The Drax biomass plant in Yorkshire is the first in the world to pioneer carbon capture and some specialists see it as it has a bright future. But hold the rosy headlines.
Torrefaction produces a substance that can be burned like coal.
Deyveone/Shutterstock
Deriving fuel from trees costs more than wind and solar power and it emits more carbon than coal. There are many heated debates about this kind of energy, known as forest or woody biomass.
A new report calls U.S. forests an undervalued asset for slowing climate change. It warns that they are being degraded by logging for wood, paper and fuel, particularly in the Southeast.
Farmers are setting fire to their straw and spreading air pollution across northern India.
Wind turbines require massive structures that are polluting to produce and can harm ecosystems, but these impacts compare favorably with those of fossil alternatives.
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Edgar Hertwich, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Anders Arvesen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Sangwon Suh, University of California, Santa Barbara e Thomas Gibon, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
No energy source is perfect, but solar and wind have a much lower health and environmental footprint than fossil fuels, a study finds. Biopower, though, is a mixed bag.
Papyrus can alleviate pressures on native forest ecosystems.
Author supplied
The capacity of woody biomass to provide the energy requirements for sub-Saharan Africa is declining. Papyrus wetlands are a sustainable source of biomass that holds potential to substitute for wood.
Tim Baye, University of Wisconsin Colleges and the University of Wisconsin-Extension
The future of two key energy policies – the EPA’s Clean Power Plan and Renewable Fuel Standard – will decide whether bioenergy will continue to grow in US or not.
Save the rainforests? A new study shows mangroves matter too, as they can store three to five times more carbon than rainforests.
Daniel Murdiyarso for Center for International Forestry Research
Indonesia is ranked among the world’s top dozen contributors to climate change – but a new study shows that protecting the country’s mangroves could slash its greenhouse gas emissions.
Don’t tread on woodchips.
Rick Kimpel/Wikimedia Commons
The outcry over the government’s plan to allow wood burning from native forests under the revamped Renewable Energy Target belies the fact that woodchips can be useful and sustainable if harvested responsibly.