2022 Biomass Magazine Issue 4

WOOD WASTE TO WATTS

08

EDITOR’S NOTE

Forest Waste to Fuel

By Anna Simet

DIESEL & SAF ROUNDUP

PREVIEW

ON THE COVER

Minnesota has approximately 17.4 million acres of forested

Outlets for dead and drying trees and other wood waste

crucial. In this photo, Ever-Green Energy performs sorting of woody

sent to St. Paul

FEATURES

10 WOOD WASTE

Minnesota Biomass Revival

For power plants in the state, the use of woody biomass is based more upon providing an outlet for the material than meeting the state’s renewable energy goals.

By Susanne Retka Schill

16 PROFILE

Power With a Purpose

Family-owned Novo BioPower is focused on improving the health of Arizona’s forests.

By Katie Schroeder

CONTRIBUTIONS

22 FEEDSTOCK

Pulpwood Paradise and the US South Pulpwood provides balance and diversifications to the forest products industry.

By Brooks Mendell

24 BIOCOAL

Biocoal Exports’ Potential Role in US Forest Restoration and Japan’s Decarbonization

U.S. forests could profitably produce a major portion of biocoal for Japan over the coming years.

By Hiroshi Morihara

SPOTLIGHTS

28 BRUNETTE MACHINERY CO.

Advanced Forestry Equipment

By Brunette Machinery Co.

Avenue North, Suite 304,

ANNA SIMET

Forest Waste to Fuel

The brilliantly colored leaves brought by Minnesota’s autumn are fading and falling. Mas sive, healthy trees abound my neighborhood and much of the town, but that’s not necessarily representative of the current state of all of Minnesota’s forests, which are in perpetual need of managing and thinning (an issue not unique to Minnesota). Notably, the emerald ash borer is contributing major volumes to the flow of wood waste in the state—which is home to nearly 1 billion ash trees—and our page-12 feature, “Minnesota’s Biomass Revival,” underlines just how crucial biomass- and waste-to-energy plants are for wood waste disposal. Says Ken Smith, CEO of Ever-Green Energy, subsidiary of the District Energy St. Paul, “We’re one of the very few outlets for that material. If we didn’t continue, there is no Plan B. There is no alternative.”

About 50% of the metro tree waste the facility takes in is EAB-infested. And while wood waste disposal is a critical function of the facility, using biomass there keeps $12 million in the local economy each year. Besides discussions with operators of biomass-using energy plants in the state, freelance writer Susanne Retka Schill chats with Eric Schneck of the Minnesota Forest Resources Council, which is supporting revived efforts to better utilize forest resources. This in cludes a resolution that promotes statewide fuel or energy standards for low-carbon, renewable biofuels from woody biomass and other feedstocks, as well as development of strategies and policies to attract new markets.

On that note of forest restoration and energy production, you won’t want to miss our page-16 feature, “Power with a Purpose,” in which staff writer Katie Schroeder interviews Brad Worsley, CEO of Arizona’s lone biomass plant, Novo BioPower. This feel-good piece lays out the history of the plant, and why the Worsleys felt compelled to keep this facility alive (and prof itable), while greatly contributing to the health of the state’s ponderosa pine forests.

While the aforementioned features are focused on wood waste to power, other end mar kets for this vast resource are quickly emerging, and I would be remiss if I did not mention the explosive renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) markets. Wood is a being eyed as a promising feedstock for the industry, the development of which may unlock previously uneconomical sources of forestry waste. You’ll find a roundup of recent renewable diesel and SAF news on page 6.

Finally, you may have noticed within the magazine—or online—that Biomass Magazine and Pellet Mill Magazine have launched a podcast platform (see preview on page 8). We’re always looking for new guests, so if you’re interested, please reach out.

EDITORIAL EDITOR

Anna Simet asimet@bbiinternational.com

ONLINE NEWS EDITOR

Erin Voegele evoegele@bbiinternational.com

STAFF WRITER

Katie Schroeder kschroeder@bbiinternational.com

ART

VICE PRESIDENT OF PRODUCTION & DESIGN

Jaci Satterlund jsatterlund@bbiinternational.com

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Raquel Boushee rboushee@bbiinternational.com

PUBLISHING & SALES

CEO

Joe Bryan jbryan@bbiinternational.com

PRESIDENT

Tom Bryan tbryan@bbiinternational.com

VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS/MARKETING & SALES

John Nelson jnelson@bbiinternational.com

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER/BIOENERGY TEAM LEADER

Chip Shereck cshereck@bbiinternational.com

ACCOUNT MANAGER

Bob Brown bbrown@bbiinternational.com

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Jessica Tiller jtiller@bbiinternational.com

MARKETING & ADVERTISING MANAGER

Marla DeFoe mdefoe@bbiinternational.com

2022 National Carbon Capture Conference & Expo

NOVEMBER 8-9, 2022

Iowa Events Center, Des Moines, IA

Produced by Carbon Capture Magazine and BBI International, the National Carbon Capture Conference & Expo is a two-day event designed spe cifically for companies and organizations advancing technologies and policy that support the removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from all sources, including fossil fuel-based power plants, ethanol production plants and industrial processes, as well as directly from the atmosphere. The pro gram will focus on research, data, trends and information on all aspects of CCUS with the goal to help companies build knowledge, connect with others, and better understand the market and carbon utilization.

(866)746-8385 | NationalCarbonCaptureConference.com

2023 Int’l Biomass Conference & Expo

FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 2, 2023

Cobb Galleria Centre, Atlanta, GA

Now in its 16th year, the International Biomass Conference & Expo is ex pected to bring together more than 800 attendees, 140 exhibitors and 65 speakers from more than 21 countries. It is the largest gathering of bio mass professionals and academics in the world. The conference provides relevant content and unparalleled networking opportunities in a dynamic business-to-business environment. In addition to abundant networking opportunities, the largest biomass conference in the world is renowned for its outstanding programming—powered by Biomass Magazine—that maintains a strong focus on commercial-scale biomass production, new technology, and near-term research and development.

