From Biomass Power to Energy
- Carrie Annand, executive director of the American Biomass Energy Association, announced the organization’s change from the Biomass Power Association. Annand discussed the process that ABEA went through in changing its name and the organization’s focus group findings about voters’ education—and the lack thereof—on bioenergy. The ABEA engaged a PR firm to assemble focus groups of standard voters and climate-concerned voters, she explained. The firm’s findings were that most voters did not know what biomass power was or had very little knowledge about it, which presents an excellent opportunity for education. She explained that when biomass is introduced with “the five Rs”—recover, recycle, repurpose, renewable and reliable—voters had a positive response.
- One of the focuses of ABEA’s policy agenda is advocating for eRINs, or electric renewable identification numbers, Annand explained. “One thing EPA’s proposal did was [to stipulate] that car companies will be the ones—call them OEMs, original equipment manufacturers—those entities will be the generators of the RINs, which was maybe a little frustrating to hear that it wouldn’t be the renewable fuel producers like how the program works for the ethanol industry,” she said.
- Additional topics discussed during the general session included a focus on education and thoughtful communication with the general public, the importance of firmly combating misinformation with facts, the exciting expansion of the RNG and biomass-based diesel industries, and the impact of advocating for the biomass industry’s many sectors with policymakers.
- The conference continued with innovation stage presentations and live podcasts on the trade show floor as well as two days of breakout panels with categories including biomass power and thermal, wood pellets and densified biomass, biogas and RNG, and advanced biofuels and chemicals.
Key Points:
- Name Change: The organization rebranded to better reflect the broader scope of its activities beyond power generation.
- Public Education: ABEA identified a significant gap in public knowledge about biomass energy and plans to focus on education and communication.
- Policy Advocacy: The organization is actively advocating for policies that support the biomass industry, including eRINs (electric renewable identification numbers).
- Industry Expansion: There is a growing focus on RNG (renewable natural gas) and biomass-based diesel as promising areas for industry growth.
- Diverse Biomass Applications: The conference covered a wide range of biomass applications, including power generation, thermal energy, pellets, biogas, and advanced biofuels.
Overall, the conference highlighted the biomass industry’s potential to contribute to a sustainable energy future and emphasized the importance of public education, policy advocacy, and industry innovation.
Note: The information in this article is for reference only and may change depending on the manufacturer and source of raw materials. For the most accurate information, you should consult experts, wood pellet suppliers or contact Overc.vn to answer your questions and problems related to wood pellets and wood chips.
Source:
- Biomass Magazine
- Overc Team synthesise, analyse and write articles.
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