Availability of logging residues and potential for electricity production and carbon displacement in the USA

This study assessed the abundance and regional distribution of logging residues and their potential for electricity generation and CO2 emission displacement in the USA. Based on the 1997 Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, a 70% residue recovery rate, and a minimum viable power plant capacity of 10 MW, annually recoverable logging residues in the USA were estimated at 13.9 million dry t from growing stock and 36.2 million dry t from both growing stock and other sources. Most logging residues were located in the eastern USA; the Southeast and South Central regions accounted for approximately two-thirds of the national total from growing stock and about 50% of that from both growing stock and other sources. The recoverable residues from both growing stock and other sources could generate 67.5 TWh electricity annually. This would displace 17.6 million t carbon emitted from coal-fueled power plants (about 3% of total carbon emissions from the US electricity sector in 1997) at a cost ranging from US$60 to 80 t−1 C.