(866) 746-8385 | www.BiomassConference.com

2023 Int’l Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo

JUNE 12-14, 2023

CHI Health Center, Omaha, Nebraska

From its inception, the mission of this event has remained constant: The FEW delivers timely presentations with a strong focus on commer cial-scale ethanol production—from quality control and yield maximiza tion to regulatory compliance and fiscal management. The FEW is the ethanol industry’s premier forum for unveiling new technologies and research findings. The program is primarily focused on optimizing grain ethanol operations while also covering cellulosic and advanced ethanol technologies.

(866) 746-8385 | FuelEthanolWorkshop.com

Please check

www.biomassmagazine.com/pages/webinar

Subscriptions Biomass Magazine is free of charge to everyone with the exception of a shipping and handling charge for anyone outside the United States. To subscribe, visit www.BiomassMagazine.com or you can send your mailing address and payment (checks made out to BBI International) to Biomass Magazine Subscriptions, 308 Second Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, ND 58203. You can also fax a subscription form to 701-746-5367. Back Issues & Reprints Select back issues are available for $3.95 each, plus shipping. Article reprints are also available for a fee. For more information, contact us at 701-746-8385 or service@ bbiinternational.com. Advertising Biomass Magazine provides a specific topic delivered to a highly targeted audience. We are committed to editorial excellence and high-quality print production. To find out more about Biomass Magazine advertising opportunities, please contact us at 701-746-8385 or service@bbiinternational.com. Letters to the Editor We welcome letters to the editor. Send to Biomass Magazine Letters to the Editor, 308 2nd Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, ND 58203 or email to asimet@bbiinternational.com. Please include your name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity and/or space.

Renewable Diesel & SAF Roundup

U.S. renewable diesel capacity continues to rapidly expand and is poised to surpass operating biodiesel capacity, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Sept. 30. Biodiesel capacity fell to 2.089 billion gallons in July, down 126 MMgy when compared to the 2.215 billion gallons of capacity reported for June and down 342 MMgy when compared to the 2.431 billion gallons of capacity in place as of July 2021. Capacity for renewable diesel and associated fuels, including re newable heating oil, renewable jet fuel, renewable naphtha, renew able gasoline and other biofuels and biointermediates, expanded to 2.089 billion gallons in July, up 142 MMgy when compared to the previous month. Capacity for renewable diesel more than doubled when compared to the 1.014 billion gallons of capacity in place as of July 2021.

CoBank in late September published a report that recognizes renewable diesel as the most exciting growth opportunity in the U.S. biofuels space, with proposed capacity increasing from approx imately 1 billion gallons in 2021 to 6.5 billion gallons by 2030. That level of capacity would equate to approximately 15% of today’s diesel market, according to the report. CoBank notes that it expects the recently signed Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to a be a cat alyst for biofuels sector growth over the next decade. Provisions of the law that are particularly beneficial to the biofuels industry include $500 million allocated to support biofuel infrastructure de velopment; the extension of the $1 per gallon tax credit for bio mass-based diesel through 2024; the newly established clean fuel production tax credit and enhanced carbon capture and storage credits/payments; and a temporary tax credit for sustainable avi ation fuel (SAF).

Mitsui Chemicals Inc. announced an investment in Apeiron AgroCommodities Pte. Ltd., rebranded and known as Apeiron Bioenergy. Apeiron Bioenergy is one of the largest collectors and sellers of used cooking oil in Southeast Asia and China region. Mit sui Chemicals indicated the investment will help the company ex pand its procurement of biomass raw materials as it looks to meet growing demand for biobased chemicals and plastics.

Earlier this year, Neste Corp. and Marathon Petroleum Corp. announced an agreement to establish a 50/50 joint venture to produce renewable diesel following a conversion project of Mar athon’s refinery in Martinez, California. The companies recently re ported that the required closing conditions have been met, includ ing the receipt of the necessary permits and regulatory approvals, and Neste and Marathon have closed the transaction for the estab lishment of the joint venture. To be called Martinez Renewables, the operation is slated to commence production in early 2023. The facility is expected to be capable of producing 2.1 million tons per year (730 MMgy) by the end of 2023.

OMV, an international integrated oil, gas and chemicals com pany headquartered in Vienna, Austria, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to supply SAF at Ryanair airports across Austria, Germany and Romania. The MOU agreement gives Ryanair unique access to purchase up to 160,000 tons (53 million gallons) of SAF from OMV over the next 8 years, starting in 2023.

Clean Fuels Alliance America has appointed Jonathan Martin of Ottawa Hills, Ohio, as its first director of economic and market analytics. Martin, most recently an economist with Mara thon Petroleum Co., brings 10 years of experience in oil and gas corporate economics to this newly created role. Martin has a bach elor’s degree in chemical engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana. He will be based in Ohio.

Imperial on Sept. 6 announced a long-term contract with Air Products to supply low-carbon hydrogen for Imperial’s proposed renewable diesel complex at its Strathcona refinery near Edmon ton, Alberta. Air Products will provide pipeline supply from its hydrogen plant under construction in Edmonton. Announced in August 2021, Imperial’s renewable diesel complex is expected to produce more than 1 billion liters per year of renewable diesel from locally sourced feedstocks.

