By TESA NAUMAN
Tennessee Correspondent

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Researchers at the University of Tennessee have developed a new database of industrial and community-scale users of wood-to-energy users across North America.

The project, named Wood2Energy, was developed by UT’s Office of Bioenergy Programs. According to Sam Jackson, research assistant professor in UT’s Center for Renewable Carbon, the project has two objectives: to provide a written report on the state of the science of wood-to-energy research, and to develop a database of wood-to-energy-related industries in the United States and Canada.

The Wood2Energy database provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date information of its type, according to Carlton Owen, president of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, one of the organizations that funded the project.

“Such information is vital to making sound planning and business decisions to expand uses of wood for energy, while protecting the long-term sustainability of North America’s rich forested estate,” Owen said.

Jackson said the project creates a single place for a broad array of information about wood energies innovation in the U.S. and Canada.

“Data is available out there right now, but it’s not in one place. You can’t go to one database or one publication and find out lots of information about wood-using energy facilities,” he said.

“As we refine the database and get to be more of a finished product, I think the most important thing is that it’s just a great resource for industrial planners, for landowners who are looking for markets and for others to be able to ... have access to (the information) at any time.”

Research from Oregon State University College of Forestry shows 55 percent of all wood harvested in the world is consumed as fuel, while wood accounts for only about 3 percent of total energy usage in North America. For almost half of the world’s population, wood is the principal energy source for cooking and heating.

In North America, however, the greatest concentration of wood use is by the forest industry, which leads all sectors in supplying a significant portion of its own energy needs.

“In the U.S., we are seeing a resurgence of wood energy, especially at the industrial scale, and we’re beginning to see it at the utility scale (the big power company utilities),” Jackson explained.

“I think we’re going to see wood for energy use (in North America) grow.”

Jackson said that growth could also include wood use among farmers, who could use biomass as fuel as opposed to other, less “green”-friendly sources.

“Burning wood for energy is more environmentally friendly than coal or petroleum, so we’re reducing greenhouse gases, and that’s good for everybody,” he said. “The bigger benefit for farmers, landowners and small businessmen, is that using wood for energy creates new markets and new demands for wood that haven’t existed in the past.”

Wood2Energy was funded by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, American Forest and Paper Assoc., Forest Products Assoc. of Canada and the USDA Forest Service and Natural Resources Canada. Additional assistance was provided by the Sun Grant Initiative.