Oregons Forest Cluster Economic Initiatives

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Forest Biomass Energy Opportunities on the South
Oregon Coast
Mike Cloughesy Oregon Forest Resources Institute
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Woody Biomass

• Material from trees and woody plants, including
  limbs, tops, needles, leaves and other woody
  parts, grown in a forest, woodland, farm,
  rangeland or wildland-urban interface environment
  that is the by-product of forest management,
  ecosystem restoration or hazardous fuel reduction
  treatment.
• (Oregon Senate Bill 1072)
• Oregon Senate Bill 1072 was signed into law by
  Governor Kulongoski in 2005 and took effect
  January 1, 2006. SB 1072 directs state
  government to take a greater role in federal
  forest planning and management and encourages
  greater use of forest residues for bio-energy
  facilities on federal and state lands and
  development of other forest products.

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Biomass Conversion Forest Cluster Opportunity

• OFRI Study Premise
• Woody Biomass could be harvested from
  overstocked, fire-prone forests and be used to
  make electricity, biofuels and other products
• Addresses three challenging Oregon needs
• restoring forest health, fire resiliency and
  wildlife habitat,
• finding renewable energy alternatives, and
• revitalizing rural economies

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Electricity is Best Bet Near Term

• 600,000 BDT/yr 81 MW _at_ 45/BDT or 6.5/kWh
• Integrated stand management
• Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
• Areas where Fuel Supply (biomass) /
  Transportation Access / Power Grid overlap

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Cellulose-to-Ethanol Mid-term Goal

• Production not yet Cost Effective
• Cellulase Enzyme Production
• Cellulosic ethanol - 85 efficient
• Corn ethanol - 20 efficient
• Crop residue such as grass straw can be used
• Most Research Based on Hardwoods
• Delignification of Conifers is expensive
• Market and Supply Experience Limited

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A Vision of the BioEconomy in the Year 2020
Biorefinery Cluster of biobased industries
producing chemicals, fuels, power, products, and
materials.
Source NREL
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Integrated Bio-Economy Has Many Facets

• End-Uses
• Products
• Plastics
• Functional Monomers
• Solvents
• Chemical Intermediates
• Phenolics
• Adhesives
• Hydraulic Fluids
• Fatty acids
• Carbon black
• Paints
• Dyes, Pigments, and
• Ink
• Detergents
• Paper
• Horticultural products
• Fiber boards
• Solvents

Source Adapted From Iowa Industries of the
Future, 2004.
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Bio-Fuels Are Environmentally Attractive
CO2
O2
Plants
Sugars
CO2
Energy
No net CO2 produced in the cycle.
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Forms of Bio-Energy Resources

• Wood
• Pulping liquor
• Municipal solid waste
• Organic materials in wastewater
• Landfill gas
• Biomass

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Potential Sources of Biomass Energy

• Energy crops
• Mill Waste
• Forest biomass
• Logging residues
• Restoration Thinnings
• Urban Wood Waste

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Available Acreage for Energy Crops
392 million acres of land in the U.S. is
potentially available/suitable for energy crops .
. . 55 million with high potential.
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Geographic Suitability for Energy Crops
Switchgrass, Reed canary grass
Hybrid poplars
Willows, hybrid poplar, silver maple, black locust
Corn, other ag. crops, ag. residues
Switchgrass, poplars, tropical grass, sycamore,
sweetgum, sorghum, black locust
Hybrid poplars, Eucalyptus
Switchgrass, hybrid poplar, silver maple, reed
canary grass, black locust
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
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Hybrid Poplar An Energy Crop

• Grown under short-rotation silviculture
• Produce 4-10 dry tons of wood/acre/year
• Achieve a height of 60 feet in about six years.
• Compares to yields of less than 1 ton/ac/yr for
  native forests and 2.5 ton/ac/yr for managed pine
  plantations.
• Planted at wide spacings ranging from 8 x 8 feet
  to 12 x 12 feet (300-700 trees/ac)
• Allowed to grow for 6-12 years before harvest.
• Thousands of acres in PNW for
• chips and solid wood

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Forest Biomass
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Estimated Potential Biomass by Source United
States
Source Perlack et al. (2005).
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South Coast Opportunities

• Biomass facilities and markets
• Highly productive forest land
• Mostly private forest land
• Stable timber harvest
• Under-utilized logging slash
• Slash burning is costly and not popular
• Hybrid poplar plantations
• Tan oak an opportunity

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South Coast Wood Products Facilities

• East Fork Lumber Company - Myrtle Point
• Georgia Pacific - Coos Bay
• Northwest Hardwoods - Coos Bay
• Roseburg Forest Products Coquille
• Southport Forest Products - Coos Bay
• WL Contractors - Myrtle Point
• Wilson Operations - Coos Bay
• Pacific Wood Laminates Brookings
• South Coast Lumber Company - Brookings
• Currently using biomass for process heat
• Currently using biomass for process heat and
  electricity

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Logging Slash South Coast Opportunity

• High site forest land
• Managed on a fairly short rotation
• Clearcut harvest
• Whole tree harvest with processing on landings
• Landing piles are available for chipping for
  biomass
• Transportation is the challenge
• Slash burning is costly and not popular

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Logging Slash as Biomass

• Waste/ non-merchantable material resulting from a
  timber harvesting operation.
• Includes tree tops, limbs, foliage, and
  non-merchantable logs.
• Limited markets for some small diameter timber
  for firewood, post poles, and chips.
• Vast majority is simply piled and burnt on-site.
  
• Key challenges are costs to gather, load, haul,
  and process the material as well as issues with
  segregating the various fractions wood, bark,
  and foliage.

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Tan Oak a South Coast Opportunity

• Native species grows in SW Oregon
• Large acreage in Curry County
• Limited markets for solid wood products and pulp
• Sprouts back prolifically after harvest or fire
• Fairly fast growth
• Could be harvested repeatedly for biomass

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Merchantable Logs Net Biomass in South Coast
Counties FIA Data
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Timber Harvest Potential Logging Slash in South
Coast Counties ODF Data
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Estimated biomass supply
1 million BDT of woody biomass capable of
producing

• 150 MW of electricity
• OR
• 63 million gallons of ethanol

410,000 BDT of woody biomass capable of producing

• 62 MW of electricity
• OR
• 26 million gallons of ethanol

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Conclusion

• The South Oregon Coast has great potential to
  develop as a center for biomass energy due to
• Infra-structure Mills Harvesters
• Large area of forestland
• Large standing volume of forest
• Plentiful available logging slash on landings
• Potential for Hybrid poplar plantations
• Potential for Tan Oak management for biomass