Vertex Energy Inc., a specialty refiner and marketer of high-quality refined products, provided an update on the com pany’s Mobile, Alabama, refinery renewable diesel conversion project, including a strategic extension of the planned con struction timeline. As previously disclosed, Vertex is working on completing a $90 million-plus capital project designed to modify the Mobile Refinery’s existing hydrocracking unit to produce renewable diesel fuel on a standalone basis. Upon completion of the conversion project, the refinery is expect ed to commence production of approximately 8,000 to 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) of renewable diesel, with production vol umes anticipated to ramp up to approximately 14,000 bpd. Af

ter a thorough review of project execution risk by the company, mechanical completion of the conversion project has been pro actively extended from its initial target of year-end 2022, to the first quarter of 2023. These risk considerations are the result of recent COVID-19 induced product delays and global sup ply chain shortages in several previously unimpacted markets, including common pipes, valves and fittings, and certain base bulk materials, according to the company. Management expects mechanical completion to occur in the first quarter of 2023, with production anticipated to begin in the second quarter.

PHOTO: VERTEX ENERGY

PODCAST PREVIEW WITH ANDREW EASTMAN, HUSCH BLACKWELL

Andrew Eastman, senior council at Husch Blackwell, was a guest for Sea son 1, Episode 8 of the Biomass Magazine Podcast. Husch Blackwell is a national law firm with approximately 800 lawyers across 20 offices nationwide. Within the firm, Blackwell explains, there is a group called Energy Natural Resources, which is dedicated to green energy development, project and financing transactional work, and a sub-team dedicated to biofuels, biomass and biogas projects. Eastman is a part of this team, which specializes in representing developers throughout all stages of the project lifecycle, from concept to initial financing, to commercial operation and offtake.

BMM: So, have you been busy lately?

A.E.: Oh yes—busy and then some. And with enactment of Inflation Reduction Act, that will only increase.

BMM: We’re here today to chat about project contracts and financing. What are the foundational agreements of a biogas project?

A.E.: Any biogas project requires a couple of backbone, foun dational contracts to get off the ground and going. The first has to do with land rights. If you’re going to build a project, you need the rights to be on that project site, to build and operate. Those agree ments usually take the form of a lease or license form the landlord. You also need a complementary easement agreement, which lets you, your subs, agents and contractors be on-site, and it also allows

you to get across to adjacent or neighboring land for the purpose of interconnection. Those are the two things that get you off the ground and running. Once you’ve got those in place, the thing that needs to happen next is the feedstock agreement. If you’re deal ing with a livestock project, this is probably going to be a manure supply agreement, a landfill will be a gas rights agreement, and a wastewater treatment plant is going to be a comparable agreement ... those are really the three foundational agreements that are the basis for any biogas project.

BMM: Once you have those three in line, what’s next?

A.E.: Once you get those three just discussed, the next thing you’re looking for is an offtake agreement. It shouldn’t be longer than your gas rights or feedstock agreement. The reason for that is you don’t want to be stuck in a position where you’re obligated to sell gas for a longer time than you have the rights to receive or gen erate that gas. Once you’ve got those four contracts in place, you’re in pretty good shape to go get financing for your project. Those are the things that lenders, investors and financing parties are going to be looking for.

BMM: What’s the financing environment like right now for biogas projects?

in for Eastman’s response

Listen to the rest of the podcast:

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MINNESOTA BIOMASS REVIVAL

Urban centers are expecting the current onslaught of EAB-killed wood to continue, but lost infrastructure will need rebuilding for woody biomass markets to rebound.

BY SUSANNE RETKA SCHILL

Minnesotans are looking for a biomass revival—a combi nation of the growing move ment toward decarbonization, expectations of continued high natural gas prices, and the need to better manage the state’s forest resources. But first, they need to overcome hurdles left by shift ing policy impacts and earlier boom and busts. “Back in mid- to late 2000s, there was a surge of interest in trying to use woody biomass for bioenergy, biofuels and byproducts,” explains Eric Schenck, executive director of the Minnesota Forest Resources Council. A 2007 state renewable energy standard set a goal of 25% renewables by 2025, which sup ported early biomass projects. “At one time, three or four facilities were doing cogeneration using biomass for thermal

and electrical energy. There developed, in response, a forest products industry, with loggers and people harvesting bio mass, who bought equipment and got geared up to harvest and haul it. Then the market started to go away, and we had a bunch of people with equipment that had no use for it. A lot got sold out of state.”

The loss of the biomass market was partly due to economics favoring natural gas and partly policy driven, with federal policies restricting eligible woody bio mass and tax credits favoring wind and solar. In Minnesota, wind and solar be gan to fill the renewable energy standard goals. In addition, the state’s largest util ity had been required to purchase bio mass power as a condition for its nuclear power permit. When that was repealed

in 2018, only one cogeneration facility kept firing wood: St. Paul Cogeneration in the state’s capitol.

Urban Wood Resource

The St. Paul utility’s use of woody biomass is based more upon providing an outlet for urban waste wood than meeting the state’s renewable power standard, so it survived the policy shifts.

Hibbing Public Utilities power plant operators take a look into the fire chamber, where 3,000 tons of wood chips are turned into electrical power each day.

PHOTO: MARK SAUER, MESABI TRIBUNE

The facility, launched in the mid-1980s, began cofiring wood chips with coal in 1997 to provide heating and cooling to St. Paul’s downtown area through Dis trict Energy St. Paul. Cogeneration was added in 2003. The system generates 33 MW of electricity and provides heating and cooling for 33 million square feet of building space, which includes the state capitol grounds, downtown offices and

businesses, hotels and residential prop erties.

Today, woody biomass comprises about 50% of the boiler fuel, followed closely by natural gas. Fuel oil serves as a backup and a large solar thermal array supplies about 1% of the annual energy load. Coal is no longer used. The goal is to decarbonize entirely by 2050, says Ken Smith, CEO of Ever-Green Ener

gy, the District Energy St. Paul subsidi ary that manages St. Paul’s system along with nine others in five states.

