Welcome to the BURN-UP website

Interest in wood-based bioenergy is greatly increasing as people look for renewable and alternative forms of energy.  This is especially true in Michigan's Upper Peninsula where nearly 80% of land is in forest. This workshop, held on 10 March 2009, brought together foresters, natural resource professionals, loggers, forest industry members, conservation districts, government organizations, and others to explore the future of woody biomass utilization in the region and what that might mean for local forests, economies, and communities.

Funding for this project was provided by the National Association of Conservation Districts

The workshop agenda and copies of all presentations are available at: http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/niacs/tools/bioenergyworkshop/

In the fall of 2008, two woody biomass harvest demonstrations were conducted for loggers, foresters, landowners, and the general public. These workshops included: (1) tours of actual biomass harvests, (2) logger round-table discusssions of harvesting equipment and methods, and (3) presentations on new  guidelines for harvesting woody biomass. 

Two more biomass harvest demonstrations will be conducted during 2009. The tentative dates for these demonstrations are September 15-16. More information regarding the location and content of the workshops will be available here when the details have been finalized.

Two woody biomass demonstration harvest workshops will be conducted in September in the Western and Eastern Upper Peninsula. The purpose of these workshops is to inform loggers, foresters, and landowners about the operational aspects of harvesting woody biomass and the ecological constraints that should be applied.

We appear to be on the brink of a widespread movement toward greatly increased harvesting of woody biomass for fuel and chemical feedstocks. At the global level, an indication of this trend can be seen in a recent analysis of investments related to climate change in which biomass production schemes play a prominent role.

The target audience for this conference includes: Local Government, Economic Development Staff, Foresters/Land Managers, Resource Agencies, State Legislators, School Boards & Superintendents, State & Local Associations, Wood Products Industry, Utilities, and Entrepreneurs

Registration Deadline is April 10 - No Registration at the Door

Click on the link below for the workshop schedule, speakers, and registration form.

November 26, 2008 - A new report released by the Forest Guild, A Market-Based Approach to Community Wood Energy: An Opportunity for Consulting Foresters, identifies the benefits of community wood energy for rural communities and highlights the central role consulting foresters can play in successful projects. The report utilizes lessons learned from Forest Guild community wood energy pilot projects in Bristol, Vermont and the Mahoosuc Region of Maine and New Hampshire as well as from discussions with Forest Guild members. The report defines a role in these community projects for consulting foresters to develop local networks of family forest landowners to supply wood fuel that is Sustainable, Efficient, Local and Fair (SELF). In addition to consulting foresters, this report may also be of interest to landowners, policy makers, and community activists.

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm approved an energy package on October 6 that includes a requirement for 10% of the state's electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2015.

Harnessing the Power of Local Wood Energy is a community resource guide, written by Caitlin Cusack, that weaves technical information with the personal stories of community members who want to heat their local school with sustainably produced woodchips. It details how a rural community can take advantage of the cost savings of wood energy while assuring the wood is sourced and utilized in a "Sustainable, Efficient, Local, and Fair (SELF)" manner.

As the United States and other nations commit to the path of biofuels production, a group of scientists is calling for sustainable practices in an industry that will, as MBL scientist Jerry Mellilo says, "reshape the Earth's landscape in a significant way."

Wayne Keith has converted his pickup to run on scraps of wood from his Alabama (US) sawmill. The heart of the wood-powered vehicle is a gasifier, which basically converts solid fuels into gaseous ones. Though the fuel in their tanks is liquid, gasoline and diesel engines actually run on vapour. Thus, the wood gas produced in a gasifier (also known as producer gas or syngas) will burn in a gasoline or diesel engine with only minor modifications to the motor itself.

Air quality, emissions, EPA, fuels for schools, wood chips, particulate matter A study that initially showed air quality problems originating from a school complex heated with woody biomass harvested for forest restoration purposes was found to be in error.  The results with the correct stack height show no problem for PM2.5; the children at the school are not and were never at risk.

A newly minted 1.5 megawatt cogeneration plant capable of producing electricity for up to 1,500 homes was fired up Friday at the Rough & Ready Lumber Co. sawmill. In addition to producing electricity, the $6 million plant will create up to a dozen jobs, including two new jobs at the mill and seven to 10 jobs in the woods, said Jennifer Krauss Phillippi who, along with her husband Link Phillippi, manage the family-owned sawmill.

Public Service of New Hampshire has made the move to renewable energy-and significantly reduced emissions-with the $75 million conversion of a coal-fired power plant to a biomass power plant that is fired with wood chips.