From:                                         Jessiaha <jessiaha@gmail.com>

Sent:                                           Thursday, July 25, 2019 3:09 PM

To:                                               RPS, DOER (ENE); DOER@mass.gov

Subject:                                     Dirty Wood Burning Fuel

 

To the Department of Energy Resources,

 

I am writing to express strong disagreement with the inclusion of burned biomass, particularly trees, in our state's definition of "clean" or "renewable" energy.  

First:  Burning, whatever the fuel, cannot be clean. No matter what filtration or sequestration mechanisms are used, burning results in a net release of carbon into the atmosphere.  The DOER website (https://www.mass.gov/service-details/biomass) says exactly this: "Modern Wood Heat is now able to demonstrate efficiency and emissions profiles similar to fossil fuels."

 

Using emissions standards from fossil fuels as a benchmark for clean energy would be laughable if it were not so dangerous and disingenuous.  Especially at a time when scientific support of anthropogenic climate change approaches 100%.

 

Beyond this, the idea that our state's trees are a "renewable" resource is simply incorrect over any timescale that matters.  Even the fastest growing trees take a decade or more to mature enough to provide significant cooling, carbon sequestration, and other benefits. One might use the same flawed thinking to claim that fossil fuels are "renewable" because they form over time through natural processes.  The time scale at which burning trees become renewable is simply not sustainable in the face of climate crisis.  It was upsetting to hear Kathleen Theoharides contradict this fact at the Joint committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy this Tuesday, especially given her title as Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs.     

 

Any regulation that provides financial incentives to cutting and burning mature trees at an industrial scale has nothing to do with either clean or renewable energy.

 

Sincerely,

-Jessiaha Adamopoulos

Somerville, MA