Over the decades, they’ve learned to manage supply, Smith says. When the system first began cofiring with wood chips, inadequate infrastructure meant another subsidiary was created to man age and process urban waste wood from the Twin Cities Metro area. There’s an

ebb and flow to urban wood waste, he adds. In the spring, volumes drop as more gets used for mulching. In the fall, deer hunting season slows down deliver ies. Neighboring cities as far as 70 miles away have contributed their wood waste and, when needed, forest residuals were trucked in from central or northern Min nesota.

Today, there are no concerns about wood supplies—the wood yard closes for deliveries at times, because it’s full. Ash trees killed by the emerald ash bor er (EAB) are adding major volumes to the regular tree trimming, storm damage

and construction waste. EAB supplies are expected to last for more than a de cade, Smith says. Minnesota has more ash trees than any other state, compris ing around 15% of the Twin Cities’ can opy, he explains, and some communities in the state have 60% ash. “We’re one of the very few outlets for that material. If we didn’t continue, there is no Plan B. There is no alternative.”

Nonetheless, Ever-Green faced its own challenge with its utility partner, regulators and policymakers when re negotiating its power purchase agree ment. “We’ve been in conversation for

seven years,” Smith says. “It took a while for folks to get their minds wrapped around the important role this facility has in managing tree waste.” While nat ural gas was a lower-cost fuel favored by some, “Where are you going to go with 250,000 tons of tree waste every year?” Smith asks.

Across the state, natural mortality of trees from storms, changing climate, dis ease and invasive insects covers as much or more ground every year than what gets harvested, Schenck says. On top of that, there is an accumulation of wood residuals from the state’s forest products

industries but few outlets, meaning a lot of slash is not being managed optimally for regrowth. Back-of-the-envelope es timates suggest there’s about 5 million tons of dead wood and slash left in the forest every year, he says.

The Minnesota Forest Resources Council, which Schenck directs, is sup porting revived efforts to better utilize those forest resources. A January reso lution supports statewide fuel or ener gy standards for low-carbon renewable biofuels from woody biomass or other feedstocks and commits to developing strategies and recommending policies

to attract new markets. “The governor had a big administrative push this past year to develop climate friendly policies that cut across all sectors—agriculture, forest, energy, transportation,” Schenck explains. “Part of this is looking at bio mass again as a low-carbon fuel alterna tive, along with other uses.”

From Smith’s perspective, interest in woody biomass indeed is growing, thanks to higher natural gas prices, “but is it among the top solutions? We’re not there yet,” he says. Woody biomass is not likely to become the majority fuel source, he continues, adding that the St.

(Left) A truck unloads nearly 30 tons of wood chips into the Hibbing Public Utilities biomass power facility. The plant burns 3,000 tons of wood per day.

(Right) Roughly 260,000 tons of wood chips are supplied to St. Paul Cogeneration annually. The use of biomass keeps $12 million in the local economy each year.

Paul utility would never rely on just one fuel source, “but it can be an important role if it’s done sustainably, and if you’re dealing with waste streams.”

Biomass is playing an important role in many places around the world, he adds. “It tends to be a small percentage of the overall energy mix, but it plays an import ant role because it’s more of a base load.”

Smith suggests we’re in an energy sys tem transformation, and not just a transi tion. The built environment—buildings and industry—will be the hardest to de carbonize, he says. “Between buildings and industry in Minnesota, they make

PHOTO: MARK SAUER, MESABI TRIBUNE

Across Minnesota, natural mortality of trees from storms, changing climate, disease and invasive insects covers as much or more ground every year than what gets harvested.

up 70% of where our energy goes. It won’t be a transformation that occurs necessarily building by building. It’s go ing to have to be done community by community.” Ever-Green has worked with a number of campuses—colleges, hospitals, communities—that are plan ning for the future of their district heat ing. Each defined area, he suggests, will be looking at available resources. Wind and solar may not be available to all, and woody biomass will make sense in some areas, he says.

Forest Fuel

Surrounded by northern Minneso ta forests, Hibbing, Minnesota, is one of those places that illustrates the op portunities and challenges for woody biomass in the state. This year, Hibbing Public Utility upgraded and fired up the wood boiler it installed in the mid-

PHOTO: EVER-GREEN ENERGY

2000s and mothballed in 2018. The city has phased out coal and plans to increase the use of woody biomass. “A year ago, we were crazy for going back to bio mass,” says Luke Peterson, general man ager of Hibbing Public Utilities. “Now everybody’s going back to biomass.” The goal, he says, is not about using the lowest-cost fuel—particularly consid ering wood prices have gone up along side natural gas—but making Hibbing a more sustainable community. One that is more resilient, relies on locally sourced resources and supports local jobs.

The Hibbing cogeneration plant generates about 33 MW, with about 10 MW exceeding local needs that can be sold to the grid, Peterson says. The dis trict steam heating system makes a mile loop around the city, serving about 1,000 customers—including the hospital, sev eral large civic buildings and residents.

Economics and the work involved in sourcing and managing the burning of wood chips were the main reasons the wood boiler was mothballed, Peter son says. Returning to woody biomass not only preserves 20 jobs at HPU, but is supporting at least 20 jobs in the com munity. “It requires this whole ecosystem of people and processes,” he says. “It can be a lot of work, but it’s worth it to explore and develop those value chains.” The utility was fortunate, because two local loggers kept their chippers when the market disappeared, he adds. With a goal of burning 200,000 tons of wood chips annually, the utility is finalizing an agreement to take residuals from a pallet manufacturer 60 miles away to add to lo cal supplies.

The long-term goal is to eliminate fossil fuels entirely and use the city util ity as a catalyst for economic transition. Possibilities include hydrogen and meth anol, and attracting complementary in dustries such as cross-laminated timber. Another idea is to explore waste heat

utilization, Peterson says, citing Iceland’s use of waste heat to melt snow on side walks and on the soccer field.

