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FAO: Wood, The Leading Source For Renewable Energy In Europe
July 18, 2013 • Source: FAO According to a report issued by FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) of the United Nations, the overall wood energy accounts for 3.4% of the total primary energy supply and 38.9% of the renewable energy supply in 27 UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) member countries in 2011, confirming its role as the leading source of renewable energy. The report says that between 2009 and 2011, the amount of wood used for energy purposes within this group of countries grew annually by 4.8%. The role of wood in total primary energy supply increased slightly from 4.3% to 5.4% while the share of wood energy among renewable energy sources increased from 46.1% to 48.7%. The main sources of wood energy were as follows: Co-products and residues from forest-based industries, including processed wood fuels with improved energy content such as wood pellets, briquettes and charcoal (also called indirect sources) contributed 57%. Woody biomass from forests and other wooded land (also known as direct sources) such as logging residues, thinnings and clearings, which represented 34.1% of consumption. Recovered waste wood (mainly waste from construction, but also packaging and old furniture), which accounted for 3.7% of the supply. However, the proportion of these sources varies among countries. For instance, Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Italy, Serbia and Slovenia rely heavily on direct supplies of wood fibres. But Austria, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States rely mainly on wood supply from indirect sources. Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United States have large shares of energy generated from black liquor, reflecting the relative importance of the pulp and paper industries in the forest sector. Waste wood is reported as a significant source of wood energy in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, where it is mainly consumed in power applications and waste to energy plants. In general, however, data on recovered wood are difficult to obtain and often not discernible from overall waste statistics. Some 48% of the wood energy supply is consumed by the industrial sector. The forest products industry typically consumes energy generated from the solid and liquid co-products of its manufacturing processes. Countries with major forest industries, such as Finland, Sweden and the United States, have therefore a higher level of industrial consumption. Residential use, mainly dependent on direct supplies of firewood, accounted for 34.4% of the wood energy supply. Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine report this category as their primary use. But consumption of wood energy use by private households is often higher than official records indicate. The power and heat sector represents 15% of wood energy use. This sector is the largest consumer of wood energy in Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Continue reading
EPA Should Do More to Reduce Competition Between Food and Fuel Crops
WASHINGTON (August 6, 2013)—The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement today that it would allow food-based biofuels to make up the shortfall in cellulosic ethanol production this year was a missed opportunity to reduce pressure on food supplies and curb the clearing of forests for farmland, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said today. However, UCS experts are encouraged by EPA’s statement that it plans to reduce food based biofuel volumes in 2014 and urges the agency to act on this commitment as quickly as possible. The science advocacy group submitted comments to EPA earlier this year urging the agency to exercise the flexibility provided by Congress in implementing the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to reduce competition between food and fuel while continuing to encourage the commercialization of the non-food cellulosic biofuel industry. The RFS was designed to promote renewable fuels that do not compete with food supplies. Unfortunately, EPA’s decision calls for so-called “advanced” food-based biofuels such as biodiesel and sugarcane ethanol to make up for a production shortfall in cleaner cellulosic biofuels this year. But UCS is optimistic the agency will correct the problem for 2014. In the announcement today, EPA stated its plans to reduce the advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel mandates in 2014 to reflect the slower-than-expected pace of cellulosic biofuel commercialization. “We have a responsibility to ensure we move towards cleaner fuels that won’t strain food supplies, accelerate agricultural expansion and drive deforestation,” said Jeremy Martin, a senior scientist with UCS’s Clean Vehicles Program. “The agency should revisit the overall mandate structure and set reasonable targets for the duration of the program — not just one year’s worth — to ensure we are meeting that responsibility.” Markets for corn, sugar and vegetable oil are tight and thus any expansion of mandates for food-based biofuels will put pressure on food prices, forcing the expansion of agricultural land into forested areas. “EPA has the authority to do what is right and prevent accelerating the expansion of food based biofuels such as sugarcane ethanol and biodiesel,” Martin said. “Cellulosic fuels still offer the best bet for replacing large amounts of oil without disrupting our food supplies.” Today EPA also extended the deadline to comply with the 2013 standards by four months, to June 30, 2014. When created in 2007, the RFS contained a 2013 goal of 1 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol. While the EPA’s decision to reduce the mandate reflects the state of current production capacity, the industry is scaling up rapidly and will continue to grow in the years to come. Ineos, for example, recently began commercial-scale production at a refinery that is turning yard and vegetative waste into fuel. Along with vehicle efficiency and other technologies, cellulosic fuels can help the country cut its projected oil use in half over the next 20 years. UCS research suggests there is enough non-food material in the United States, including wastes and fast-growing grasses, to meet the total 36 billion gallon biofuel target under the RFS. While progress has been slower than originally hoped in 2007, UCS believes the RFS is still moving production in the right direction. But to make the RFS work, EPA needs to update their analysis and targets. Martin has written about the critical decisions facing EPA over the future of biofuels on UCS’s blog, the Equation. He has also testified on biofuels policy at two recent congressional hearings. Continue reading
Farmland Values in U.S. Rise 9.4% to $2,900 Per Acre
By Alan Bjerga – Aug 2, 2013 U.S. farmland values climbed 9.4 percent this year as high prices paid for crops and livestock after last year’s drought bolstered real-estate while commodity prices fell, the Department of Agriculture said. The average value of all land and buildings on farms and ranches in the 48 contiguous states was $2,900 an acre, according to a June survey of farmers, the USDA today said in an annual report , up from $2,650 a year earlier. The drought that spread through the Corn Belt and Great Plains last year prompted record insurance payments and will push farm profits to a record $128.2 billion this year as growers rebuild inventories, the USDA said in February. The most expensive farmland was in New Jersey at $12,700 an acre, followed by Rhode Island at $11,800, according to the USDA. The cheapest was in New Mexico at $550 an acre. The Corn Belt was the most expensive of the 10 regions tracked by the USDA, averaging $6,400 an acre after gaining 15 percent from the previous year. The Mountain region had the lowest prices, averaging $1,020 per acre. The USDA will update its farm profit forecast on Aug. 27. To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Bjerga in Washington at abjerga@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net Continue reading
