Issue 7

Wood to Energy: An Outreach Program

The Southern United States produces nearly 60 percent of the Nation’s wood; projections show that it will continue to be the leader into the future. Many of these southern forests are located in the wildlandurban interface (WUI). As urban centers spread, large areas of once primarily contiguous forestland are increasingly surrounded by or with urban development; the South already has more cities with forests within 50 miles than any other part of the United States.

Biomass Sources in the Wildland-Urban Interface

The South is a prime location for using woody biomass to produce energy. The close proximity of forests to urban areas means a continuous source of biomass fuels without excessive transportation costs. Smalldiameter trees in many areas need a new market, since the pulp and paper market is moving offshore where fiber can be produced at a lower cost. Biomass energy producers near plantation forests can benefit from forest thinnings and commercial logging residues.

Urban wood waste from yard trimmings, municipal solid waste, utility line clearings, invasive plant removal, native plant restoration, and land clearing for development can also be used as biomass fuels. Providing a source of energy could add incentive for landowners to thin dense or diseased forests to mitigate forest fire risk. Short rotation woody crops are another potential source, as is debris from hurricanes and other natural disasters.

The "Wood to Energy" Program

In WUI communities where both the necessary technology and adequate supplies of biomass are available, there is still a need to educate concerned citizens, community leaders, and those who can supply and use woody biomass for energy production.

To meet this need, a biomass outreach program titled “Wood to Energy” is being developed through a partnership between SRS, the University of Florida, the Southern Region Cooperative Extension Service, and the Southern States Biobased Alliance of the Southern States Energy Board. The program is funded through the USDOE/USDA Biomass Initiative; its goal is to encourage the use of woody biomass for bioenergy production in communities at the wildland-urban interface in the 13 Southern States and Puerto Rico.

For more information:

Annie Hermansen-Báez at 352-376-3271 or ahermansen@fs.fed.us