Southeast energy challenges lead to interest in biomass
By Amy Condra
FOR THE JUNEAU EMPIRE
… Many involved with the SEIRP are hoping that wood pellet biomass emerges as both a heating alternative and a viable industry in the region.
“The hope in the region is that at some point, if we regularly use wood pellets, local job and manufacturing could be developed,” Venables said.
“This could help to keep a small but viable timber industry alive,” he said. “Only a percentage of logs harvested are good for sawing, and there’s a low utility grade that could be used for making pellets.”
How much wood does it take to create these pellets?
“As we’re looking at supply and at using local sources as supply, what is really striking to me is actually how little it takes to meet our needs compared to the amount of wood that is available,” Deering said. “In addition to logging residues and mill residues, one source of supply is young growth, which is about 40 to 50 years old. There is about a million acres of it in Southeast, and about 750,000 of that is part of the Tongass National Forest. Of that 750,000, about 250,000 potentially has no restrictions on it for logging, is not part of a national monument like Admiralty Island, is not a wilderness area, or part of setbacks for stream buffers — it is available to be harvested.”
“If you used only that young growth as your fuel supply, and you wanted to replace all of our heating oil usage in Southeast entirely, you would need less than 2,000 acres a year,” Deering said. “So you’re looking at a harvest rate of less than one percent per year.”
Until a large scale use of and demand for wood pellets is established in the region, Soboleff said, local biomass users such as Sealaska are importing pellets from down South.
