Study: Biomass suited for heating, not electricity

Producing energy from forest biomass makes sense for replacing oil heat but is not favorable when it comes to electricity, according to a new study commissioned by the commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The six-month study of issues associated with biomass sustainability and carbon policy was conducted by a team of scientists and policy experts led by the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences.

The study found that the use of biomass for heating and combined heat and power facilities would result in a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 relative to oil.

But biomass-fired electricity would actually result in a 3 percent increase in emissions over coal-fired electricity in 2050, according to the study, commissioned by the state Department of Energy Resources.

Under the Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act, the state must reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the economy by 80 percent by 2050.

Read more in Mass High Tech.