Fuel supply planning for small-scale biomass heating systems.

Abstract

The Fuels for Schools and Beyond initiative partners have gained experience assisting with installation and fuel supply planning for woody biomass heating systems in six western states. In attempting to use forest management waste or slash that would otherwise be piled and burned, the partners are promoting changes in currently available biomass systems technology and current forest practices. The many benefits of forest biomass heat can be realized today with careful communication about fuel supply specifications. Guidance based on the partners' experience in fuel supply planning and defining fuel specifications is presented. F uels for Schools and Beyond (FFSB) partners promote and facilitate the use of forest biomass for heat, electricity, and cooling in small- to medium-scale facilities. Our goats include replacing fossil Fuels with renewable biomass, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, fostering local economic activity, lowering energy costs, reducing dependence on Foreign fuels, reducing emissions from open burning, and using material that is often wasted. in Montana alone, about 1.5-2 million green to of slash front management is burned in open piles annually (Brian Long, pers. comm., Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conserva- tion (DNRC), 2007). Although proven technology exists for woody biomass heat and energy systems, they are uncommon in the United States, outside the industrial wood products sector. Most of the small-scale systems that are in place have historically relied on bole- wood waste from wood products manufacturers for fuel (Sherman 2007). The use of forest slash and other underutilized wood as fuel thus typically requires building a new energy sector, including local fuel production and distribution infrastructure. This article de- scribes our approach toward that endeavor and provides guidance on fuel supply planning for woody biomass burning facilities. Background FFSB is a partnership between State and Private Forestry (S&PF) in the Northern and Intermountain Regions of the US Forest Ser- vice and six state foresters from Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. Another primary partner is the Bitter Root Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Area in Hamilton, Montana. Other RC&Ds, private businesses, and non- profit organizations have assisted with projects also. After the fire season of 2000, in which over 350,000 ac in the Bitterroot Valley burned, the US Forest Service began delivering funding under the National Fire Plan for hazardous fuels reduction,