Re: Biomass co-firing certification

[JBenemann@aol.com]

Dear Mr .Beck: 

Re. Biomass co-firing, I find the "con" arguments a bit weak:

"Con:     Biomass co-firing may extend the operational lives of coal-fired 
power
     plants that might otherwise be shorter-lived under current environmental
     regulations."
Response: It is not clear how biomass could extend operational lives of 
coal-fired power plants.  Biomass would have no effect one way or the other, 
I believe. 

"Con:     Should biomass co-firing qualify for federal or state subsidies, 
significant funds could go to co-firing, reducing funds available for 
development of
     other renewable technologies."
Response:  Which renewable technologies are more deserving?  As long as coal 
is  going to be  burned, which is going to be for a long time, co-firing will 
help reduce the pollution load. And more so than almost any other technology.

"Con:      Funds going to co-firing do not support new renewable energy 
conversion technology development."
Response: Thisi sthe same as above. 

In brief, there are no good arguments against co-firing unless the assumption 
is made that all coal burning is bad and should be stopped immediately.  The 
latter is unlikely, indeed impossible, in the U.S., under any possible 
scenario, until perhaps towards the end of the century.  In this context 
biomass co-firing is both useful and the least-cost and least-pollution 
option.   Co-firing is no panacea, and should certainly not be the main focus 
of any renewable energy technology R&D program (there should be no central 
focus to such), but it is a valuable tool where it can be applied. 

John R. Benemann, Ph.D.
3434 Tice Creek Dr. No.1
Walnut Creek, CA 94595
(925) 939 5864 Fax (925) 944 1205
Cell (925) 352 3352  jbenemann@aol.com

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