Testimony of Joan L. Pellegrino, Acting President
Biomass Energy Research Association
ON BIOBASED PRODUCTS AND BIOENERGY RESEARCH
USDA Forest Service Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Appropriation
Submitted to the Senate Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies
April 11, 2006
This testimony pertains to the Biomass Energy Research Association’s (BERA)
recommendations for fiscal year 2007 (FY07) in support of appropriations for the USDA’s
Forest Service (USDAFS) to support bioenergy-related R&D under the President’s Healthy
Forest Initiative and through the USDAFS Forest Products Laboratory. Both activities are
conducted under the auspices of the Natural Resources and Environment program of the
U.S.D.A. BERA recommends that $56,000,000 be appropriated for these efforts in FY07.
A separate statement has been prepared for submission on other biomass energy RD&D
performed by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy (EERE) under the Energy and Water Development Bill. Specific line items for the
USDAFS budget are as follows:
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$35,000,000 under the President’s Healthy Forest Initiative for the reduction of
hazardous fuels via removal of forest thinnings, waste and underbrush.
$5,000,000 to continue the Biobased Products and Bioenergy Research (BPBR) program
of the USDAFS Forest Products Laboratory.
$1,000,000 to collect and consolidate the results of two decades of R&D conducted at the
DOE on utilization of forestry energy sources.
$5,000,000 to develop and implement an integrated R&D plan for forestry-derived
bioenergy.
$10,000,000 for industry cost-shared energy plantation demonstration projects
BACKGROUND
On behalf of BERA’s members, we would like to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity
to present the recommendations of BERA’s Board of Directors for the high-priority programs
that we strongly urge be continued or started. BERA is a non-profit association based in the
Washington, DC area. It was founded in 1982 by researchers and private organizations
conducting biomass research. Our objectives are to promote education and research on the
economic production of energy and fuels from freshly harvested and waste biomass, and to serve
as a source of information on biomass RD&D policies and programs. BERA does not solicit or
accept federal funding for its efforts.
There is a growing realization in our country that we need to diversify our energy resources and
reduce reliance on foreign oil. Economic growth is fueling increasing energy demand and
placing considerable pressure on our already burdened energy supplies and environment. The
import of oil and other fuels into the United States is growing steadily and shows no sign of
abating. Industry and consumers both are being faced with rapidly rising costs for petroleum and
natural gas, which are vital to our economy. A diversified energy supply will be critical to
meeting the energy challenges of the future and maintaining a healthy economy with a
competitive edge in global markets. The recently announced Biofuels Initiative at the DOE
provides funding to support the use of cellulosic biomass as a feedstock for ethanol, including
wood and forestry resources, with the potential to replace as much as 30% of domestic gasoline
demand in 2030. We support this Initiative and believe it will help to accelerate the use of this
important energy resource.
Forest biomass energy plantations that provide feedstocks for forest biorefineries producing
paper products as well as fuels and biopower could make an important contribution to our energy
supply while providing a boost for rural economies and reducing wildland forest fires. In
addition, wood can be used instead of petroleum and natural gas to produce many high-value
products such as plastics and chemicals. However, targeted research is needed to make this a
reality.
BERA RECOMMENDATIONS FOR USDA FOREST SERVICE R&D
The Bioenergy/Bioproducts Initiative, which was created as a result of “The Biomass Research
and Development Act of 2000,” and Title IX of the Farm Bill, sought to triple U.S. usage of
bioenergy and biobased products. A strategic plan was developed to reach this goal by the multiagency Biomass Research and Development Board (BRDB) co-chaired by the Secretary of
Energy and the Secretary of Agriculture. To meet goals for bioenergy and biobased products,
substantial increases in biomass energy and fuel consumption are clearly needed. BERA’s
recommendations support several key areas that will contribute to the goals of sustainable
forestry as well as the creation of viable renewable resources as part of a diversified energy
supply. Specific programs are recommended as follows.
Recommendation 1: Support the President’s Healthy Forest Initiative: Reduction in
Hazardous Fuels via Forest Waste Recovery for Fuel and Feedstocks
Large, repetitive, wide-spread losses have occurred in the Nation’s forests over the last several
years because of wild fires. Such fires are supported by the accumulation of dense undergrowth
and brush coupled with poor forest management practices, insect infestation and disease that
increase the number of dead trees, and other factors. As a result, loss and injury to fire fighters
and others, large property, financial, and esthetic losses, and environmental harm have occurred
in commercial as well as private and federally owned forests. BERA believes that this problem
can be optimally addressed by conducting a targeted RD&D program to develop economic,
practical methods for collection and removal of forest wastes, underbrush, and small-diameter
tree thinnings, for the purpose of using them as energy resources. Forest wastes could be
combined with large-scale forest biomass energy plantations to provide fuel and feedstocks for
forest biorefineries producing fuels and high-valued products. Funding should be provided to
start an RD&D program in this area as soon as possible. This is essential to the long-term
sustainability of the forest and biomass energy industries in North America and to help reduce
and displace fossil fuel consumption.
