BECCS: Converting Wood To Energy In The 21st Century

[Author’s Note: Readers here will know I’ve been a skeptic and critic of the practice of cutting forests to acquire wood to burn for energy. Readers will also know I’m always looking to learn more about these alternative energy sources that are going to be a growing part of our energy mix, for better or worse.

So, when an opportunity arose recently to interview a senior executive at Drax, a company that produces wood pellets for use in biomass generation plants, I jumped at it as a learning opportunity. In this story also posted at Forbes.com, I share what I learned.]

The practice of burning wood for energy generation has seemed like an anachronism in the 21^st century to many, including, frankly, myself. After all, one of the main reasons why England shifted to burning coal for cooking and heating purposes beginning in the 16^th century was due to the rampant depletion of the country’s forests, to such an extent that wood for fuel had actually become a scarce resource.

That was an age during which the clear-cutting of forests for energy purposes was ungoverned by regulatory structures that exist across much of the world today. Though we still see instances in which old growth forests are cultivated for energy generation in developing and even some developed nations, by and large the practice allowed in most of the developed world involves the accumulation of waste from sawmills and forest residuals that is then converted into wood pellets.

Those pellets become fuel for power generation facilities as a cleaner alternative to coal. In fact, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, some U.S. coal plants currently burn wood chips along with their coal in order to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions.

Drax, a renewable energy company based in the United Kingdom, has been engaged for decades in the manufacture and supply of wood pellets for use in biomass power generation for customers in Europe and Asia. While Drax has also maintained operations in the United States for years, the company recently announced the establishment of U.S. headquarters in Houston, Texas, from which it will manage plans to expand operations into the Southeastern United States.