A new study has found that wood-burning power plants using trees and other "biomass" from New England forests releases more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than coal over time.Environmental officials found biomass-fired electricity would result in a 3 percent increase in carbon emissions compared to coal-fired electricity by 2050.Researchers arrived at the figure by comparing how much carbon is emitted into the atmosphere through the burning of wood - what they termed "carbon debt" - with the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere from the regrowth of forests, or "carbon dividends."
The report found that harvesting trees for biomass facilities could have "significant localized impacts on the landscape, including aesthetic impacts of locally heavy harvesting as well as potential impacts on recreation and tourism."
