Alternative Fuel Sources - Hydrogen and Fuel Cells: Advances in Transportation and Power - page 108

rich gas that can be used in place of natural gas. Another biomass plant
in Maine burns peat to produce power. In addition to trees, some smaller
plants, like the creosote bush, which grow in poor soil under dry condi-
tions, can be used as biomass. The biological materials that can be used as
fuel can be grown on otherwise unproductive land.
BIOMASS POTENTIAL
Developing biomass energy can provide economic, political, social
and environmental advantages. The energy potential of biomass has been
estimated at almost 42 quadrillion Btus which is about 1/2 of the total en-
ergy consumption in the United States. Biomass provides the U.S. with
about the same amount of energy as the nuclear industry.
Biomass can provide substitutes for fossil fuels as well as electricity
and heat. Its resource base is varied. Arid land, wetlands, forest, and agri-
cultural lands can provide a variety of plants and organic matter for bio-
mass feedstock.
Converting waste products to energy also lowers disposal costs and
provides cost savings in purchasing energy supplies. Profitability can be
improved by using waste to create energy. The sugar industry converts ba-
gasse to energy and sells excess power. Biomass facilities often require less
construction time, capital, and financing than many conventional plants.
Greenhouses, lumber mills, canneries, farmers, and manufacturers
can reduce energy and disposal costs by using their waste as feedstock
for energy systems. In Ireland, greenhouses for early tomatoes are heated
with biomass from willow wood. The willow wood fuel costs one third as
much as the oil it replaced.
In the Northeast alone, biomass accounts for over $1 billion in the
economy and almost 100,000 jobs. Biomass production offers crop alterna-
tives and the potential for increased income to farmers. Fields that are not
used in winter can produce biomass, and varying crops in the same fields
can help protect soil quality.
Biomass energy offers an increased supply with a positive environ-
mental impact. If grown on a sustainable basis, it causes no net increase in
carbon dioxide and the use of alcohol fuels reduces carbon monoxide emis-
sions. Biomass is renewable as long as it is grown on a sustainable basis.
Although the feedstocks are widespread, they must be used locally
since their bulk makes it costly to transport the feedstocks. In California,