Description

ANNOTATION: This paper undertakes a preliminary exploration into the economics of generating energy from forest-based biomass. The study assesses the feasibility of greatly expanding the share of total energy consumption in developed countries that could be economically satisfied by biomass without fiscal subsidy support, given current technologies, and with plausible potential technologies ten years into the future. The study briefly considers the environmental effects of biomass usage compared with fossil fuels. Since wood has uses both as fuelwood for energy and as industrial wood for wood products, the comparative economics of these alternative uses are examined.