Recommendation 2: Continue to Conduct Wood-based Feedstock Research at the USDAFS
Forest Products Laboratory
Critical research to develop, plant, grow, and manage energy crops, particularly forest biomass,
for conversion to cost-competitive energy and fuels, was once conducted by the DOE but has
since been terminated. DOE’s position is that other agencies (USDA) are better suited to handle
this research. While DOE’s feedstock production program has made significant research
contributions over the last 25 years, BERA strongly endorses the idea that the USDA should
assume responsibility for this program. The USDA has a long history in biomass production and
is recognized worldwide for its accomplishments in developing advanced agricultural and forest
biomass production methods. According to a recent study (Biomass as Feedstock for a
Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply,
DOE/USDA April 2005), woody feedstocks can make a substantial contribution (368 million dry
tons per year) and are an essential component of a large-scale industry producing affordable
biomass energy, fuels, and chemicals. BERA strongly recommends that RD&D on woody
biomass production for dedicated energy and feedstock uses be continued by the USDAFS
Forest Products Laboratory Biobased Products and Bioenergy Program(BPBR) under the Interior
and Related Agencies Bill. This program is developing new and more economical technologies
for the production, management, harvest, and utilization of woody materials for energy and highvalue products. The research is a natural complement to the forest waste recovery R&D that
BERA recommends be added to its overall program.
Recommendation 3: Collect/Consolidate DOE’s Research and Field Results
DOE has conducted an extensive forest biomass production program from the 1970’s up to
1992. This research included laboratory and field projects performed by academe, national
laboratories, research institutes, and the private sector. The program emphasized the
development and selection of special species, hybrids, and clones of trees, and advanced growth,
management, and harvesting procedures for dedicated energy crops. Research on short-rotation
tree growth and the screening of tree species in small-scale test plots was carried out in several
areas of the country. Depending on the geographic location, woody species recommended as
energy feedstocks from the test-plot results included hybrid poplars, willow, eucalyptus, black
locust, and others. In collaboration with DOE, BERA recommends that the results of these
efforts be collected and consolidated with those of the USDAFS efforts on woody biomass
production. A plan should also be developed for preserving the large amount of improved woody
crop clonal materials produced both by the USDAFS and the university collaborators of DOE.
Recommendation 4: Develop an Optimized RD&D Plan
BERA recommends that the USDAFS produce a 10-year, strategic RD&D plan that continues
the research necessary to obtain the data and information needed for optimization of methods for
recovering and removing waste biomass and small-diameter thinnings from forests and the
testing of their efficacy on preventing forest fires, to design forest plantations for different
regions of North America, including environmental impacts, and to integrate fire prevention
methods with forest biomass production. The management, growth, harvesting, storage, and
transport to hypothetical processing plants of both the waste and virgin biomass should be
included in this work. The resulting system designs should lead to industry cost-shared field
projects to demonstrate medium-scale, sustainable, forest biomass production and the removal of
residuals in several geographic locations.
Considerable progress has been made on the efficient production of short-rotation woody crop
and multi-crop systems. In addition, research on tissue culture techniques and the application of
genetic engineering methods to low-cost energy crop production have shown promise. This research should continue to be an important part of the R&D plan going forward.
Recommendation 5: Support Industry Cost-shared Plantation Projects
BERA recommends that industry cost-shared, scale-up projects of at least 1,000 acres in size be
installed and operated in different regions of the country as a forerunner to commercial energy
plantations in which dedicated energy crops are grown and harvested for use as biomass
resources. The results of this work will provide sufficient operating and capital cost data to
afford second generation economic data for larger modular systems and to perfect the design of
sustainable energy plantations. The scale-up projects should be strategically located and should
utilize the advanced woody biomass production methods developed in the research programs.
Successful completion of this work will help biomass energy attain its potential by providing the
data and information needed to implement the design, construction, and operation of practical
forest biomass production methods for sustainable energy plantations that can supply low-cost
feedstock for conversion to heat, steam, electric power, liquid and gaseous fuels, and chemicals.
During the first year of this program, FY07, site studies can be completed to facilitate the
selection of specific areas that are deemed suitable for energy plantation construction, and that
installation on at least one site can be started. DOE should be involved in this program where
appropriate so that their work on biomass infrastructure can be applied, such as the design and
operation of integrated biomass production and conversion systems.
Conclusions
Expansion of the USDAFS programs as recommended by BERA enables a considerably higher
probability of significantly increasing the contribution of biomass to primary U.S. energy
demand by displacing more fossil fuel usage and eliminating a national fire hazard. The key to
this eventuality is the deployment of technologies for producing and recovering low-cost virgin
and waste forest biomass for conversion to cost-competitive supplies of energy, fuels, and
chemicals. Forest biomass is the Nation’s and the world’s largest reserve of renewable carbon
resources. Without the availability of economically competitive forest biomass feedstocks, the
probability of tripling biomass energy consumption in the United States is doubtful. Ultimately,
this RD&D program is expected to lead to commercial, sustainable energy plantations that are
integrated with biorefineries supplied with forest-based fuels and feedstocks.