Billion Ton Study

The US Department of Energy and the US Department of Agriculture recognized that biomass is a strategic resource in helping the United States reduce its dependence on imported fuel. The question this study addresses is whether there is sufficient biomass to sustainably support a biofuels industry sector that can replace 30% of the US oil and gas imports. Other goals include:
* Expanding the role of biomass as an energy source
* Support for the growth of agriculture, forestry, and rural economies
* Fostering of major new domestic industries and biorefineries making a variety of fuels, chemicals, and other products

As part of this effort, the Biomass R&D Technical Advisory Committee, a panel established by Congress to guide the future direction of federally funded biomass R&D, envisioned a 30% replacement of the current US petroleum consumption with biofuels by 2030.

The study defined biomass as all plant and plant-derived materials including animal manure, not just
starch, sugar, oil crops already used for food and energy. It recognized that biomass has great potential to provide renewable energy for America’s future. Biomass has already surpassed hydropower as the largest domestic source of renewable energy and currently provides over 3 percent of the total energy consumption in the United States. In addition to the many benefits common to renewable energy, biomass is particularly attractive because it is the only current renewable source of liquid transportation fuel. This, of course, makes it invaluable in reducing oil imports — one of the US' most pressing energy needs. The key questions the study set out to answer were:
* How large a role could biomass play in responding to the nation’s energy demands?
* Assuming that economic and financial policies and advances in conversion technologies make biomass fuels and products more economically viable, could the biorefinery industry be large enough to have a significant impact on energy supply and oil imports?
* Would the biomass potential be sufficiently large to justify the necessary capital replacements in the fuels and automobile sectors?

The purpose of the report was to determine whether the land resources of the United States are capable of producing a sustainable supply of biomass sufficient to displace 30% or more of the country’s present petroleum consumption – the goal set by the Advisory Committee in their vision for biomass technologies. Accomplishing this goal would require approximately 1 billion dry tons of biomass feedstock per year.

The short answer to the study is 'yes'.

External Link:

The full name of the study is: Biomass as Feedstock for Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion Ton Annual Supply. The study can be read online or downloaded here: