Outline of research proposals for Staney Community Forestry Project
1.
Project Title and personnel / collaborators
Residential and community building heating options for Prince of Wales communities using biomass removals from Staney
Creek young growth
D. Nicholls and others
2.
Rationale
Young growth management activities can generate a range of woody biomass types that can be used for fuels for
residential heating. For example, Staney Creek management could create biomass that would yield energy products such as
wood chips, pellets, firewood, and/or compressed wood products. Each of these energy products has a different set of
harvesting, transportation, and production costs. Further, biomass types can be produced in different volumes depending
on the tree size and stand structure in which forest management activities occur.
Therefore, there is a need to evaluate which types of wood energy products are most viable from Staney Creek activities
and to match this to the current and emerging wood burning technologies likely to be present on Prince of Wales Island.
For example, recent efforts in Alaska (Alaska Energy Authority) have considered the suitability of containerized wood
energy systems.
3.
Hypotheses/Goals/Objectives
Hypotheses and Research Questions
■ 1. what mix of wood energy products would be most appropriate for heating homes and community buildings on Prince
of Wales Island?
■ 2. what wood energy technologies would be best?
■ 3. what innovative approaches might be used to facilitate adoption of wood energy on Prince of Wales Island (for
example containerized pellet or cordwood burning systems)
■ 4. do scenarios exist in which it could be economical to import wood energy products to Prince of Wales Island? (similar
to wood pellet use at Sealaska Plaza in Juneau)
■5. could district heating systems be used to heat more than 1 building, and if so at what scale?
■6. how would increased use of wood energy on Prince of Wales island reduce greenhouse gas emissions, helping to
mitigate climate change?
4.
Approach
This project will evaluate the biomass volumes and form of biomass expected from Staney Creek management activities.
Based on these volumes, appropriate scales of operation and technologies will be assessed. Current bioenergy use on
Prince of Wales Island and likely trends will also be considered. We will also review past technical assessments of
cordwood energy potential (Miles 2006) to guide future research.
5.
Expected Outcomes
■ we will attempt to answer research questions 1-6 above with an emphasis on the feasibility of containerized wood energy
systems
6.
Budget and schedule
Budget- potential travel to Craig, Staney Creek and / or other locations on Prince of Wales Island (likely to be $5,000 or less)
Schedule- complete in approximately 1 year (fall 2010 – fall 2011)