Bay State Rethinking Wood Power. By Beth Daley, BostGlobe, June 11, 2010. “Burning wood to generate electricity can be worse for global warming than burning coal, according to a Massachusetts-sponsored study [Executive Summary, PDF, 4 pp; Full Report, PDF, 183 pp] released on June 10. That surprising conclusion immediately prompted state officials to reconsider substantial financial incentives provided to wood-burning plants. The six-month study by the Manomet Center for Conservation Science in Plymouth comes amid controversy over the proposed construction of two large wood-burning power plants in Western Massachusetts. ‘These findings have broad implications for clean energy and the environment in Massachusetts and beyond,’ said Ian Bowles, state secretary of energy and environmental affairs...
“Wood is projected to be one of the fastest-growing sources of renewable energy in the next decade, but if the benefits take too long to appear, policy makers under urgent deadlines may choose not to embrace it... Matt Wolfe of Madera Energy Inc., which is proposing a wood-burning power plant in Greenfield, said the study incorrectly assumes whole trees would be cut to fuel the power plants. Rather, he said, most wood for his plant would come from tree tops and branches left over from logging operations or from storm damage, land clearing for new development, or tree-trimming operations... The Manomet Center analysis, however, concludes that there is only a small amount of such leftover wood, and that whole trees will have to be taken to fuel Massachusetts wood-burning power plants.”
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