Peterson advocates for a restorative development approach that looks at to tal costs, not just financial ones, and takes a long-term view of sustainabili ty. “What is it about wood that creates value,” he says. He’d like to see each log get managed for its best value, with the waste chips being used for cogeneration. Better forest management reduces de bris that contributes to forest fires. New equipment requires new skills that build workforce capabilities. “There are all these offshoots, not just the tech, but the whole process and humans involved in taking care of the forest,” Peterson adds.

“Like the loggers—you wouldn’t believe how many multigenerational vendors I have supplying wood to the power plant. What’s that family story worth? That means something, because that’s people, building a network for the future that has a strong family tie to the land, and also a hard work ethic.”

Contact: Anna Simet asimet@bbiinternational.com

POWER WITH A PURPOSE

BY KATIE SCHROEDER

In Snowflake, Arizona, the state’s only biomass power plant is playing a key role in helping improve forest health by utilizing biomass thinnings from forest management initiatives. For the Worsley family, this business model isn’t just about a profit—it’s also personal. Brad Worsley, CEO and president of Novo BioPower, explains that the Worsley family has been directly impacted by poor forest health. “My family’s world was dramatically impacted by a catastrophic wildfire and the poor policies and gridlock that had hap pened between the environmental community and the forestry indus try,” Worsley says. “But we have found a way to move forward.”

Plant History

In 2002, the Rodeo-Chinski fire in burned down the pondero sa pine forest that surrounded the legacy cabin built by Worsley’s par ents. “That fire came through and burned right up to and all around our property—a handful of small structures on our property were burned, and we had to evacuate and come back in,” Worsley says.

“As the residual impact of that fire was felt, we realized that the beau tiful forest we had built our home in was now gone. The home was still there, but it was not the same place in our hearts and minds as it was when we built it in this dense, ponderosa pine forest ... and as we studied and learned, we realized it

would not be the same for a thou sand years—if it ever comes back to what it was.”

After the fire, fueled by the sadness and frustration caused by the loss of the forest, Worsley’s fa ther, Bob, was determined to find a way to solve the problem. As the Worsleys educated themselves on forest health, they learned that the forest had changed significantly since settlement. One reason for that was the “Smokey Bear ef fect”—an early U.S. Forest Service “no fires” policy that inevitably led to forests traditionally having 10 to 15 trees per acre as a healthy stand, to 500 to 1,000 trees per acre.

“Although to our eyes, especially as people who had traveled and

Novo BioPower CEO Brad Worsley describes the impact the family-owned biomass power plant has on the health of Arizona’s ponderosa pine forests.

(Left to right) Eddy Ekstrom, Brad Worsley and Bob Worsley look out into Novo BioPower’s woodyard.

seen dense East Coast forest, it was very attractive, but it was also very unhealthy and prone to wildfire and beetle [damage],” Worsley says.

While his father was exploring ways to solve this problem, the Arizona Cor poration Commission began mandating a specific amount of renewable energy in the state’s energy production portfolio, Wors ley explains. “There was this window—this door—the stars aligned where a biomass power plant could, at the time, provide very affordable and also renewable base load electricity,” he says.

Arizona Public Services and Salt River Project signed contracts with Bob Wors ley to build a biomass power plant to deal with reforestation challenges, Worsley ex plains. The facility began running in 2008. However, the market crash led to the fa cility changing hands as the bank sold the facility. The group that bought it from the bank sold it back to Bob Worsley in 2013 for close to what they had initially bought it for, bringing Worsley on as CEO and president of the renamed company, Novo BioPower. Bob Worsley remains a majority owner of the company, though he is not involved in running the plant day-to-day.

“In the meantime, the facility that [Novo] was colocated next to, a paper mill, went bankrupt in 2012, so it was an oppor tunity to come in and buy the facility and some of the conjoined assets, and kind of make a singular facility that has a sole pur

pose of generating power from the thin ning of our federal forests.”

Novo BioPower signed documents ex tending its power purchase agreement with Arizona Public Services through December 2033. An extension was also approved by

Novo BioPower is located in east-central Arizona’s Snowflake, between the Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains.

Salt River Project executive management and was signed in October.

“We have taken this facility from twice-defunct ownership to profitable, high-output facility that has mostly had year-over-year steady growth,” Worsley says.

Operational Considerations

Novo BioPower faces three challenges in day-to-day operations: fuel source homo geneity, feedstock sourcing and insurance for the power plant. Lack of homogeneity in the fuel source is the biggest of these

challenges, Worsley explains. “At a biomass facility, unless you can put a lot of mon ey into making that wood look and act like rock, torrefy it, harden it, pelletize and then grind it, you are forced to deal with differ ent sizing, different Btu, moisture and ash content, and then blend all of it together while trying not to increase cost,” he says.

The other aspect that is a challenge for a biomass plant is sourcing feedstock. Since they need to go on public and private land to obtain biomass to process, it requires dealing with the federal government red tape, environmentalists and local residents.

“You have to go out and work on public and private land, mostly public, where peo ple have opinions and they recreate … we could be doing a thinning project right next to where people are camping and hunting,” Worsley says.

Finding insurance is also difficult since biomass power facilities have a history of being difficult to run and maintain since they typically operate within low margins.

For Worsley, managing these challeng es are worth it, if it means helping solve generational issues of fire and drought. In order to do this, the plant must stay in business. “Profitability is the mechanism

for the biomass, biofuels, re source recovery, power gene ration, pulp and paper industries .

Novo BioPower is Arizona’s only biomass power plant. The facility began operating in 2008 and produces 27 MW of electricity.

PHOTO:

BIOPOWER

that allows us to carry out our purpose,” Worsley says. And the 27-MW Novo BioPower plant is profitable, maintaining a “true uptime in the low 90%, 93%,” running 340-plus days each year for the past four years.

Plant Functionality

Novo BioPower’s biomass feedstock is made up of ground hog fuel or precommercial timber, including tree limbs, bark, pine needles and tree tops. “We take the residues off of those mills, the residue out of that forest, and then all the precommercial timber, the five-inch, four-inch and three-inch that has to be cut as part of the deal to be able to take the merchantable wood off, that all comes in, in the hog fuel,” Worsley says. The plant aims to keep 30 days’ worth of fuel on hand, stored in the fuel yard.

A look inside Novo BioPower. Pictured is a GE turbine generator, foreground, and the control room.

PHOTO: NOVO BIOPOWER

‘We have taken this facility from twice-defunct ownership to a profitable,high-output facility that has mostly had year-over-year steady growth.’

Brad Worsley, CEO, Novo BioPower

The plant uses a Babcock & Wilcox bubbling fluidized bed boiler to burn the biomass, create steam and produce power. Worsley explains that the boiler uses a fivefoot bed of sand with a higher melting point. The ground wood is injected over the top of the bed through air knives, allowing the feedstock to be burned for its duration. The sand will agitate the ash to make sure that any remaining wood is also burned. Non combustible material such as rocks, metal or sand will flow through the bed as it’s agitated by the air and comes out the bottom. The ash flies over through the boiler, into the bag house and is collected there, Worsley says. “At that point it’s just like almost any other power plant that heat is transferred into the tube walls, which are full of water that turns into high pressure steam shot into a GE tur bine generator, and we make power.”

Sustaining the Forest

Due to drought, the pine line in Arizona is shifting, Worsley explains. Previous poli cies designed to prevent fire has led to over growth of ponderosa pine forests, and the trees have become even drier in the midst of extreme drought conditions. This com bination has made it impossible for fire to play its role in Arizona forests, Worsley ex plains, as they are too intense, spread quickly and kill healthy trees. “It’s impossible to re turn fire to this forest today without it being catastrophic,” he says. “There are too many ladder fuels, there’s too much fuel load on the ground, and the trees are too unhealthy.” Novo BioPower’s goal is to help return the forests to presettlement conditions, when low-intensity fires could play their rightful role and clean out the forest, allowing the trees to survive.

Novo BioPower utilizes the “lowest end portion” of the trees throughout every acre of harvested forest. Worsley explains that this approach allows the plant to make a sustainable forest industry work. “We’re not mining sequestered carbon, we’re using active carbon, but our efforts go beyond that, in my opinion,” he says. “It goes be yond just being carbon neutral. I call it car

bon neutral-plus, because we are in fact … spending each and every day preserving the largest carbon sink in the state of Arizona— the 4 million-acre ponderosa pine forest. We protect that and remove the low-grade, high-hazard fuels, retaining this large, beau tiful forest at its capacity to pull CO2 out of the air and release oxygen.”

The purpose of maintaining this forest as a carbon sink, recreational area and water shed is what gives Worsley purpose in run

ning Novo BioPower. “There are a lot easier businesses to be in than biomass. But it was personal to us,” Worsley adds. “We experi enced its impact, we felt the heat of those catastrophic wildfires and we saw what it did, so we wanted to do something about it. And we’re doing it, while making a profit.”

Author: Katie Schroeder Staff Writer kschroeder@bbiinternational.com

TREE SURGERY CHOSE

GRINDING, LESS WASTE.

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PULPWOOD PARADISE AND THE US SOUTH

BY BROOKS MENDELL

Pulpwood,

the smaller trees typical ly chipped for making wood pulp, oriented strand board (OSB) or wood pellets, provides balance and diversification to the forest products in dustry. Robust, sustainable timber markets feature a broad set of wood consumers. A local wood basin with no demand for pulp wood or chips is like a shoe box with one shoe: incomplete.

While roundwood (logs) deliveries sat isfy most pulpwood demand across the U.S., this varies by region and mill type. In the South, chip mills supply close to 20% of total pulpwood demand. In the West, they supply close to 30% of fiber needs, though total volumes are less, given that fewer pulp mills operate in the region. According to the Wood Fiber Review, the actual supply profile of each region in North America

varies based on pricing and market demand. Forisk mill-by-mill research of wood-con suming capacity suggests close to 60% of pulp mill wood-using demand in the U.S. is met by roundwood.

Pulpwood Drivers of Demand

Wood fiber costs account for over 50% of the total pulp manufacturing cost world wide, so tracking wood fiber costs supports

investment and operational decisions across a range of facilities and markets in the forest sector. In North America, demand for pulp wood derives from three primary sources. First, traditional forest industry consum ers, such as pulp mills and OSB plants, use pulpwood to make pulp and panel prod ucts. Second, wood bioenergy projects use pulpwood to produce pellets and electricity. Finally, pulpwood demand associated with liquid biofuels capacity is increasingly in the news, especially with growing interest in sustainable aviation fuel.

Wood pellets in particular have been a compelling source of growth. Wood pel let production capacity reached 20 million metric tons in North America in 2021. This capacity is forecasted to reach 23 million metric tons in 2022. Much of the wood pellet capacity growth is in the U.S. South, within economic freight distance of ports. Canadian wood pellet capacity is projected to increase 13% in 2022. Peak Renewables announced a 600,000-metric-ton facility in Fort Nelson, British Columbia. The com pany purchased Canfor’s Fort Nelson mill assets and forest tenure in the region. The capacity increase is partially offset by the closure of Pacific Bioenergy’s facility in Prince George, B.C., in early 2022.

Pulpwood Supplies and the US South

Changes to pulpwood inventories over time include pulpwood removals from the existing pulpwood inventory, new pulp wood inventory as young trees grow and be come merchantable, and decreases in pine pulpwood inventory from older pulpwood trees that mature and grow into grade-qual ity timber. When digging deep into, for ex ample, pine pulpwood supplies in the U.S. South, the most important characteristic for short- and medium-term projections is the age class distribution of the pine planta tions (inventories) that drive industrial for est management in the region.

In the U.S. South, wood-using mills consume more pulpwood than grade (Ta ble 1). For pine pulpwood demand across 11 states, quarterly rankings in the Forisk Research Quarterly highlight Georgia, Al abama, and Louisiana as the three biggest consumers in the region.

DON’T

When “scoring” markets for projects that require pulpwood supplies, investors prefer those that feature abundant supplies (both standing and from mill residuals), lim ited competition, lower prices and sufficient logging capacity. On a relative basis across regions, this helps explain the attractiveness of the U.S. South for pulpwood-using facil ities.

This article includes data from the Forisk Wood Fiber Review, a quarterly publication track ing North America’s major wood fiber markets, and the Forisk Research Quarterly, which includes forest industry forecasts and analysis by sector.

Author: Brooks Mendell Forisk Consulting LLC 770-725-8477 bmendell@forisk.com

BIOCOAL EXPORTS’ POTENTIAL ROLE IN US FOREST RESTORATION AND JAPAN’S DECARBONIZATION EFFORTS

BY HIROSHI MORIHARA

Japan’s reliance on fossil-based sourc es such as oil, coal and natural gas for electricity production has increased significantly since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. To reduce this heavy reliance on nonrenewable, fossil-based energy, Japan’s interest in nonnucle ar renewable energy, especially bio mass-based energy, has grown tremendously over the years. Japan’s national commitment for decarbonizing its electricity grid is evi dent from former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s announcement in 2021 that Japan would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. As an immediate effort, Japan also mandated shuttering some 100 inefficient coal plants as soon as 2030. Min ister Suga said Japan would “ …maximize the use of renewables and other noncarbon power sources …”

Despite current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s announcement of restarting many idled nuclear plants due to rising energy costs, Japanese utilities will still need coal re placement fuel to lengthen the lifespans of their high-efficiency coal plants. Also, many industrial coal boiler operators need coal replacement fuel soon, or they may be shut down. Torrefied wood pellets, also known as biocoal, is an excellent coal replacement alternative given its chemical and physical properties are closer to coal. With biocoal’s superior gridability attributes and higher en ergy density, a significant proportion (50% or more) of torrefied pellets could be used for cofiring without major modifications to the existing coal-powered thermal plants. Finally, with biocoal’s comparable shipping and handling attributes to that of bitumi nous coal, it has attracted increasing interest as coal replacement fuel.

Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd., one of Japan’s three major coal importers, with combined

domestic and overseas coal sales of 20 mil lion metric tons (MT) per year, has the goal of importing 3 million MT of biocoal by 2030 to meet initial market demand for car bon-neutral fuel. The development of the biocoal market is under review in Japan by major utilities, coal importers and Japanese government policymakers. Is there enough independently certified, sustainably avail able fiber around the world to produce the biocoal at a reasonable cost per metric ton? Additionally, because biocoal production requires much higher heat than white pel let production, does that negatively impact the carbon life cycle analysis for biocoal as a good alternative to coal?

The following is a strategy of how western U.S. forests could profitably pro duce a major portion of Japan’s need for biocoal over the coming years.

Long-Term, Sustainably Available Biomass

Over 100 years of suppression of all fires, including natural, low-intensity fires, has resulted in many unnaturally dense for ests in the western U.S., which are at risk of severe wildfire. The U.S. Forest Service has forest restoration treatments underway, such as thinning, brush clearing and prescribed burning on 80 million acres of its own land, mostly in the West. California alone is target ing the treatment of 1 million acres annual ly by 2025 to scale up forest thinning and prescribed fire efforts. These treatments are meant to “reduce long-term greenhouse gas emissions and harmful air pollution from large and catastrophic wildfires,” according to the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan produced by California’s Forest Man agement Task Force.

Juniper before and after being converted to biocoal via HM3 Energy’s torrefaction process.

PHOTO: HM3 ENERGY

The amount of thinning work under way or planned in California and several other western states will produce copious amounts of biomass, much of which has no market and is therefore burned in piles. As is the case with wildfires, these pile burns can emit hazardous, fine particulate matter into the atmosphere, measuring 2.5 microns or less in width (PM2.5). This has become a growing concern in the western rural areas where pile burns regularly take place. They are also costly and time consuming to per form, costing $1,500 or more per acre.

Selective Forest Thinning and Increased Carbon Storage

More and more research has shown that selectively thinning overstocked forests has multiple benefits. “In a warming climate, thinning reduces competition for water, al lowing trees to grow faster, store more car bon and be more resilient to drought and pests,” according to Our Burning Challenge: Restore our Forests, a publication by the Nature Conservancy in Arizona. “Scien tific and professional firefighting evidence shows that where thinning is completed be fore wildfires, fire severity is reduced, and in some cases, damage to communities is averted.”

Biomass Residual-Based Biocoal

HM3 Energy Inc., a biocoal technol ogy provider, developed its torrefaction technology using biomass residuals left af ter logging and thinning operations, rather than clean wood chips produced from whole logs. This focus on using forest waste in its demonstration plant test runs helped it win a U.S. Forest Service Wood Innovations Grant in 2019.

The grant work provided budgetary de sign work to determine construction costs for a 50,000-metric-ton-per-year (MTPY) biocoal plant in northern Arizona. North ern Arizona University’s Ecological Resto ration Institute performed studies on sus tainable biomass availability and shipping logistics, while Coconino County helped identify good sites for a production facility that could eventually produce up to 100,000 MTPY, with access to the BNSF Railroad for exporting the biocoal to a port in Cali fornia and on to Japan.

The grant work determined that there would be enough sustainably available bio mass from ponderosa pine and juniper har vesting and thinning operations for at least a 20-year period within reasonable hauling distances of several potential sites in north ern Arizona. Federal forests in Northern

Arizona have plans to thin 1.5 million acres over the next 20 years. With targeted reten tion at only 50 trees per acre, this will result in 2.25 million tons of forest slash per year that could be turned into biocoal.

The biocoal would be shipped just like coal, in open hopper rail cars, to the Port of Stockton. From there, it would be exported to a Japanese power plant, typically situated right on the coast with its own port, where it would be stored without cover, just like coal.

As part of the grant work, HM3 Ener gy compared the costs of using white pellets versus biocoal produced using HM3’s tech nology as coal replacement fuel in Japan. The higher production cost of biocoal was greatly mitigated by the much lower ship ping and handling costs. In addition, coal plants would not have to perform costly modifications to use white pellets, such as building silos for storage or separate feeding systems that can handle the fibrous pellets. When combusted, white pellets do not pro duce the same steam temperature as biocoal does, resulting in boiler inefficiencies.

Overall, HM3’s grant work in 2021 de termined that a 100,000 MTPY plant using its technology in northern Arizona could de liver biocoal to the Japanese coal burner tip for $11.58 cents per gigajoule, compared to a cost of $13.15 for white pellets.

Carbon Life Cycle Analysis

The University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences per formed a series of comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of biocoal and document ed the environmental footprint, from cradle to grave, of extracting biomass and convert ing it to biofuel alternatives. Emissions from feedstock extraction and transportation to the manufacturing facility, processing, trans portation of the pellets to a shipping port (in Washington or Oregon), as well as ocean transportation to a port in Japan were all in cluded. Local pollution, as well as impacts on air quality, water and soil were also con sidered. The total LCA of electricity pro duction from residual biomass-based wood pellets in a bioenergy plant in Japan was then compared to that of electricity production from coal.

The research concluded that pellets produced from residues, on average, pro duce 90% fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to coal. The assessment noted that biomass burned in a controlled envi ronment, such as a bioenergy facility, emits 95% fewer pollutants to the atmosphere as compared to open biomass burns, such as prescribed burns or wildfires. “After factor ing in all the particulate matter, emissions of harvesting, processing, local and inter national transportation, harvest slash-based pellets reduce PM2.5 by 88%, with most of this clean air benefit going to local commu nities.” The research further concluded that the marginally higher carbon impact associ ated with the production of torrefied pellets (biocoal) is mitigated by their energy effi cient long-distance transportation.

As is the case with wildfires, prescribed pile burns like this one in Prescott National Forest can emit hazardous, fine particulate matter into the atmosphere.

Conclusion

The western U.S. has, and will contin ue to have for some years to come, a large amount of sustainably available biomass from thinning and harvesting operations. Forest thinning operations are planned for millions of acres to mitigate the risk of unnaturally severe wildfires and restore the health of forests so they better absorb and store carbon. Using biomass residuals for biocoal production will help reduce man agement costs and result in fewer pile burns, improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions. In many cases, particularly from the western states, biocoal can be econom ically exported to Japan to replace coal and greatly reduce its carbon footprint.

Author: Hiroshi Morihara CEO, HM3 Energy

Advanced Forestry Equipment

Specializing in wood processing and material handling systems for over 80 years, Brunette Machinery Co. provides custom en gineered solutions for mill optimization. The company is known as an industry leader in the manufacture of heavy-duty drum chippers, grinders and complementary equipment such as vibrating conveyors, disc scalping screens, E-Sweeps, and log singulators.

With the global biomass power mar ket expected to grow at an exponential rate throughout the next eight years, Brunette Ma chinery is uniquely situated to provide the best wood breakdown equipment to the industry. The following are some of the company’s in novative and advanced wood processing ma chines built for biomass applications.

Brunette Whole Log Micro-Chipper

The Brunette Whole Log Micro-Chipper is a horizontal-feed chipper that can process logs up to 26-inch diameter. It is ideal for con verting whole logs not suitable for lumber into

a one-fourth-inch nominal chip for use in the biofuel industry. A powered feedworks con trols the feed of single logs, or multiple stems and branches. With a 40-inch wide throat, it can process a variety of materials with ease. The Brunette Whole Log Chipper is available in various sizes and configurations to suit mill requirements. It features a hard-surfaced anvil with a breakaway support frame for protec tion from foreign materials. The rear access platform makes knife maintenance simple and safe. The Chipper includes a common sub frame for a single lift installation.

Brunette/CBI Grizzly Mill Hog

This primary wood waste grinder is built to be the most rugged hog on the market. The Grizzly Mill’s high-interia, solid steel rotor has four alternating angled rows of striker bars to ensure even distribution of input material for balanced wear and maximum throughput.

This machine can break down large re siduals from various sources, including cedar

bark, green spruce bark, mill wood waste, demolition debris, butt ends, railroad ties and stringy bark, for easy processing into a high-quality product suitable for hog fuel, mulch or a biomass product.

Brunette BioSizer

The Brunette BioSizer is a high-speed secondary waste wood grinder designed to produce a uniform-sized output that is opti mal for the biomass industry. The Brunette BioSizer is built to be low maintenance, with a high-inertia rotor and fixed hammers. With four rows of staggered hammers, this grinder efficiently processes oversized bush-grind hog fuel, trim blocks, wood chips and typical urban woodwaste, converting it all to fine, high-qual ity fiber suitable for various biomass products.

Brunette Machinery’s experience in man ufacturing guarantees customers well-test ed, heavy-duty machines that will produce high-quality product and deliver a long service life with low maintenance costs.

Biomass Magazine

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