More companies are burning wood

If you were thinking about installing a biomass boiler, you may want to carefully consider your fuel choice. USA Today reports that an increasing number of power plants are turning to wood to generate electricity. The newspaper said the move by utility companies to wood is driven by state and federal legislation that encourages renewable power and requires more renewable electricity. The Energy Department reported that in 2008 wood-burning power plants were capable of generating enough electricity to power 6 million homes. About a dozen wood-burning plants started up in 2009 and many more are being planned. While many plants currently burn bark, twigs and other waste wood, the rush to wood power could lead to the need to harvest entire trees, which concerns some environmentalists. Scot Quaranda of the Dogwood Alliance told the paper that the increased demand for wood could lead to devastation of forests, including large scale clear-cutting, more conversion of natural forests to plantations and more endangered forests being logged. Bob Cleaves of the Biomass Power Association, indicated the current laws and policies are sufficient to protect the environment.