Biomass Heat is Not Coal
RenewableEnergyWorld.com
By Andrew Haden, A3 Energy Partners
Recent rules for proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce emissions from boilers could have the unfortunate effect of killing the sustainable and rapidly growing industry of biomass heat.
Don’t get me wrong: I support reducing greenhouse gas emissions, particulates and mercury pollution from burning fossil fuels. But by lumping biomass heating boilers (which do not emit mercury) together with large, coal-burning plants, the EPA has failed to distinguish the vast difference between electricity generation from coal and heat generation from waste wood via biomass boilers.
The particulate emissions levels of 0.03 lbs/mmbtu and carbon monoxide levels of 100 ppm that the EPA is proposing are twice as strict as any on the planet, and will take many years of research and development for cost-effective solutions to be developed.
