Letters to the Editor

Fortnightly Magazine - March 2008
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Biomass: Climate Unfriendly?

I found it interesting that your article (“Biomass Fuel Foibles,” December 2007) states that biomass plants will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We own several wood (biomass) plants and yes, sulfur emissions are almost zero, but there is always a NOx problem. NOx can be controlled using urea injection and other technologies. But isn’t the main concern over the emission of CO2, and don’t biomass plants or any process that combusts fuel produce CO2 that cannot be controlled?

I think the power industry fogs this issue and ultimately it makes us look bad in the eyes of the environmentally conscious public. Cutting trees and mulching them for fuel doesn’t help the net effect. I believe a lot of biomass plants are supplied with at least some portion of their fuel from trees harvested just to support the plant and not just “waste by products.”

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