Abstract
Wood-based pellets are produced in the southeastern United States (SE US) and shipped to Europe for the generation of heat and power. Effects of pellet production on selected Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) are evaluated using industry information, available energy consumption data, and published research findings. Challenges associated with identifying relevant SDG goals and targets for this particular bioenergy supply chain and potential deleterious impacts are also discussed. We find that production of woody pellets in the SE US and shipments to displace coal for energy in Europe generate positive effects on affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), industry innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), and life on land (SDG 15). Primary strengths of the pellet supply chain in the SE US are the provisioning of employment in depressed rural areas and the displacement of fossil fuels. Weaknesses are associated with potential impacts on air, water, and biodiversity that arise if the resource base and harvest activities are improperly managed. The SE US pellet supply chain provides an opportunity for transition to low-carbon industries and innovations while incentivizing better resource management.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 821 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-19 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Sustainability (Switzerland) |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2 2021 |
Funding
K.L.K.‘s contribution was supported by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), under award number EE0007088 to ORNL. ORNL is managed by the UT-Battelle, LLC, for DOE under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. The contribution of V.H.D., E.R. and B.T. was funded by International Energy Agency (IEA) Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme, Task 43: Sustainable Biomass Supply Integration for Bioenergy within the Broader Bioeconomy. The University of the Sunshine Coast (ABN 28 441 859 157), Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia, manages and administers funding on behalf of IEA Bioenergy Task 43. We thank Matthew Langholtz, Thomas Schuler, and three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on prior versions of this manuscript. We thank collaborators in IEA Bioenergy- particularly Jim Spaeth, Bruno Gagnon, Jean Blair, Mark Brown, and Thomas Schuler-for support and guidance. † Copyright Notice: This manuscript has been authored in part by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with DOE’s Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). Funding: K.L.K.’s contribution was supported by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), under award number EE0007088 to ORNL. ORNL is managed by the UT-Battelle, LLC, for DOE under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. The contribution of V.H.D., E.R. and B.T. was funded by International Energy Agency (IEA) Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme, Task 43: Sustainable Biomass Supply Integration for Bioenergy within the Broader Bioeconomy. The University of the Sunshine Coast (ABN 28 441 859 157), Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia, manages and administers funding on behalf of IEA Bioenergy Task 43.
Keywords
- Bioenergy
- Forests
- Pellets
- Southeastern united states
- Sustainable development goals