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The U.S. Industrial Pellet Association (USIPA) welcomes the release of the UK’s Bioenergy and Counterfactuals Model (BEaC) as an instrument for calculating biomass emissions. This calculator can demonstrate biomass produced from from sawmill residues, thinnings, and other low-value fiber. The biomass can significantly reduce greenhouse gas and carbon emissions and will remain a valuable energy resource in mitigating climate change.
The UK’s biomass emissions calculator is a tool in the UK’s arsenal to promote the sustainability and carbon benefits of using biomass in place of coal. Combined with some of the most stringent biomass sustainability requirements in the world, the UK can ensure that the biomass it imports is sustainable and that new and existing projects can create the proper supply chains to produce this low-carbon renewable energy source.
Speaking about the calculator, USIPA Executive Director Seth Ginther said, “This calculator, along with the UK’s strong sustainability requirements for biomass, can help policy makers with understanding the industry, and assist producers with ensuring their product is sustainable.”
Ginther pointed out that the BEaC calculator should be used in conjunction with economic, regulatory, social and sustainable aspects of the industry to determine the full carbon benefits that the biomass can bring. When it comes to reducing greenhouse gas and CO2 emission, it’s especially important to calculate the benefits brought by the biomass as it also burns and emits.