Woody Biomass from Forests and Fields

Timothy A. Volk, Thomas Buchholz, Philip Castellano, Lawrence Abrahamson and Lawrence Smart SUNY-ESF, Syracuse, NY
Heating the Northeast, April 29 - 30, 2009 Nashua, NH

Colleagues and Collaborators

SUNY - ESF Rebecca Allmond Dr. Tom Amidon Dr. Thomas Buchholz Dr. Kim Cameron Doug Daley Dr. Rene Germain Dr. Valerie Luzadis Dr. Lawrence Smart Dr. Ed White Graduate Students Godfrey Ofezu Amos Quaye numerous undergraduate students Academic Partners and Collaborators Agrifood and Biosciences Institute Cornell University Middlebury College SUNY Delhi University of Guelph University of Saskatchewan Industrial Partners Agricultural Development Services Case New Holland Honeywell International Dr. Larry Abrahamson Dr. Cathy Catranis Michael Kelleher Dr. Arthur Stipanovic

Michelle Serapiglia

Canadian Forest Service Michigan State University Montreal Botanical Gardens University of Connecticut University of Minnesota

AgroEnergie Catalyst Renewables Mesa Engineering

Antares Inc. Double A Willow OBrien & Gere

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Overview
Sources of woody biomass in NY
Woody biomass from forests - a NY example Willow energy crop production and economics
Effect of establishment costs, yield and policies

Assessment of regional woody biomass supplies

Lyonsdale case study

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Woody Biomass Feedstocks

Wood residues from primary and secondary wood product manufacturers

Low value wood from forests can be harvested sustainably

Willow biomass crops can be grown on under utilized open land

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NYs Forest Resources

18.5 million acres of forest land 15.4 million acres of timberland
774 million tons of standing biomass

How much woody biomass is

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technically available from timberland in NY? Make use of FIA and TPO data sources Report on a county by county basis

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Technically Available Woody Biomass from Forests in NY

Merchantable growing stock (59%)
70% of net annual growth current removals

Recoverable material from current harvesting

operations (15%) Assumes 65% of material collected

Non growing stock (26%)

Assumes 1% of this standing biomass is harvested each year
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Socio-economic Potential
Amount of technically available resource will vary
due to a range of socioeconomic factors: Perceptions and assessments of sustainability Market prices for other energy sources (coal, oil, natural gas) Prices for biomass for other uses (i.e. pulp logs, saw logs, pellets, firewood, mulch etc.) Landowner opinions and management objectives Incentives and policies that support renewable energy
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Willow Biomass Crops on Marginal Agricultural Land

Over 7.5 million acres of
agricultural land cover in NY About 1.0 - 2.0 million acres are under utilized Willow biomass crops could be an alternative crop for farmers and landowners Produces environmental and rural development benefits in addition to bioenergy and/or bioproducts

Land cover types in NY

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Why Willow?
High biomass production
Three-year old willow in Tully, NY
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potential Produces uniform feedstock Easily established with unrooted cuttings Resprouts vigorously after each harvest Limited insect and pest problems Wide range of genetic variability

Willow Biomass Production Cycle

Site Preparation Three-year old after coppice

Planting Harvesting One-year old after coppice

Coppice First year growth

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Early spring after coppicing

Three Year Old Willow Biomass Crops

Willow yields are typically 4 odt/acre/yr in the first rotation and 5 odt/ac/yr in subsequent rotations
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Willow Cash Flow Model

(Available to download from http://www.esf.edu/willow/download.asp/)

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Willow Biomass - Economics

Cash flow model for willow biomass crop production and
delivery to end user Allows for input parameters to be set by each user Includes all components of willow crop production from site preparation to delivery of biomass to end user Land rental Site preparation Planting, maintenance and harvesting 25 mile delivery of willow biomass Multiple harvests over 22 years Removal of willow crop at end of 20 years Assumes a $30/green ton price at the plant gate
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Economics of Willow Base Case

(Beta)

Yearly cash flow in $ per acre

1,000

Next Graph

500
US $/acre (undiscounted)

-500

-1,000

-1,500
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Year

16 17 18 19 20

21 22

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Economics of Willow Base Case

