The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that 23 biomass energy projects in 14 states that will receive $49 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The funds will help create markets for small-diameter and low-value trees removed during forest restoration activities.
The wood will be used to fire boilers for heating systems in schools and other facilities, to provide heat for a cement plant, as fuel for biomass power systems and combined heat and power systems (also known as cogeneration systems), and as a source of firewood and pellets for wood stoves. It will also be co-fired with coal in a coal power plant in Colorado, while Oregon will evaluate the value of in-woods, portable pyrolysis units that would convert biomass into a biobased oil.
Biomass pyrolysis involves heating wood to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen, causing the organic compounds in the wood to break down. The USDA also awarded $8 million for biomass projects not related to energy production. A full list of projects can be found at http://www.fs.fed.us/arra/arra-biomass-projects-090611.pdf
