BIOENERGY/BIOCHEMICALS:
State-of-the-art research and development in bioeconomy applications for forest products.
Moderator: Sandy Layman Lead Contributor: Jim Bowyer Contributors: Dave Chura, Eric Norberg
Jim Bowyer wrote:
Greetings!
As September draws nearer we need to spend a bit of time thinking about how to maximize our Sweden/Finland experience RE bioenergy and biochemicals. We for sure don't want to find after returning to Minnesota that we have forgotten to ask a critical question or failed to see a highly relevant site that was near to our planned routing.
Sweden and Finland have been in the wood-to-energy business longer than any other region of the world. Given that forests there are in many ways similar to those in Minnesota, our visit should afford us the opportunity to see fairly clearly what adoption of northern European bioenergy practices would mean to our forests. So, from my perspective, included among the gotta'-ask questions (and some of these are questions that we need to ask ourselves) on our upcoming trip are the following:
- Is what we see RE bioenergy production and use (within forests and across society) applicable to Minnesota? Why or why not?
- Is a matrix of wood-to-electricity, heating with wood pellets, district heating, generation of internally- used power by the forest products industry, and production of liquid fuels preferable to a strategic focus on one or two energy products?
- Were subsidies or other incentives used to get various bioenergy sectors started? How long were these in place?
- Who or what entity keeps track of past, present, and planned harvest volumes, including biomass for energy?
- What is being done to ensure that harvests to support liquid fuels/biochemicals production remain within sustainable limits?
- Is development of GMOs currently underway or being considered in conjunction with bioenergy development?
- Does the forest products industry view further development of biomass or biochemicals as a threat or an opportunity? Is this a change from earlier years?
- Is the forest products industry fully engaged in current bioenergy/biochemicals development, or are such developments being led by other industries or financial interests?
- How does the public view use of wood and forests for energy production?
- What would you do differently if you could reset the clock on bioenergy development?
There are undoubtedly more questions that we need to consider.
Please look these over and add your questions or suggested changes to what I have written. Hopefully within a few weeks we will have a fairly clear view of what we hope to see and learn.
Use the 'comments' function below please.
