Eucalyptus plantations for energy production in Hawaii. 1980 annual report, January 1980-December 1980

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5164526· OSTI ID:5164526

Whitesell, C. D.

In 1980 200 acres of eucalyptus trees were planted for a research and development biomass energy plantation bringing the total area under cultivation to 300 acres. Of this total acreage, 90 acres or 30% was planted in experimental plots. The remaining 70% of the cultivated area was closely monitored to determine the economic cost/benefit ratio of large scale biomass energy production. In the large scale plantings, standard field practices were set up for all phases of production: nursery, clearing, planting, weed control and fertilization. These practices were constantly evaluated for potential improvements in efficiency and reduced cost. Promising experimental treatments were implemented on a large scale to test their effectiveness under field production conditions. In the experimental areas all scheduled data collection in 1980 has been completed and most measurements have been keypunched and analyzed. Soil samples and leaf samples have been analyzed for nutrient concentrations. Crop logging procedures have been set up to monitor tree growth through plant tissue analysis. An intensive computer search on biomass, nursery practices, harvesting equipment and herbicide applications has been completed through the services of the US Forest Service.

• Research Organization: BioEnergy Development Corp., Hilo, HI (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: FC03-78ET20074
• OSTI ID: 5164526
• Report Number(s): DOE/ET/20074-T7; ON: DE82009495
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
140504* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Biomass Production & Conversion-- (-1989)
BIOMASS PLANTATIONS
DISTRIBUTION
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
EUCALYPTUSES
FERTILIZERS
FIELD TESTS
GROWTH
HARVESTING
HERBICIDES
LEGUMINOSAE
OPERATION
PESTICIDES
PLANT GROWTH
PLANTS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SPECIES DIVERSITY
TESTING
TREES