A14
Outdoors
wallowa.com
January 4, 2017
Economics of forest biomass raise
hurdles for rural development
Oregon State University
Department of Forestry
CORVALLIS — The use of residu-
al forest biomass for rural development
faces signifi cant economic hurdles that
make it unlikely to be a source of jobs in
the near future, according to an analysis
by economists at Oregon State Universi-
ty.
In a model of the forest industry, re-
searchers in the College of Forestry com-
bined an evaluation of costs for collect-
ing, transporting and processing biomass
with the potential locations of regional
processing facilities in western Oregon.
Each location was chosen because it is
adjacent to an existing or recently-closed
wood product operation such as a saw-
mill or plywood manufacturing plant.
The study, published in Forest Poli-
cy and Economics, focused on biomass
generated during timber harvesting op-
erations. Biomass consists of branches
and treetops that are generally left in the
woods or burned. In some highly acces-
sible locations, these residues are ground
up or chipped and used to make a product
known as “hog fuel.”
“There’s a lot of interest in focusing
on the use of biomass to meet multiple
objectives, one of which is support for ru-
ral communities,” said Mindy Crandall,
who led the research as a doctoral student
at Oregon State and is an assistant profes-
sor at the University of Maine.
“We thought this might provide some
support for that idea,” she said. “But from
a strictly market feasibility perspective,
it isn’t all that likely that these facilities
will be located in remote, struggling rural
communities without targeted subsidies
or support.”
While researchers don’t dismiss the
possibility of reducing costs by increas-
ing the effi ciency of biomass operations,
the future feasibility of such develop-
ment may depend on public investments
and the creation of new markets. And
Photo courtesty Oregon State University
Research by Oregon State University
notes that rural areas will be limited if
they pivot to a forest biomass economy.
while the study considered the possibility
of generating biomass from restoration
or thinning operations on federal forest-
lands, it concluded that the additional
supply does little to change the economic
feasibility of processing facilities.
It would take changes in technology
from transportation to processing as well
as the development of new value-added
products — such as aviation fuel and in-
dustrial chemicals — to improve the eco-
nomic feasibility of biomass, scientists
say.
The study may be the fi rst to combine
a model of biomass operations with spe-
cifi c locations for regional processing fa-
cilities where the material could be pro-
cessed and stored. Researchers identifi ed
65 likely locations in western Oregon for
such facilities, which they call “depots.”
The cost of harvesting, chipping and
loading biomass at timber harvesting
sites comes to about $37.50 per dry ton,
researchers estimated. Operating costs of
a regional depot — including labor, fuel,
maintenance, electricity and supplies —
would add another $11 per dry ton. These
estimates do not include transportation
and depot construction.
“The actual levels of these costs that
operators experience will be really critical
to feasibility,” added Crandall.
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Researchers have explored the poten-
tial for biomass to be used to make avi-
ation fuel, said John Sessions, an OSU
professor of forestry who did not take part
in this analysis. Sessions has studied the
use of forest harvest residues to produce
aviation fuel in a project led by Wash-
ington State University. While it is tech-
nically possible, the economic feasibility
of making aviation fuel from biomass
would depend on generating income from
co-products as well. The fi rst commercial
airline fl ight using aviation fuel made
from forest harvest residues was fl own by
Alaska Airlines last month from Seattle
to Washington, D.C., said Sessions, using
residues from this project.
Other effi ciencies in biomass process-
ing and transportation could improve eco-
nomic feasibility, added Sessions. They
include reducing its moisture content and
increasing its density to reduce trucking
costs. The scale of processing facilities
could be adjusted to minimize the cost
per ton.
Crandall and her colleagues estimated
that a depot operating three shifts per day
and producing 75,000 dry tons per year
would create about 19 jobs.
They also considered the possibility
that an increase in material from feder-
al forests would make a difference, but
transportation costs would rise because
such lands tend to be remote from likely
depots.
“Just like with real estate, it’s ‘loca-
tion, location, location’ that matters here,
and national forest lands are not uniform-
ly distributed across the landscape,” said
Darius Adams, co-author on the paper.
“They are frequently in less accessible
areas, and it would cost more to transport
material.”
The potential for biomass, the re-
searchers said, will likely depend on the
ability to achieve other aims in addition to
generating biomass as a product: wildfi re
risk reduction, forest restoration, energy
and rural economic stimulus.
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K NOCKING ON WOOD
Steve Tool/Chieftain
This Pileated Woodpecker is looking for some snacks in
this pinte tree at the foot of Mt. Joseph on the morning
of Dec. 29.
GOMES
Continued from Page A7
“We’re real excited to have
Cole as a fi eld shooter this
year,” she said. “He’s gung-ho
... he hunts, he’s going back
for more state competitions.
He’s on fi re for the sport and
he has a real passion for it.”
Gomes said he got into ar-
chery after watching his sister
OUTLAWS
Jennifer brings 17 years of
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Wallowa County Chieftain
Continued from Page A7
“Shane (Lund) had a real-
ly great match against a kid
from Pendleton, he won the
match 9-8 for the champi-
onship,” said Farwell. Cole
(Farwell) had a great match
against a kid from Mac-Hi
in the semifi nals that he won
4-1 after being down 1-0
with 30 seconds left.”
Cole Farwell injured
his knee during the match,
which forced a forfeit for the
championship match.
and brother-in-law became
consumed with the sport. It’s
also how he became familiar
with the La Grande store.
The young archer said he
applied for the position in
October, not thinking he had
a shot.
“You have to think that
they have other kids applying
for it. I plan to do a good job
for them so I can reapply next
year,” he said.
The Eagles placed 11th
in the Pomeroy tournament,
scoring 58 points. Coach Tim
Kiesecker was unavailable
for comment.
Pomeroy Tournament top
three places: 106 lbs. 2. Ken-
nisen Knifong, Ent. 3. Ste-
ven Beckman, Jos. 113 lbs.
1. Shane Lund, Ent. 126 lbs.
1. Cole Farwell, Ent. 182 lbs.
2. Riley Warnock, Joseph.
Rollin Schimmel Tour-
nament top four places: 113
lbs. 1. Shane Lund, Ent. 126
lbs. 2. Cole Farwell, Ent.
183 lbs. 4. Jonny Sarbacher,
Ent.
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This week’s Athlete of the
Week is Enterprise High School
senior Tiffanie George. During
the Outlaws 42-22 win over
Tri-City-Prep on Dec. 29.
George was one of several
players leading the team
scoring with 12 points,
including one three-pointer.
George, 18, also participates
in volleyball, track and the
Future Farmers of America
along with making regular
appearances on the school’s
honor roll.
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Tiffanie
George