biomass.forestguild.org - 1034 Woody Biomass for Village Heat, AK

Woody Biomass for Village Heat

Port Graham, AK
Chugachmiut
Submitted by Charles Sink, Chugachmiut Corporation and John Vitello, Bureau of Indian Affairs

Project ID: 1034

1. Name - Woody Biomass for Village Heat

This case study is the second of two that focus on Alaskan communities. Both the case studies are of projects in the early stages of using woody biomass from forests for energy needs. Rural communities in Alaska have some of the highest energy costs in the nation, so as oil and gas prices increase so does the interest in using woody biomass from forests to satisfy energy needs.

from www.alaska.faa.gov

Port Graham Village is a small village with approximately 150 tribal members at the tip of the Kenai Penninsula. The goal of the project is to use local resources to satisfy the village's energy needs while also providing jobs and economic return to landowners. Chugachmiut, a tribal organization serving the Chugach native people, has investigated the possibility of using woody biomass and/or a fish oil/diesel blended fuel to reduce or offset the village's reliance on diesel that must be barged in at a high cost (about $4 a gallon for the 2007–2008 heating season). A report on biomass potential suggests that the most economically feasible option would be to take advantage of fish oil/diesel for electricity production and indoor wood fired boilers for heat. Village buildings and homes require about 5,850 MMBtu per year for heat. On average, each home or village building would need 630 tons of woody biomass to feed the wood boilers. Over 500,000 tons of biomass would be accessible from Port Graham's Sitka spruce forest, with 250,000 tons of that from within l/4-mile of the existing road network. This would be enough wood for any of the biomass-utilization scenarios considered in the feasibility study. The Energy and Environment Research Center estimated wood procurement would range between $35 and $70 a ton.

Currently two silvicultural approaches are under consideration: a shelter-wood-type prescription would be appropriate in stands of mature timber, and, in areas of re-growth from past timber harvests, a timber stand improvement would be used. These silvicultural ideas will be further described in a forest management plan for Port Graham Corporation lands.

from Presentation on Port Graham's Biomass Program

Links

from Presentation on Port Graham's Biomass Program

	2	Land Ownership Tribal
	3	Location Port Graham, Alaska
	4	Forest Type Sitka spruce
	Context
	5	Is this project a part of a landscape plan? Yes
	6	In a Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)? No
	7	Acreage treated
	8	Type of contract
	9	Funding source
	10	Collaborators and partners
	11	Project start date In planning stages
	12	Project completion date
	Treatment Goals
	13
	14
	15
	16
	17
	Treatment Specifics
	18	Primary treatment objective Generate energy from biomass.
	19	How does biomass removal fit with other objectives? Primary objective
	20	Treatment description
	21	Description of contractors
	22	Travel distance for contractors
	23	Type of equipment used
	24	Treatment of residual slash if any
	25	Treatment cost per acre
	26	Trucking costs
	Utilization
	27	Products from project
	28	Price for products
	29	Date of Sale
	30	Did biomass markets exist previous to project? No
	31	Type of utilization
	32	How well did the woody biomass match the utilization options?
	33	Distance to utilization
	Treatment guidelines, targets, limitations
	34	Diameter limit
	35	Basal area reduction
	36	Crown coverage
	37	Fuel loading
	38	Retention guidelines
	39	Treatment of snags and downed logs
	40	Soil impacts
	41	Other ecological impacts monitored
	Pre Treatment
	42	Fuel load
	43	Stem density (stems/ac)
	44	Basal area (ft2/ac)
	45	Canopy closure (%)
	46	Height to live crown base
	47	Snags and downed woody material
	48	Size class distribution
	49	Tree species composition
	50	Presence/absence of invasive species
	51	Soil and other ecological data
	Post Treatment
	52	Fuel load
	53	Stem density (stems/ac)
	54	Basal area (ft2/ac)
	55	Canopy closure (%)
	56	Height to live crown base
	57	Snags and downed woody material
	58	Size class distribution
	59	Tree species composition
	60	Presence/absence of invasive species
	61	Soil and other ecological data

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