- Author: Gareth J Mayhead
Last week I was in Flagstaff, Arizona, for the Smallwood 2012 conference. I was on the planning committee and it was great to see over 200 people in attendance. The conference started with some good introductory presentations looking at the background to the Southwest forest products industry (Todd Morgan, University of Montana) and to broader federal policy issues (Butch Blazer, USDA). The conference then split into two tracks and covered topics ranging from collaboration, ecosystem restoration, grants and incentives, pre-treatment, technologies and products, markets and other topics.
I was fortunate to be moderating a panel on pyrolysis technologies. I started with a brief introduction to the range of pyrolysis technologies including slow pyrolysis, torrefaction and fast pyrolysis. The tables below compare pyrolysis technologies, outputs and markets.
The speakers and topics were:
- Jim Ippolito (USDA-ARS Northwest Irrigation & Soils Research Laboratory) – Biochar Opportunities
- Andy Soria (University of Alaska) - Pyrolysis Oil Opportunities
- Larry Felix (Gas Technology Institute) – Torrefaction Opportunities
Jim gave an excellent introduction to the uses and properties of biochar which can be produced from a variety of processes. I appreciated that, in addition to covering pyrolysis technologies, Andy and Larry introduced the audience to two alternative technologies: hydro-thermal carbonization (to produce a product similar to torrefied wood) and liquefaction using supercritical fluids (to produce a bio-oil). 
We have recently written a fact sheet on pyrolysis which is available here for download if you wish to learn more. It is currently in a draft form awaiting review. I would be grateful to receive comments on it.
The presentations from this session and the rest of the conference will be available shortly on the Forest Products Society website.
- Author: Gareth J Mayhead
The Smallwood Conference, with a theme of Forest Restoration for a New Economy, is at the start of May and has a great agenda lined up. The agenda topics for the Flagstaff AZ conference include:
• Policies and incentives
• Collaboration (including CFLR projects)
• Harvesting
• Pre-treatment of biomass in the woods
• Wood products
• Thermochemical processes including pyrolysis, torrefaction, co-firing, electricity, biorefining
• Business practices
• Marketing
• Environmental and safety compliance
There is also the opportunity to attend one of three field tours focused on forest restoration and biomass utilization. This conference is highly relevant to those working in forest restoration and management in California, and a good opportunity for networking and learning.
I am the planning committee and will be moderating a session on pyrolysis based technologies. The speakers will look at pyrolysis basics, the use of char, bio-oil opportunities and torrefied wood to help you understand the status of this family of related technologies.
Other speakers from California include Tad Mason (TSS Consultants) and Craig Thomas (Sierra Forest Legacy).
For more information check out the website.
- Author: Gareth J Mayhead
The annual Forest Service Woody Biomass Utilization grant program has been creating some confusion for people. Grants.gov has had information online for the program since November 2011 even though it has not yet officially been announced on the Federal Register. According to the program manager at the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison we can treat the information on grants.gov and on the FPL website as a pre-announcement of this years program. The Federal Register announcement will be very soon.
The advertised mailing deadline is March 1 2012 so if you are planning to submit it is important you start the process soon.
UC Berkeley and the Forest Service are holding 3 information sessions next week:
Monday (February 6) – Sonora, 3pm-5pm, Stanislaus National Forest, Register Here
Tuesday (February 7) – Nevada City, 1pm-3pm, Tahoe National Forest, Register Here
Thursday (February 9) – Redding, 1pm-3pm, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Register Here
Information on the Grant Program
The program remains very similar to last year when it changed significantly compared to previous years. Main points include:
• The program is focused on biomass to energy projects
• Equipment is not eligible for funding
• Grants will fund advanced engineering studies or similar
• $250,000 maximum grant per project
• Single step application process (mailing date March 1 2012)
Full information and application materials are on the FPL website.
Who should attend?
The grant program is of most relevance to organizations that are developing biomass to energy projects. The following entities may be interested in this workshop: power plants, project developers, National Forest System staff, other Federal agencies, forest-based businesses, contractors, rural communities, landowners, tribal entities, conservation groups, rural and urban economic development councils.
Topics:
• Background
• Application process
• Eligibility
• Obligations
• Timeline
• Assistance available to help with applications
• Questions
We will also include time to discuss other woody biomass utilization issues for those attendees that are interested.
