Nianfu Song

Executive Summary: Forests of the Northern United States

This executive summary provides an overview of the 200-page report, Forests of the Northern United States, which covers in detail current forest conditions, recent trends, issues, threats and opportunities in the forests in the 20 Northern States. It provides a context for subsequent Northern Forest Futures Project analyses that will forecast alternative future scenarios and their potential impacts on forests and people in the North. Facts and figures cited in this executive summary come from numerous publications and online databases; specific sources and many additional details are included in the full report.

Woody biomass energy efficiency pathways: public policy implications

ABSTRACT Wood energy, energy derived from woody biomass, has historically been the largest source of renewable energy in the US mainly combusted for heating purposes. However, recent US public policy energy programs have promoted the use of woody biomass to generate electric power, placed less emphasis on heating and largely neglected efficiency considerations. We systematically examine the net useful energy (NUE) produced from one unit of woody biomass from different energy conversion pathways to gauge resource efficiency. Wood energy heat pathways consistently showed higher resource efficiency than electric power conversion did. Across energy pathways, estimates for high-efficiency heat production yielded about twice as much NUE than electricity-only generation per tonne of woody biomass. This result points to the importance of resource efficiency criteria in the design of public-supported incentives to maximize wood energy potential to replace fossil fuels.