Posted on 03/04/2019 5:54:38 PM PST by Hojczyk
BIOMASS: ANOTHER “GREEN” FRAUD I would have said that nothing could exceed the folly of wind and solar energy, but biomass may come close. This Vox article is headlined: “Europe’s renewable energy policy is built on burning American trees.” You no doubt have heard of “biomass,” but likely don’t know what it actually means. As the headline suggests, it mostly means American trees.
In the lowland forests of the American southeast, loblolly pines and cypress trees are grabbing carbon dioxide from the air right now. Using power from the sun, they release the oxygen and bind the carbon, building trunks, barks, and leaves.
But much of that carbon won’t stay there. As it turns out, millions of tons of wood from these forests each year are being shipped across the Atlantic, and burned in power plants in countries like the UK and the Netherlands, in the name of slowing climate change.
What goes on a “renewable” list depends entirely on political influence. Nuclear energy isn’t on the list, even though it emits no carbon dioxide. Hydroelectric isn’t on many “renewable” lists, either.
There are few bigger players in the biomass industry than Drax Group, whose flagship power plant in the north of England sucks up nearly a quarter of global wood pellet production, about two-thirds of it from the US. The UK has bought big into biomass, and Drax powers 10 percent of the British electric grid, in large part thanks to massive government subsidies: about $1.2 billion a year.
As always, the “green” world depends on subsidies.
Burning wood emits carbon dioxide, of course, but not as much as coal. (Much more, on the other hand, than nuclear or hydroelectric.) At the same time, trees absorb carbon dioxide–it is called photosynthesis, and
(Excerpt) Read more at powerlineblog.com ...
Natural Gas would be cheaper....but it is good for the lumber companies
“Burning wood emits carbon dioxide”
Zero emitter. The trees do store up that carbon, but when they die or are burned under controlled, or uncontrolled circumstances, they release that carbon.
Besides that. I will link to a manufacturer that installs bio mass wood chip plant to heat large buildings that cuts the cost over NG by quite a bit. They have even installed one that uses the exhaust of the steam turbine to heat the buildings as well as produce electricity.
(Coal, Gas, and Nuclear were over 85% combined, but we won't talk about that.)
Hydro was 6.5%, and Wind was 5.5%.
Kudzu only grows to the edge of the forest. Kudzu is a wonderful food for cattle. And Kudzu leaves can be dried and ground up into flour for baking. Kudzu can be given to alcoholics to lower the cravings for alcohol. And of course, I would never want Kudzu in my yard. The vine is invasive like krazy.
It may be wonderful food for cattle, but the cattle don't like to eat it. When I was young, I found an old magazine at my grandfather's house. This magazine discussed how wonderful Kudzu was going to transform the South. Since the only words I had heard linked to Kudzu were cuss words, I wondered what went wrong. My grandfather laughed and told me Kudzu is what happens when you let the experts make decisions.
My grandmother used to say that Kudzu was "the vine that covered the South" and she did not think it was a good thing.
Trash to energy is fine: Japan and Sweden are doing it quite successfully. The question is should it replace or supplement other sources.
I have a pellet stove for those California winter nights when it gets down to...45! And the cost of pellets has gone up as the EU uses them as a coal replacement. My best deal now is Canadian softwood pellets.
I have friends who burn corn.
It’s cheaper and burns hotter
Fifty years to once again sequester the CO2 as wood storage, for the acreage burned as fuel. It’s a false but feel-good ploy.
Just to clarify, the steam is in a closed system. The exhaust is not exhaust steam, which is I’m sure is condensed and recyled through the boiler. The exhaust is the air heated up by the heater exchanger on top of the boiler.
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