Registration:
There is no cost for this workshop but advance online registration is appreciated.
Monday (February 6) – Sonora, 3pm-5pm, Register Here
Tuesday (February 7) – Nevada City, 1pm-3pm, Register Here
Thursday (February 9) – Redding, 1pm-3pm, Register Here
- Author: Gareth J Mayhead
Last week I was fortunate enough to attend two excellent meetings that focused on different aspects of forest products and biomass utilization. The first was the Restoring the West Conference held at the Utah State University Campus in Logan. The conference was sub-titled “sustaining forests, woodlands and communities through biomass use” and covered a wide range of topics ranging from forest and range management to marketing and biomass utilization technologies. The focus was very much on pinyon-juniper ecosystems found throughout the inland west including areas in California (such as east of the Sierra Nevada and the north eastern part of the state).
It is great to visit other geographic areas outside of California as it helps to put our situation and challenges with respect to forest ecosystem restoration and the utilization of woody biomass in context. California is lucky that it still has a forest products industry infrastructure. There are still 23 operational sawmills in the state along with 30 operational biomass power plants, and 7 other primary processing facilities (including veneer, panelboard and wood shavings). It is easy to forget how fortunate we are that some industry continues to exist in California and gives land managers options for material disposal that are simply not available in the interior west. We are also lucky that we deal with a variety of tree species that means that we have a choice of utilization options from sawmilling down to compost and electricity generation.
Presentations from the conference were recorded and I believe they will be available online soon.
On Friday I headed to Anderson for a workshop organized by the California Licensed Foresters Association on California’s Forest Products Markets. There was a significant focus on the export markets for logs which is having a major impact on west coast saw log prices. Prices for log export at west coast ports (including Samoa and Oakland) range from $500-$1100 per MBF. The major historical markets were Japan and Korea which allow export of logs with the bark on. In the past couple of years China has become the major player and requires the bark to be removed from the logs. There was an interesting discussion on the different business practices of the alternative markets. It appears that the Chinese market can be very volatile compared to Japan and Korea. It was interesting to hear descriptions of the Chinese sawmills where the logs go – they typically consist of two bandmills, lots of workers and no other mechanization. It was questioned how it is possible for them to make money based on Chinese lumber prices versus the prices paid in the US for logs and the transportation costs. The presenters were excellent and also covered topics such as the state and Federal log export bans, Forest Service Stewardship Contracting, distribution centers, transportation systems, specialty markets, electrical markets and carbon. It was a full day and very informative.
Links:
California Licensed Foresters Association
Restoring the West Conference
- Author: Gareth J Mayhead
Potential changes to Feed-in Tariffs (Public Utilities Code: 399.20)
Feed-in tariffs in California allow a small renewable electricity generator (including those fueled by biomass) to sell electricity to a utility at predefined terms and conditions, without contract negotiations. The current rules mean that there is no price incentive in the rate paid for electricity. Price is linked to the Market Price Referent (MPR) which the CPUC determines by the long-term ownership, operating, and fixed-price fuel costs for a new 500 MW natural gas fired combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant. Feed-in tariffs for renewable electricity in Europe are very different and include a price incentive in the tariff paid in addition to streamlined contract procedures.
A ruling was issued by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) on June 28, 2011, seeking comments on or before July 21, 2011 with respect to proposed changes to the program. This presented an opportunity to suggest changes to the program. Representatives from the broad forestry and biomass sector suggested changes that would make investments in smaller biomass to electricity facilities (less than 3 MW) economically viable. This is important in order to develop a viable market for the waste generated from ecosystem restoration projects on public lands and to help offset the cost of this work.
The next step will be workshop on the proposed changes that is to be scheduled by the CPUC soon. If the pricing for the new feed-in tariff is based on actual development, ownership, operating and fuel costs for small scale biomass to electricity projects then this could be a really exciting opportunity for community scaled facilities in the state.
UPDATE (September 19 2011)
The CPUC has scheduled a workshop for September 26th at the Commission Auditorium (505 Van Ness, San Francisco) from 9am-5pm. Workshop information here.
You can subscribe to the Woody Biomass Blog to be kept up to date on further developments with these and other programs relevant to biomass to electricity in California.
