How Environmental Attributes Can Help Finance Biomass-to-Energy Initiatives in the Pulp & Paper Industry, 2009 TAPPI Engineering, Pulping, Environmental Conference

Please Note: This document will be available in PDF format in the "My Electronic Documents" link on the home page once your order has been completed. Please make sure you have the latest version of Acrobat Reader. Click on the Acrobat Reader icon to check for the latest version, it’s FREE. To print a hardcopy of a PDF file correctly you must have a postscript printer. If you are not sure if your printer is a postscript printer please refer to your owner’s manual.

There is a growing awareness that we must address two major concerns which affect us all: (1) an unhealthy dependence on fossil fuels that come from overseas, and, (2) rising global temperatures that are caused, in large degree, by human activity. Increased reliance on renewable energy, such as woody biomass, can help address both concerns.

As many of us appreciate, however, it is not easy to transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to an economy that is more reliant on renewable sources of power. Because this transition does not come naturally, incentives are needed to foster change. Some incentives come in the form of government grants and tax credits. Another incentive involves development of environmental attributes. In essence, environmental attributes (a.k.a.: environmental securities) assign a value to a particular environmental benefit, such as producing energy from a renewable resource or reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, environmental attributes that can be generated at biomass-to-energy facilities have a monetary value.