Bioenergy Program Manager, SACE)
Policies to Support the Biomass Industry - Gary Melow, Director, Michigan Biomass, and representing the Biomass Power Association