Accumulated cash flow in $ per acre
4,000
Realistic

3,000 2,000
US $/acre

Optimistic (Revenues +10%; Expenditures -10%) Pessimistic (Revenues -10%; Expenditures +10%)

1,000 0

-1,000 -2,000 0 2 4 6 8 10
Year

12

14

16

18

20

22

NPV: $209/acre
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IRR: 8%

Distribution of Expenses over 22 Years

Cost shares in %, undiscounted
100% 90% 80%
0%

7% 14%

Interest Stock removal Transport

70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

31%

Harvest Fertilizer

3% 24% 3% 18%

Establishment Administration Land cost and insurance

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Impact of Establishment Costs

2,000 Estab. costs in US$/acre
Establishment costs Project's IRR

14 12 10 8 6 Project's IRR in %

Establishment costs in Europe

have decreased by 30-50% as area planted to willow increased U.S. is benefitting from many of the learned lessons so reductions may not be as steep, but there are gains to be made Planting stock accounts for 60 80% of establishment costs

1,500

1,000

4 2

500 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2

0 0.25

Costs per cutting in US$

Changes in establishment costs and IRR with changes planting stock costs
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Commercial Planting Stock Production

Double A Willow, Fredonia NY
About 100 acres of willow nursery beds planted since 2005 Produced about 5 million cuttings in 2007/08 for biomass crops and for other applications Potential production of 15 million cuttings in 2008/09 Future production potential of about 30 million cutting 10 new willow varieties from SUNY ESF breeding and selection program

Shrub willows in nursery beds at Double A Vineyards, Fredonia, NY (www.doubleawillow.com).

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Planting Equipment
Step planter

Step planter introduced to US in 1999

by SUNY ESF Used to plant over 1,200 acres in the US and Canada Manufactured in Sweden so support and parts are difficult to obtain Working with local manufacturers to have units assembled in US Egedal planter introduced from Denmark to US by Dennis Rak in 2008 Less complicated unit with fewer moving parts Initial experience is positive

Egedal planter

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Impact of Establishment Costs

Lack of experience and
understanding of willow crop production results in establishment problems Cutting corners on site preparation results in higher not lower establishment costs! Paying rent for a year to control perennial weeds may cost $ 30 40 /acre One post emergence herbicide application can be $ 60 80/acre

Limited control options result in outbreaks of hard to control weeds like yellow nut sedge
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Harvester Development
Dormant season, single pass
cut and chip harvesting system based on New Holland (NH) forage harvester Trials over the past two years with a NH forage harvester and specially designed cutting head CNH has developing a new Short-Rotation-Coppice (SRC) header Field trials have been run in NY and WA and Europe Improvements in harvesting efficiency are being assessed

New CNH Short-Rotation Coppice header being tested in central NY in March 2009
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Effect of Increased Yield

Yield increase has a
25 20 15
IRR in %
IRR for 22 years IRR for 13 years

10 5 0 -5 -10
Biomass growth rate in odt/ac/year 3.0 5.1 7.1 9.1

Effect yield on IRR of willow biomass crops

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significant impact on IRR Base case scenario includes ~4 odt acre-1 yr-1 in first rotation and 5 odt acre-1 yr-1 in subsequent rotations Initial traditional breeding efforts have increased yields by 20 30%

Trials with New Willow Varieties

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Policy Incentive Options

Need for support to develop industry to a level where
benefits from economy of scale occur
CRP, CREP or biomass crop assistance program (BCAP)

Consistent and reliable support for R&D

Number of questions and unknowns increases as commercialization begins Need to be able to respond quickly to resolve problems
news of failures travels quickly multiple successes are required to change the perceptions generated from a single failure

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Economics of Willow With CRP

$35/ac for 10 years rental rate and 50% establishment cost share

Accumulated cash flow in $ per acre

5,000
Realistic

4,000
Optimistic (Revenues +10%; Expenditures -10%)

3,000
US $/acre

Pessimistic (Revenues -10%; Expenditures +10%)

2,000 1,000 0

-1,000 -2,000 0 2 4 6 8 10
Year

12

14

16

18

20

22

NPV: $942/acre
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IRR: 20%

Incentives
Investment is about $900/acre
$550/acre establishment grant + $35/acre for ten years

Potential biomass production

Yield of 5 odt acre-1 yr-1 for 20 years = 100 odt
Cost is $9.00/odt or about $4.50 per green ton with a yield of 80 gallon odt-1 cost is $0.12 per gallon ethanol

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Incentives
What acreage is needed to begin to capture
economies of scale Use 20,000 acres as an example Incentive cost for 20,000 acres over several years is $18,000,000 Small cost to launch a new home grown source of reneweable energy that has the potential to generate hundreds of new jobs, reduce greenhouse gases, generate taxes, increase landscape biodiversity etc.

