Smoke billows from smokestacks and a coal fired generator at a steel factory in the industrial province of Hebei, China. Researcher Vaclav Smil argues that steel, concrete, ammonia, and plastics are "four pillars of modern civilization" that require large amounts of fossil fuels to produce, and so will make efforts to quickly wean the world from fossil fuel difficult. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
When burning wood to generate energy makes climate sense
By Robert Abt, Christopher Galik, Justin Baker, May 10, 2022
https://thebulletin.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Abt-Feature-Image-150x150.jpg
Smoke billows from smokestacks and a coal fired generator at a steel factory in the industrial province of Hebei, China. Researcher Vaclav Smil argues that steel, concrete, ammonia, and plastics are "four pillars of modern civilization" that require large amounts of fossil fuels to produce, and so will make efforts to quickly wean the world from fossil fuel difficult. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
Loading...
Together, we make the world safer.
The Bulletin elevates expert voices above the noise. But as an independent nonprofit organization, our operations depend on the support of readers like you. Help us continue to deliver quality journalism that holds leaders accountable. Your support of our work at any level is important. In return, we promise our coverage will be understandable, influential, vigilant, solution-oriented, and fair-minded. Together we can make a difference.
Keywords: BECCS, Carbon emissions, Drax, bioenergy carbon capture and storage, biomass, renewables, wood pellets
Topics: Analysis, Climate Change
Robert Abt
Robert Abt is professor emeritus at NC State University where he taught natural resource management and forest economics. He has a... Read More
Christopher Galik
Christopher Galik joined NC State in August 2016 in Sustainable Energy Systems and Policy. Galik is an associate professor in the... Read More
Justin Baker
Justin Baker is an associate professor of Forest Resource Economics at NC State University and director of the Southern Forest... Read More
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
I’m a proponent of the use of biomass, especially wood gasification for more than 50 years.
Mainly for the combined production of electricity and heat.
Lately, it becomes more and more the link between the intermittent sources of solar and wind energy production.
Keep up the good work, except do not promote more nuclear energy production. We have already over 1600 metric tonnes of highly radioactive waste, on this earth, and nobody has a real solution to what to do with it, for the next 100 000 years.