Wood power - its potential in our energy crisis

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1982 · North. Logger; (United States)

OSTI ID:5642044

Johnson, W W

Wood is meeting about 2% of total U.S. energy needs and may eventually supply up to 7% of our nation's energy. Many forms of direct combustion equipment are available for residential heating and range from supplemental wood-burning stoves to complete house-heating multi-fuel furnaces. A recent survey conducted in New York indicated that one-third of the people contacted used wood for home heating. The total amount of fuelwood used in New York State in 1978 amounted to 1,716,000 standard cords. A Wisconsin study indicates that more than 1.2 million cords of firewood were burned by Wisconsin households during the 1979-80 heating season. A Pennsylvania survey indicated that 22% of single family households used wood for home heating. Corning Glass Works recently conducted a wood-burning stove market survey and found that 18% of all U.S. households own wood-burning stoves. On the basis of cost per unit of heat, wood heat is cheaper than its next closest commonly available rival (fuel oil) and is also cheaper than anthracite coal and electricity. Industrial wood-burning furnaces are commonly incorporated into boiler systems. Nearly 1700 wood-fired boiler systems are in operation in the United States. The economic value of a wood fuel will depend on its heating value and moisture content. For an indsutry considering use of densified wood for fuel, there is a question of whether the added expense is justified by increased ease of handling and improved burning efficiency. Where high sulfur emissions from coal are a problem, burning sulfur-free pellets in combination with coal may be a solution. In Maine a $3 million pellet-making plant is producing 600 tons of pellets per day. Nationally, the overall generating capacity of all known electrical generating plants using wood and wood derived fuels is about 4500 megawatts. Wood can be processed to produce liquid fuels and other chemicals.

• Research Organization: Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park
• OSTI ID: 5642044
• Journal Information: North. Logger; (United States), Journal Name: North. Logger; (United States) Vol. 30:11; ISSN NOLOA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
292000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Supply
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APPLIANCES
BRIQUETS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC POWER
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENERGY SOURCES
FUEL CONSUMPTION
FUELS
INDUSTRY
MARKET
NORTH AMERICA
OXIDATION
POWER
PUBLIC UTILITIES
RESIDENTIAL SECTOR
RESOURCE POTENTIAL
SOLID FUELS
SOLID WASTES
STOVES
SURVEYS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
USA
WASTES
WOOD BURNING APPLIANCES
WOOD FUELS
WOOD WASTES