Characteristics of forest biomass harvesting operations and markets in Virginia

Abstract

Increased markets for renewable energy feedstocks have led to an expansion of the woody biomass industry in the Southeastern United States. Virginia has had biomass markets for several decades and provides an opportunity to study both producer and market characteristics. A survey was conducted among biomass harvesting business owners in Virginia designed to characterize harvesting operations and markets, assess business owner opinions related to the current and future state of the industry, and update/expand the results of a previous survey from 2014. Biomass harvesting operations in Virginia were generally conventional single crew roundwood operations utilizing their own residues for biomass. Production levels varied widely with biomass comprising an average 31% of total production. Material was comminuted utilizing large (485 median kW) older (13.2 years average) whole-tree chippers fed by a single loader. Coastal Plain operations were larger scale than Piedmont operations, though those in the Piedmont had been in business longer. Businesses had a median of $400,000 USD invested in biomass production equipment, which was double their median investment in the previous survey. Logging businesses that had produced biomass longer were significantly more likely to report profiting from biomass. In addition, loggers derived numerous non-monetary benefits from biomass production (e.g., improved aesthetics and cleaner sites, leading to increased landowner satisfaction), with most business owners planning to continue production in the future. This study provides stakeholders an overview of the current state of biomass harvesting businesses in Virginia and a discussion on benefits loggers derive from biomass markets.