RE-Powering America's Land:
Biomass Technologies
Siting Renewable Energy on Potentially Contaminated Land and Mine Sites
How much biomass potential exists
on contaminated sites?
Biopower facility - 2,431 sites
Cumulative biomass resources > 140,000 metric tons per year
within 50 miles
Acreage > 50 acres
Distance to transmission lines < 10 miles
Distance to graded roads < 3 miles
Distance to rail < 8 miles
Biorefinery facility -2,370 sites
Cumulative crop residues > 330,000 metric tons per year
within 50 miles
Acreage > 50 acres
Distance to graded roads < 3 miles
Distance to rail < 8 miles
Landfill gas energy project -1,655sites
Includes sites that currently have landfill gas energy projects or
that EPA's LMOP defines as a candidate or potential site.
What is the RE-Powering America's Land initiative?
Demand for renewable energy is increasing in the United States. However,
renewable energy facilities often require large amounts of land and could
contribute to energy sprawl if developed on greenfield sites. Through
its RE-Powering America's Land: Siting Renewable Energy on Poten tially
Contaminated Land and Mine Sites initiative, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) identified more than 11,000 EPA tracked sites
and nearly 15 million acres that have potential for developing solar, wind,
biomass and geothermal facilities. Using potentially contaminated land and
mine sites to develop renewable energy facilities can preserve greenfields;
provide developers with access to existing infrastructure; create jobs; and
enable potentially contaminated property to return to a productive and
sustainable use.
What is biomass energy?
Biomass energy or"bioenergy"is generated from organic feedstocks. Wood
is the largest biomass energy resource; other sources of biomass include
food crops, grassy and woody plants, residues from agriculture or forestry
and the organic component of municipal and industrial wastes. These
feedstocks can be used as a solid fuel, or converted into liquid or gaseous
forms, for the production of electric power, heat, chemicals or fuels. Three
types of biomass production were evaluated by EPA:
• Biopower facility- Burns biomass
resources to produce heat, which is used
to boil water for a conventional steam-
turbine generator to produce electricity.
Biopower facilities utilize cumulative
biomass resources that can include
residues from: crops, forests, primary
and secondary mills; urban wood waste;
and methane emissions from manure
management, landfills and domestic
wastewater treatment.
• Biorefinery facility- Integrates biomass
conversion processes and equipment
to produce fuels, power and chemicals
from biomass. The technology utilizes
cumulative crop residues that can
include residues from crops, forests,
primary and secondary mills and urban
wood waste.
• Landfill gas energy project - Uses gas
that is created as organic solid waste
decomposes in a landfill. This gas
consists mostly of methane (the primary
component of natural gas) and carbon
dioxide. Instead of allowing landfill gas
to escape into the air, it is extracted
from landfills using a series of wells and
a blower/flare (or vacuum) system. The
landfill gas is directed to a central point where it can be processed and treated to produce various forms of energy, including
electricity, boiler fuel, steam, alternate vehicle fuel and pipeline quality gas.
The McNeil Station biopo wer facility in
Burlington, VT
The Front Range Energy ethanol plant in
Windsor, CO
Landfill gas energy project in Alberta, Canada
EPA tracked sites with biopower potential
Estimating total technical potential
Biomass technical potential for EPA tracked sites:
more than 50,000 MW
Market potential - The portion of the
economic potential that could be achieved
given current costs, policies and
technical constraints.
Economic potential - The portion of the
technical potential that is economically
viable, but requires additional policies to
break down market barriers.
Technical potential - Potential that is
technically possible, without consideration •
of cost or practical feasibility.
For more information:
On biomass technologies, visit:
www.nrel.gov/gis/biomass.html
On EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP)
and landfill gas energy technologies, visit:
www.epa.gov/landfill
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Biomass Technologies
What are some examples of biomass facilities being successfully sited on contaminated land?
The RE-Powering America's Land Web site highlights biomass facilities that have been developed on contaminated land. One
example is the Operating Industries Landfill in Monterey Park, California.This Superfund site was contaminated with vinyl
chloride and other organic and inorganic compounds that, if left untreated, could enter the water table and pose a health risk
for the surrounding population. A leachate treatment plant was built onsite to treat liquids from this 190-acre landfill and other
surrounding landfills. Since much of the landfill's content is municipal solid waste, it was a prime location to capture landfill gas.
Six 70 kilowatt microturbines were installed, generating 80% of the annual energy needs of the landfill's leachate treatment plant.
For more information, visit www.epa.gov/renewableenergyland or contact cleanenergy@epa.gov
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