I wrote:
"Table 3.1 shows total annual plant biomass in the U.S. . ."
Those are dry metric tons.
There are some discrepancies and disagreements among experts. The US DOE wants to, "develop sustainable biomass harvest and collection technologies capable of supporting an industry of up to 1 billion dry metric tons per year by 2050 . . ."
http://www.eere.energy.gov/biomass/feedstock_interface.html
They think there is 512 Mt available now at or below $50/ton.
They say "[Biomass] has surpassed hydro-electric power as the largest domestic source of renewable energy. Biomass currently supplies over 3% of the U.S. total energy consumption � mostly through industrial heat and steam production by the pulp and paper industry and electrical generation with forest industry residues and municipal solid waste (MSW). Of growing importance are biomass-derived ethanol and biodiesel . . ." The numbers are impressive until you take into account how much energy it takes to produce the biomass. That ruins the fun.
- Jed
