The threat of increased global warming has subjected fossil fuels to increasing scrutiny in terms of greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions. As a result, using renewable and sustainable energy resources, such as biomass, for electricity production has become increasingly attractive. The use of dedicated biomass feedstocks for electricity generation could help reduce the accumulation of greenhouse gases because carbon dioxide is consumed during plant growth. The agricultural and wood products industries generate large quantities of biomass residues that could also provide fuel for electricity production. Increasing the use of these waste biomass fuels could alleviate the burdens of waste disposal in the agricultural and wood products industries.
Coal-fired power plants produce the most electricity in the United States. If biomass were cofired at low percentages in a small number of coal-fired power plants, the use of biomass for power production could dramatically increase. Cofiring biomass and coal increases the use of sustainable fuels without large capital investments, and takes advantage of the high efficiencies obtainable in coal-fired power plants. Fuel diversity is another advantage of biomass/coal cofiring. Cofuing reduces the need for a constant supply of biomass required as in a biomass power plant, and is a viable way to decrease the emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants from power-generating facilities.
