OSU study: Bioenergy production will increase emissions

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OSU researchers have found that harvesting biomass from Northwest forests will cause an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

A new study published over the weekend by researchers at Oregon State University suggests that tapping the region's forests as a source for bioenergy would increase carbon dioxide emissions from the forests by as much as 14 percent.

"On the West Coast, we found that projected forest biomass removal and use for bioenergy in any form will release more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than current forest management practices," said Tara Hudiburg, a doctoral candidate at OSU and lead author on the study, in a press release.

The authors of the study said that if emissions reduction is the goal, the use of biomass for energy will be counterproductive.

The news is potentially something of a hit to Oregon, which has put biomass and biofuel development high on its economic development agenda.

"It's good information but I don't think it really changes our perspective on economic development," said Nathan Buehler, spokesman for Business Oregon, the state economic development department. "We're looking through a wider lens and looking to create rural jobs."

The research is the largest and most comprehensive study done on the effects of biomass harvesting. It was done in conjunction with institutions in Germany and France, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and was published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Forests in high-fire areas, such as in eastern Oregon, were the exception to the higher-emissions findings, however. The research found that forests in high-fire areas don't sequester the carbon that healthy forests do. That factor, in addition to the fire danger, means that thinning those forests and using the harvest for bioenergy may reduce emissions.

In addition, Hudiburg said that the research did not look at the impacts of poplar plantations and their use in bioenergy, such as the poplars that will be supplied by GreenWood Resources to ZeaChem at its plant near Boardman. That program received a boost of federal funding last month to support research into the production of biofuels in the Northwest.

@SustainableBzOR | christinawilliams@bizjournals.com