Short Rotation Woody Crops Program. Annual progress report for 1984

Technical Report · Thu Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:5348884

Ranney, J W; Wright, L L; Trimble, J L; Perlack, R D; Dawson, D H; Wenzel, C R; Curtin, D T

This report describes the evaluations and accomplishments in the Short Rotation Wood Crops Program (SRWCP) for the year ending September 30, 1984. The program is sponsored by the US Department of Energy's Biomass Energy Technology Division and consists of research projects at 22 institutions and corporations. The SRWCP is an integrated program of research and development devoted to a single objective: improving the productivity and economic efficiency of short-rotation intensive culture (SRIC) of hardwood trees and shrubs for energy (i.e., developing a viable SRIC technology for energy production). This report offers evidence suggesting that the technology may currently be economically competitive under specific regional or local conditions, but in most areas of the United States further technological improvements are required. New information is reported on cost analysis on a range of sites, genetic improvement research, and coppice productivity. The current status of harvesting technology is described, and areas of risk associated with SRIC systems are discussed. This report provides information on future programmatic research priorities as well as some general conclusions about SRIC systems emerging from research in several parts of the United States. 45 refs., 17 figs., 13 tabs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 5348884
• Report Number(s): ORNL-6160; ON: DE85018159
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
140504* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Biomass Production & Conversion-- (-1989)
BIOMASS PLANTATIONS
COPPICES
COST
CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES
FORESTS
GENETIC ENGINEERING
HARVESTING
PLANTS
PRODUCTIVITY
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SHORT ROTATION CULTIVATION
SHRUBS
TREES