1/ Wood Pellet Fuel Essential to Decarbonization Goals
- There are many metrics showing that fossil fuel CO2 emissions are causing rapid changes in environmental variables, and the earth’s systems are unable to fully recycle CO2 emitted. Not only has there been steady warming, but in 2023, we may have crossed a tipping point that results in even more rapid change combined with increasing variability (more extreme highs and lows). If the future is going to be what we hope it will be, action is needed now.
- Over the next few decades, it is likely that energy storage solutions will be developed and deployed at a scale that will sufficiently buffer intermittent and variable supply, and keep the power grids stable most (not all) of the time. But at least over the next few decades, to make the transition to a decarbonized future as seamless as possible, the power grids will need CO2-beneficial generation that is on-demand and load-following.
- The use of wood pellet fuel produced from perpetually renewing biomass solves part of that problem. Existing coal-fueled utility power stations can, with relatively low cost and little downtime, make modifications and replace coal with wood pellet fuels produced from perpetually renewing (not depleting) sources. The result is renewable electricity that can be generated on demand.
2/ Wood Pellet Fuel: an Energy Dense Storage Solution
- The idea that forests will be net-positive CO2 sinks forever is wrong. They will always reach saturation. But if well managed, they can be continuously used without lowering the net quantity of carbon they are storing. If the stock of biomass is not depleted over time, excess CO2 is not created and thus cannot accumulate in the atmosphere. For forest biomass, if the quantity of wood in the landscape is not depleted (i.e., the removal rates never exceed the growth rates) the quantity of CO2 released from any wood that is combusted is less than or equal to the quantity of CO2 captured. This logic only works if the resource is continuously and perpetually renewing. Sustainability is the absolute necessary condition for the use of wood pellet fuels as a carbon beneficial coal replacement in power generation.
- The vast majority of the primary harvest of woody biomass for forest products industries is not for the production of wood pellet fuels. The primary users are sawmills (lumber, flooring, furniture, etc.) and pulp and paper mills (printing paper, cardboard boxes, toilet paper, etc.). These mills have been operating in some locations for more than a century because they only take in an amount of wood each year that is less than or equal to what grows in the working forests around them. The mills can, if well maintained, essentially operate forever. Properly managed wood pellet mills benefit from the same forest resource stewardship.
- Forests cover approximately 31% of the world’s land surface, about 4 billion hectares. Clearly, only a portion of the world’s forests are used to supply the forest products industries—about 30%, according to the FAO. Based on the estimate of how much of total North American primary harvest becomes wood pellets—4.5%—and using that proportion to estimate global GWh that could be in wood pellet fuel, more than 1.55 million GWh could be moved from forest storage into wood pellet fuel every year without depleting forests and the carbon stock held in the forests.
- BloombergNEF forecasts that there will be about 1,880 GWh of long-duration energy storage by 2030. Based on forests that are already managed for producing wood for lumber, paper, etc., and only using 4.5% of that material to produce wood pellet fuel, there is potential today for wood pellet fuel to deliver 826 times more stored energy per year than all of the energy storage solutions forecast for 2030. If bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is added to the analysis, that stored energy is not only put to use to help keep the electricity grids stable, but the stored carbon is permanently removed from the atmosphere.
3/ Key arguments include:
- Wood pellets as a bridge fuel: They can replace coal in existing power plants, providing a relatively quick and cost-effective way to reduce carbon emissions while maintaining reliable power generation.
- Sustainability: The article emphasizes the importance of sustainable forestry practices to ensure that wood pellet production does not deplete carbon stocks.
- Energy density: Wood pellets offer a high energy density, making them an efficient energy storage solution compared to other options like batteries.
- Scale potential: The global forest resource base is vast, and the potential for wood pellet production is significantly larger than current energy storage forecasts.
Overall, the article positions wood pellet fuel as a valuable tool in the decarbonization process, capable of providing both immediate and long-term benefits to the energy system.
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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OVERC was established in Vietnam, which has 17 FTA (Free Trade Agreement).
Vietnam is one of the countries with the most FTAs in the world.
Our main activities are manufacturing and distributing Wood Pellets and Wood Waste. Our wood pellet products, which are made from Acacia veneer residual 100% or wood waste (logs, sawdust, wood chips, wood shavings,…), have been exported to many countries around the world such as Japan, Korea, EU, etc.
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