Impact of woody biomass production and biopower generation on US forests

Abstract

This dissertation presents a study of environmental impact of woody biomass production and consumption on the eastern US forests. The first part is concerned with the impact of the exponential growth in trading of US pelletized wood fibers triggered by implementation of the European Union Renewable Energy Directive. We develop a panel data model with spatially dependent sample to assess variability in fundamental attributes for timberland structure and carbon stocks within procurement landscapes of wood pellet mills in the eastern US. In addition to the booming export market for US wood pellet, there has been a growing woody biomass domestic market for electricity generation in recent decades. The second part is a systematic assessment of associations between biopower generation, and selected timberland structure indicators and carbon stocks across areas surrounding wood-using and coal-burning power plants in the eastern US. Woody biomass is considered as a carbon neutral and sustainable source of energy that can be used in many coal-burning facilities to reduce the carbon footprint in the electricity sector. The last section provides a multi-objective optimization model to find the minimum cost of generating biopower that satisfies sustainability constraints as well as projected biopower demands under multiple policy scenarios in the eastern US. We studied potential federal policy interventions in 2035 that could be considered for decarbonization of the US power sector, including policies aimed at supporting an expanded role for biomass co-firing at existing coal-fired electric generating units.