Biomass from wood fuel and forest plantations as sustainable alternative source of energy

A paper was presented to demonstrate the potential of biomass from woodfuel and forest plantations as sustainable alternative source of energy. Specifically, the paper intended to: a) estimate the biomass energy potential of woodfuel and forest plantations; b) compare biomass energy from woodfuel and forest plantations and fossil fuel-based energy; and c) discuss the potential of woodfuel and forest plantation to mitigate climate change. The paper discussed the current state of forest resources and supply and demand for energy from forest biomass. Data shows that the dwindling supply of forest resources could affect the volume of woodfuel available in the market. Likewise, demand for woodfuel is projected to increase due to increasing population. The paper described the previous and current initiatives on forest biomass energy utilization in the country. Specifically, it brought back the case of the Philippine Dendro Thermal Power Program in the 70s. Data shows that the program failed due to many reasons including on the quality of sites devoted to energy tree plantations, monoculture which led to Psyllid infestation, poor species-site compatability, inappropriate and inadequate silvicultural practices, hesitance of farmers to use insecticides, poor growth performance of planted trees, high transport cost, corruption, lack of technical knowledge on power plant operations, and disruption of feedstock supply. Data shows that the total annual biomass production potential for energy in the Philippines is in the range of 3.7 to 20.37 mt under the different scenarios. Assuming the energy content of wood is 15 GJ/t, thus energy potential for the produced biomass is 5.5 to 305.g GJ. Likewise, if 1 mt of woody biomass can generate TWh of electric power, then the annual electricity generation potential also ranges from 3.7 to 30.37 TWh. Thus, given the projected demand for electricity in 2008 at 93.9 TWh, electricity generated through bioenergy plantation could be in the range of 3 percent to 22 percent of the country's projected demand for electricity. The paper also compared the benefits of using energy from forest biomass over fossil fuels. It demonstrated that forest biomass is more suitable in terms of fuel energy efficiency, climate change mitigation, soil and water conservation, biodiversity conservation, and employment generation. The paper also made some recommendations including the need to initiate more researches/studies of forest biomass energy, inclusion of forest biomass in the priority list of biofuels, provision of technical assistance and economic incentives on forest biomass energy adoptors, and formulation of policies that would encourage forest biomass energy utilization. The paper also enumerated current initiatives on forest biomass energy utilization by various government agencies including the relevant policies. The paper also cited a study which estimated the energy production potential of forest biomass in the Philippines based on land availability for biomass production. It showed that based on existing land use pattern in the country, only two land categories were found suitable for plantation forestry : brushland and grassland. With 1997 as the base year for estimation, the total land area available from these categories is 3.915 mha.