A revolution is taking place within the United States. Driven by rising costs of fossil fuels, a marked shift toward greater use of renewable energy is underway. A key element of renewable energy development is biomass, which today provides about one-half of renewable energy generation nationwide.
To date, bio-energy has largely come from cornstarch, soybeans, firewood for residential heating, black liquor from chemical pulping operations, and various forms of waste wood. In the near term cornstarch-derived ethanol will continue to be a significant energy source. However, technology is rapidly emerging that will expand bio-fuels options to include energy crops such as switchgrass, agricultural crop residues, and trees. Such materials will also become important as a source of industrial chemicals and industrial feedstocks.
New technologies are in various stages of development that have the potential to dramatically transform rural economies within the relatively near term. Both agricultural and forest sectors within Minnesota will be impacted as new products and technology options provide opportunity for entre´e to lucrative national and global energy markets via transformation of biomass to energy and chemicals now derived from petroleum. Diversified and sustainable farm income, long a point of concern, is likely to receive a significant boost, and the forest products industry and associated communities stand to benefit from expanded product options and increased profit potential.
The opportunity and potential does not come without risk, however. Care must be taken within agriculture to ensure that topsoil is not sacrificed and that global food supplies are not threatened in the quest for energy. On the forestry front, new markets for wood may strain increasingly tight supplies, drive up prices of already high-priced wood, and provide an incentive for over harvesting.
To balance societal needs for renewable, less polluting energy sources with desires for healthy and diverse forests, one approach taken in Minnesota was the development of gBiomass Harvesting Guidelines.h Operating under legislative direction, the Minnesota Forest Resources Council (MFRC) and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) developed best management practices for gsustainably managed woody biomassh for both forest and brush land. The guidelines (the nationfs first) focus on the sustainable harvest of biomass while protecting the soil, water, and habitat that are essential to a healthy and sustainable ecosystem. In parallel with guidelines development, the University of Minnesota is leading an effort to develop and consolidate scientific information regarding the environmental impacts of woody biomass removal from forest and brush lands. Impacts being evaluated include soil productivity, biological diversity, and carbon sequestration.
With the caveat that care will be needed to ensure that economic opportunity does not result in environmental degradation, biomass energy offers substantial opportunity to owners and managers of Minnesota's farms and forests. The greatest opportunity is in production of liquid transportation fuels, placing rural areas in the forefront of a movement away from petroleum import dependence.