Forest Biomass Supply in the Southeastern United States - Implications for Industrial Roundwood and Bioenergy Production

Author(s): Christopher S. Galik, Robert C. Abt and Yun Wu

Published: March 2009

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This analysis explores regional aggregate bioenergy potential, the interaction of logging residues and roundwood supply, and the potential supply costs of woody biomass from three southern states. Significant amounts of forest residues are potentially available within the study area: approximately 2.8 million dry tons in North Carolina, 1.8 million dry tons in South Carolina, and 1.3 million dry tons in Virginia. These quantities are sufficient to satisfy regional biomass electricity production requirements only through 2012 under a hypothetical national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), after which changes in the biomass resource stream will be necessary. Supply curves generated for multiple regions in each state indicate that forest residues vary regionally in both supply and price, and exceeding the supply of forest residues could be accompanied by a dramatic spike in resource pricing, with implications for timberland owners and users of the forest resource base.