In the discussions about biomass in Cook County, we have been told there will be no problem with plenty of biomass available. I am skeptical and fear a scenario where logging is pursued solely to provide the fuel for a biomass facility.
In an article in the September-October 2012 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer, Everyone’s Farm Bill, there is a statement about ethanol that could end up applying to biomass. A farmer says he originally invested in a local ethanol plant as a way to market excess corn. But he and other early supporters of the industry never foresaw how it would not only gobble surplus corn but also drive farmers to plant every last acre to the crop.
Yes, there are some logs rotting in the forest but that is what happens in forests, in healthy forests too. Don’t overestimate the amount of fuel available.
Dan Nelson
Crystal, MN
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