Is Harvesting Forests the Latest "Gold Rush" for Producing Energy?

First, let me address the issue of using trees as a continuous biomass source. An old friend of mine from the Pacific Northwest said that we should not make anything out of a tree that is consumed more quickly than it took to grow the tree. Strictly speaking, this means that we should use a tree that took a generation to grow, to make furniture that will last a generation. It also means that we certainly should not use that tree to make toilet paper. Although I don't go to the same extreme, I do think that in an emerging world economy, in which the United States does not want to compete in businesses that are based around cheap labor and cheap raw materials, we need to get the highest and best use from every acre of land and ton of wood (or other biomass material). I therefore question the idea that making a gallon of ethanol that cannot sell for more than a couple of dollars is as valuable as making a piece of paper or a piece of furniture.

There are reasonable arguments that certain varieties of trees will grow on marginal land and are perfect for use in biofuels, but may not work as well for other end uses. It can also be pointed out that there are capital intensive labor and environmental issues that have joined to put major pressure on the pulp and paper industry. These arguments are good, and may be appropriate in some places. However, the current push towards using wood from plantations and forests showcases what I view as a trend towards finding cheap raw materials that may be counteractive toward thinking creatively and finding the best end uses.

As an offshoot of this discussion, it should be noted that I fully applaud the effort to clean out the national forests. I have seen firsthand the devastation from forest fires and beetle kill throughout the West and think we need to determine ways to remove excess residues, as well as weakened and damaged timber. However, I am skeptical about developing capital-intensive infrastructure and long-term markets for these forestry residues. That is, unless they are to a scale that can be proven as an adequate ratio from the amount of forestry materials being produced. In other words, we now have a problem of excess timber residues because there has not been adequate clearing. However, at some point in the future, when this is cleaned up, what will be the amount of annual forest residues? The production of products from this should not exceed this amount.

I feel the same way about this issue as I do about developing a per-ton price for corn stover. Although, I am for harvesting excess stover, this support is qualified with the exception that the economics of the removal has to be built within the framework of a residue management program in which the financial benefits are built into a sustainable crop management system not a per-ton price. I believe that if a market for corn stover is based on a per-ton price, then there will definitely be excessive harvesting that will ultimately harm the soil by allowing erosion and discouraging the accumulation of organic matter.

I have one further remark that ties back to the initial idea of gold rush towards biomass-derived renewable energy. In response to this I can easily say I have never heard the words "venture capitalist" thrown around as much as I have in the last twelve months in response to the cellulosic ethanol boom. What those outside agriculture and forestry fail to realize is that even at its most profitable, the production of biofuels will still be a commodity business. Profitable, probably. But a wildly profitable tech play, probably not. The use of biomass residues, municipal solid waste, and forestry materials is a good part of a strategy toward renewable fuels and products. However, except for a few of the enabling technologies, it will not yield returns such as the pharmaceutical or biotechnology plays.

Pete Nelson is a principal in BioDimensions, a consultancy dedicated to helping companies producing plant-based products prosper. He can be reached by email at pnelson@biobased.org.