Exploring bioenergy crop potential
Michigan Tech graduate student looks for profitability in biomassBy LAYLA ASLANI, DMG Writer
HOUGHTON - For his Master's degree thesis, Michigan Technological University graduate student Chris Miller set out to answer the question of whether idle farmlands could be used profitably to grow biomass energy crops.
Miller and his advisor, Robert Froese, a School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science professor, examined aspen trees planted on idle farmland in Presque Isle County, the location of a proposed coal-fired power plant by Wolverine Power Cooperative of Cadillac, Mich. that plans to burn biomass as 20 percent of its fuel.
Miller said he chose to study aspens because they grow quickly, are native to the Lake States region, have well-documented growth data and modeling and naturally regenerate after harvest.
Miller found that if managed right, trees grown on high-quality land could be profitably sold as chips for power generation. When he factored in the value of the carbon sequestered from the trees, the activity could be profitable on low-quality land as well. Miller found that a net credit of only $6 per metric ton would make aspen plantations economically feasible on the lands.
Carbon is stored by the trees as they grow and even after they are cut, carbon remains stored in the roots and fallen leaves that became part of the soil, he said.
This carbon storage can be sold as carbon credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange, a program similar to the stock market.
"It's entirely voluntary," Froese said of the CCX. "Companies join for PR benefit or their own corporate goals."
Companies currently trading on the exchange are early adopters that believe a mandatory cap and trade system similar to one in Europe will happen in the near future, Froese said. He said carbon credits in Europe are more valuable than the ones on the CCX because of Europe's system.
Froese and Miller said if the demand for bioenergy in Michigan increases, tree plantations could bring new life to places that have been struggling economically. Miller said old farmland in the Upper Peninsula has the potential to be used for tree plantations as well.
"We have quite a bit of similar lands in Houghton County and the Western U.P.," he said.
Miller, who is now working toward his Ph.D., said other plants like switchgrass need to be studied as well. He said switchgrass is good to use for energy because it is a perennial and is harvested after the first killer frost of the fall, giving nutrients time to move from the vegetation into the ground so they are not lost. This can also benefit farmers because they wouldn't have to worry about harvesting the grass until late in the season, he said. Miller said small trial plots of switchgrass will be planted on his farm in Stanton Township next year and studied.
Layla Aslani can be reached at laslani@mininggazette.com.