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Biomass Crop Assistance Program

Biomass Crop Assistance Program in
Energy Title (Title IX) of Farm Bill A new program to support the establishment and production of crops for conversion to bioenergy in project areas Assist with collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of eligible material for use in a biomass conversion facility.

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Economics of Willow With BCAP

$40/ac rental rate and 75% establishment cost share

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Economics of Willow With BCAP

$40/ac rental rate and 75% establishment cost share

NPV - $1,036/acre
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IRR 26.8%

Assessment of Technically Available Woody Biomass Supply

Determine amount
of technically available woody biomass from forests and willow biomass crops available in 50 mile radius around Lyonsdale, NY
50 mile radius woody supply shed around Lyonsdale, NY
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Assessments of Technically Available Woody Biomass from Forests

1.5 million acres of forest
cover Remove forest land: preserves excessive slope small parcels classified wetland ~ 900,000 acres of timberland Potential production of 469,000 odt per year 65% of 50 mile radius assessment

Timberland within the 50 mile road network around Lyonsdale, NY

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Assessments of Technically Available Woody Biomass from Agricultural Land

518,000 acres of agricultural
land cover Remove land:
not classified for agriculture excessive slopes wetlands small parcels

~ 250,000 acres remaining On 10% of this land (25,000

acres) could produce 125,000 odt/yr
Agricultural land in a 50 mile radius around Lyonsdale, NY
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62.5% of 50 mile radius supply

Assessment of Technically Available Woody Biomass Supply

A total of 917,000 odt of woody
biomass is technically available from a 50 mile radius Using the 50 mile road network, 594,000 odt (65%) are technically available
469,000 from timber land 125,000 from willow crops

Willow biomass crops grown on a

land area that is 3% of the timberland area could produce 21% of the total biomass
50 Mile radius and road network around Lyonsdale, NY.
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Limitations of Technically Available Woody Biomass Supply

Missing the essential human

element or people factor from these GIS assessments
Who owns the land What are their objectives for the land now and in the future At what price would they be interested in producing biomass from their land
50 Mile radius and road network around Lyonsdale, NY.
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Biomass Supply Model Development

Collaborative project with CNY Land
Management and Farm Credit of Western NY Working with GIS data base developed for a 25 mile around Syracuse, NY Randomly selected a set of parcels that fit size and land cover criteria Visiting the properties

quick assessment of biomass production potential Interview with landowners about interest in biomass production

Using data to develop an economic

model that will provide cost supply curves for different sources of biomass

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Summary
A large amount of woody biomass is technically
available from forests in the NE U.S. Potential for large amounts of woody biomass from dedicated energy crops like willow biomass Support both forestry and agriculture is needed to develop these opportunities Need a much better understanding of the social and economic barriers to transform technical potential into woody biomass for heat, power, fuels and products

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Wheres the Northeast in all this?

Policy environment neither strongly supports nor undermines residential heat applications; little direct policy attention. Development of mature wood chip market harmed if renewable power and fuel from wood sources are non-renewable. In general, policy is being driven by concerns in other regions chiefly the far West and the South.

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Getting Our Region into the Discussion

We have formed a business alliance in New York State to supports the development of a biomass industry
Build public support and a sound policy environment for biomass energy Principles: technology neutral, scale neutral, feedstock neutral; all forms of biomass energy Vision is to make this a Northeast alliance; looking for champions in each of the New England States

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Acknowledgements
Honeywell International NY Farm Viability Institute NYS Dept. Agriculture and Markets NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) NYSTAR USDA CSREES USDA Rural Development
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