{"id":1439,"date":"2012-05-21T11:29:43","date_gmt":"2012-05-21T16:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.columbia.edu\/climatechange\/?p=1439"},"modified":"2013-07-19T11:52:03","modified_gmt":"2013-07-19T16:52:03","slug":"massachusetts-leads-the-way-in-ensuring-biomass-facilities-reduce-ghg-emissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.law.columbia.edu\/climatechange\/2012\/05\/21\/massachusetts-leads-the-way-in-ensuring-biomass-facilities-reduce-ghg-emissions\/","title":{"rendered":"Massachusetts Leads the Way in Ensuring Biomass Facilities Reduce GHG Emissions"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p>By Julia Ciardullo<br \/>\nFellow<\/p>\n<p>On April 27, 2012, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) published a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/eea\/energy-utilities-clean-tech\/renewable-energy\/biomass\/renewable-portfolio-standard-biomass-policy.html\" target=\"_blank\">proposed final regulation<\/a> regarding the use of forest biomass for generating energy in Massachusetts.\u00a0 If adopted, the regulation would be the first to set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for determining the eligibility of biomass for Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) under the state\u2019s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS).<\/p>\n<p>The proposed regulation relies on a scientific study released by the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences in 2010.\u00a0 Contrary to the common perception that biomass is a carbon neutral energy source, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.manomet.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Manomet_Biomass_Report_Full_LoRez.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Manomet study<\/a> found that initially, biomass actually emits <em>more<\/em> GHGs than fossil fuels per unit of energy produced \u2013 what it calls a \u201ccarbon deficit.\u201d\u00a0 Over time, re-growth of a harvested forest absorbs these GHGs from the atmosphere; however, using biomass energy begins yielding a \u201ccarbon dividend\u201d (i.e. lower atmospheric GHG levels compared to fossil fuels) only after several decades (see figure 1 <a href=\"https:\/\/magazine.manomet.org\/winter2012\/biomass.html\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>).\u00a0 In addition, the study found that using logging debris (tree tops and branches) as fuel results in a carbon dividend sooner than using whole trees because logging debris tend to decompose on the forest floor and release carbon into the atmosphere, whereas whole trees act as carbon sinks (see figure 2 <a href=\"https:\/\/magazine.manomet.org\/winter2012\/biomass.html\">here<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>In light of these findings, the DOER included the following key components in the proposed regulation:<\/p>\n<p>1.\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Eligible biomass<\/span>: \u201cEligible Biomass Woody Fuels\u201d is defined to include two categories of biomass: (1) residues (logging debris such as tree tops and branches) and (2) thinnings (whole trees deemed to be unacceptable growing stock and managed thinning operations).\u00a0 Residues and thinnings are each subject to a different GHG accounting method, as discussed further below.<\/p>\n<p>2.\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Forest sustainability<\/span>: To be eligible for RECs, biomass must be sustainably harvested to ensure continued absorption of GHGs from the atmosphere and to protect forest ecosystems.\u00a0 The amount of biomass that may be harvested depends on the amount removed and the soil conditions.\u00a0 Removal is prohibited from old growth forests or steep slopes.<\/p>\n<p>3.\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Overall efficiency criteria<\/span>: To be eligible for RECs, a biomass facility must demonstrate an overall energy conversion efficiency of 50 percent, at which point it would earn one-half a REC per megawatt-hour of electricity. \u00a0If the facility can demonstrate an overall efficiency of 60 percent, it would then qualify for a full REC.\u00a0 Overall efficiency must be calculated on a quarterly basis by an independent party.<\/p>\n<p>4.\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">GHG accounting<\/span>: To be eligible for RECs, a biomass facility must conduct an annual lifecycle emissions analysis and demonstrate a 50 percent reduction in GHG emissions over 20 years relative to a natural gas, combined-cycle generation unit.\u00a0 The GHG accounting analysis is based on (1) the overall efficiency of the unit, (2) the fuels displaced by the unit and (3) whether the biomass fuel used is residue or thinnings.\u00a0 Residues and thinnings are treated differently because of the different carbon deficit reduction periods associated with each.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed regulation is open for public comment until June 18, 2012.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Julia Ciardullo Fellow On April 27, 2012, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) published a proposed final regulation regarding the use of forest biomass for generating energy in Massachusetts.\u00a0 If adopted, the regulation would be the first to set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for determining the eligibility of biomass for Renewable Energy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":614,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5680],"tags":[9432,9434,5668,5692],"class_list":{"0":"post-1439","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-clean-energy","7":"tag-energy","8":"tag-energy-efficiency","9":"tag-land-use","10":"tag-mitigation","11":"czr-hentry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Massachusetts Leads the Way in Ensuring Biomass Facilities Reduce GHG Emissions - Climate Law Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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