Course: BFM 101 Biofuels Fundamentals

Breadcrumb Navigation

Reading »

Reading

Issues and Opportunities Related to Bioenergy Deve…

Introduction to Community Issues in Bioenergy Development
Introduction to Community Issues in Bioenergy Development

There is widespread interest in bioenergy as a renewable energy option. Farmers and developers see bioenergy as an opportunity for economic development.  Policy makers see it as an opportunity to reduce our dependence on foreign supplies of energy while helping communities become more independent and resilient.  Conservationists see bioenergy as an opportunity to preserve rural landscapes and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

With these opportunities come concerns. Some conservationists question the environmental sustainability of bioenergy production.  Neighbors to proposed bioenergy production facilities are concerned about noise, traffic, and other issues. Pulp and paper companies are concerned that increased bioenergy production will increase the costs of their inputs, and reduce their profits.

Communities – towns, villages, cities, and counties – also hold diverse and sometimes conflicting interests in bioenergy development.  Elected officials and economic development professionals can promote bioenergy development or work to preserve the status quo.  Community leaders often find themselves in the middle, seeking to balance the interests of advocates and detractors of bioenergy development.  Regardless of what role community leaders play in managing bioenergy development, growth in bioenergy is likely to have far reaching economic, environmental, and social impacts for rural and urban communities across the U.S.

In rural areas, increased biofuel production often requires significant investments in infrastructure, including water and wastewater utilities.  Bioenergy development in urban areas has significant impacts as well. An example of distinctly urban issues in bioenergy development is illustrated by the 2010 University of Wisconsin-Madison plan to convert a power and heating facility into a biomass fueled facility. This conversion would have led to increased train traffic in the community, affecting land use and transportation patterns, as well as public safety. To assure adequate supplies of biomass, several large biomass processing and storage facilities were to be constructed off-site. Ultimately, financial and political factors halted the project, but the materials transport and storage issues, and the traffic and safety concerns expressed in this example are representative of the challenges bioenergy facilities pose in urban areas.

The wide range of potential bioenergy impacts at the community level means that many people will be affected in many different ways as the industry continues to develop.  A broad spectrum of stakeholders must be engaged to identify the full range of issues and opportunities associated with local bioenergy development.  Likewise, each community must examine bioenergy from a broad array of perspectives, paying attention to both costs and benefits, risks and opportunities.  Communities that solicit a diverse set of perspectives and involve a wide range of stakeholders as they assess bioenergy choices will be well positioned to follow opportunities that improve the quality of life for community members, and to forego those that do not.

Resources provided by the eXtension Farm Energy Community of Practice at http://www.extension.org/ag+energy

Issues and Opportunities Related to Bioenergy Deve…