Biomass - Energy Policy Analysis: A Conceptual Framework - page 168

Figure 9.4 The Costs of Utilizing Harmful Biomass Technologies

$

Environmental
costs

Dollar
costs

National security
costs

materials for using them are all readily available in the United States, often as wastes from other
economic activities. Use of beneficial biomass technologies results in no net increase in emissions of
greenhouse gases, will not produce climate change or sea level rise, and does not produce materials
or targets useful to terrorists. This is a significant advantage biomass holds over energy fuels or
technologies that may be acquired from foreign sources, may contribute to global climate change,
or may leave a legacy of long-term waste products or facilities that are attractive to terrorists.
Any national energy policy commitment to biofuels must be tempered by realistic expectations
about the scope of future biomass production. Biofuels derived from many resources can play a
role in reducing pollution contributing to climate change, while providing domestic substitutes for
petroleum feedstocks and fuels obtained from foreign sources. The federal Renewable Fuel Standard
calls for 21 billion gallons of advanced ethanol, which would require about 300 million tons of
biomass per year. Based on current estimates, this amount of biomass can be obtained from waste
products such as agricultural residues, forestry residues, and municipal and construction waste
(Perlack et al. 2005), without reliance on cultivation of food crops as energy crops, or exploitation
of new energy crops other than cellulosic biomass like switchgrass. Any significant expansion
beyond this level, however, must be based on a scientific determination that the required volume
of biomass can be produced in a sustainable manner. Biofuels will have to compete for biomass
with electric power generation, biogas and chemical production, and traditional agricultural uses
such as food, feed, and fiber. Unexploited biomass resources such as forests and prairies provide
natural environmental services including water purification, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling,