Interest in biomass as fuel source is heating up across state

BYLINE: JILL COLEY, The Post and Courier

Companies across the state are testing wood chips as a readily available form of biomass.

Now the University of South Carolina plans to power up its $20 million wood gasifier in June, producing electricity and steam for hot water and heating, using biomass. "Biomass" is a broad term referring to anything that grows naturally: plant or animal matter.

The state might reward consumers and producers of alternative energy with an incentive package, the Energy Freedom and Rural Development Act, expected to be introduced in the Legislature this week.. In its first year, the bill could provide $10 million in incentives, mostly in the form of tax credits.

Gasifier technology works by using gases extracted from wood chips - hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane - to heat a boiler. The wood chips are heated in an oxygen-free chamber and allowed to smolder, releasing the gases.

The trio of gases, known as "syngas," travels to a traditional boiler, where oxygen is introduced and combustion occurs. The gases extracted from wood chips replace natural gas in the boiler.

Natural gas costs about $14 a dekatherm, while wood chips run about $6

Natural gas costs about $14 a dekatherm, while wood chips run about $6 a dekatherm, saving the university $2 million a year. A dekatherm is a unit of heat energy equal to one million British thermal units, or Btu.

The USC boiler will provide 85 percent of the university's peak demand for steam, used for hot water and heating. A steam-powered turbine will also deliver 1.3 megawatts to the university's power grid, a fraction of the campus' electricity demand.

Joe James, president of the nonprofit Corporation for Economic Opportunity in Columbia, connects foresters and industry opportunities. James also is a member of the S.C. Biomass Council, which the S.C. Energy Office assembled last year to increase biomass energy in the state.

"South Carolina companies have used woody biomass for years. That's nothing new," he said. "What has happened though is there is a growing awareness of the availability of that biomass in our state. With that comes new users."

Converting biomaterial into fuel - beyond simply burning it - requires new technology. Southern states are spearheading this new technology, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

In another breakthrough, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue announced in February that a Colorado-based company will build the state's first wood-based cellulosic ethanol plant. Cellulosic ethanol is an alternative to gasoline.

South Carolina imports 98 percent of its energy, and less than 1 percent of its energy is produced from biomass, according to the state energy office.

Meanwhile, the Francis Marion forest is choking with biomass. Nearly two decades after Hurricane Hugo felled a huge swath of forest, about 30,000 acres are ready for thinning, forester Harry J. Scott said.

Thinning allows the remaining trees to grow stronger and faster, with less competition, Scott said. Removing the brush also reduces the risk of fire.

Before "biomass" became the buzzword in energy circles, the Forest Service paid about $500 an acre for a contractor to grind up the underbrush and leave it on site, a practice called mulching. No one wanted the mulch.

As interest grows in wood chips, the Forest Service's costs drop. For biomass thinning, the Forest Service pays Conway-based Canal Wood between $50 and $60 for each acre it treats. Canal Wood, in turn, pays the Forest Service $3.15 per ton of chips.

Most of the biomass culled from the Francis Marion ends up firing burners at International Paper's Georgetown plant. The burning of wood shavings and paper mill leftovers has powered the plant for years, said a company spokesperson.

Jon Dent, timber sales forester and contracting officer for the Forest Service in Columbia, said, "It's never been economical before because of costs. Every time that oil prices rise it gets more interesting because the profit enters in there at some point."

Reach Jill Coley at 937-5719 or jcoley@postandcourier.com.

Why biomass matters to South Carolina:

--South Carolinians spend more than $18 million a year on energy.

--Because South Carolina produces no coal, oil or natural gas, the state pays for coal from Kentucky, natural gas from Louisiana and oil from the Middle East.

--Development of biomass energy resources can result in more than 1,200 permanent jobs in the state, with revenues to the local economy of more than $1 billion per year.

--Development of biomass energy resources could open new markets for S.C. farmers and foresters and new opportunities for entrepreneurs.