Switching from coal to biomass fuel plants would boost employment by 22,000 jobs in the US by the middle of this century say Austrian scientists

  • Calculations come from The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis 
  • They relate to the adoption of a process of energy production dubbed Beccs
  • It involves using biomass coupled with carbon capture and storage techniques 
  • Experts say the approach would keep 40,000 jobs held in the coal industry  
  • It would also create 22,000 new jobs in the forestry and transportation sectors   

By Tim Collins For Mailonline

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Jobs in the US could be maintained and even boosted while coal-fired power plants are phased out.

That's the finding of new research that looked into the impact of cutting coal plant jobs at the same time as developing new environmentally friendly technologies.

This includes using biomass - renewable and sustainable fuel developed from organic materials - as well as carbon capture and storage techniques.

Experts say this approach would retain 40,000 jobs currently held as part of the coal industry.

It would also create 22,000 new jobs in the forestry and transportation sectors by the middle of this century, they claim.

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Jobs in the US could be maintained and even boosted while coal-fired power plants are phased out. That's the finding of new research that looked into the impact of cutting coal plant jobs at the same time as developing new environmentally friendly technologies (stock image)

Jobs in the US could be maintained and even boosted while coal-fired power plants are phased out. That's the finding of new research that looked into the impact of cutting coal plant jobs at the same time as developing new environmentally friendly technologies (stock image)

WHAT IS BECCS? 

Bioenergy coupled with carbon capture and storage (Beccs) is a proposed technology for reducing the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

It combines carbon capture and storage, in which CO² is collected from large emission sources such as power plants and injected into underground geologic formations.

This is coupled with the increased use of biomass, like plant-based materials, as a source of fuel.

Proponents of Beccs predict that more than 99 per cent of carbon dioxide stored through geologic sequestration is likely to stay in place for more than 1,000 years.

They say this approach is necessary because the levels of CO² that already have been released are too high to be absorbed by conventional carbon sinks like trees and soil alone.

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Experts from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria made the calculations.

'In the ambitious attempt to limit global warming below 2°C, Beccs features as the dominant technology, said first author Piera Patrizio, a research scholar in ecosystems services and management at the Institute.

'Yet it's been under considerable scrutiny for its unknown effects on the environment and society, 

'Our analysis shows that acting now and investing in this emission-mitigating strategy can be beneficial for employment in the U.S. coal sector.'  

The researchers studied in detail the major processes and steps involved in the potential energy supply chains for the U.S. coal fleet.

Specifically, they looked at the supply of sustainable forest resources for biomass and the design and cost of infrastructure for transporting and injecting CO² into appropriate geologic sites.

'We also took into account the fact that biomass must be grown and harvested in a sustainable way in order to be considered carbon-neutral and thus obtain negative emissions,' added study co-author Sabine Fuss, of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change in Berlin.

'This aspect is sometimes neglected in studies dealing with Beccs deployment.'

The investigators used a number of different models to analyse existing data.

This included a biophysical model called the Global Forest Model, as well as a techno-economic model called BeWhere, which optimises the technology development of U.S. coal, including feedstock logistics.

Researchers also used the Jobs and Economic Development Impact model, which let them estimate the employment impacts of technology development.

Experts investigated using biomass - sustainable fuel developed from organic materials - as well as carbon capture and storage techniques. This approach would retain 40,000 jobs currently held as part of the coal industry as well as creating 22,000 new jobs (stock image)

Experts investigated using biomass - sustainable fuel developed from organic materials - as well as carbon capture and storage techniques. This approach would retain 40,000 jobs currently held as part of the coal industry as well as creating 22,000 new jobs (stock image)

There are some limitations to this type of analysis.

Firstly, it does not consider the potential substitution of coal with other low-carbon options like renewables, so reflects a limited picture of the future economy.

Secondly, the models don't include any equilibrium in the economy, but are a bottom-up supply-chain optimisation for specific technologies.

Depending on these issues, outcomes of employing Beccs could differ with regard to job creation.

BIOFUEL EXPLAINED

Biomass is fuel that is developed from organic materials, a renewable and sustainable source of energy used to create electricity or other forms of power.

Some examples of materials that make up biomass fuels are scrap lumber, forest debris, crops, manure and some types of waste residues.

With a constant supply of waste - from construction and demolition activities, to wood not used in papermaking, to municipal solid waste - green energy production can continue indefinitely.

Biomass is a renewable source of fuel to produce energy because waste residues will always exist – in terms of scrap wood, mill residuals and forest resources.

Properly managed forests will always have more trees, and we will always have crops and the residual biological matter from those crops.

Biomass power is carbon neutral electricity generated from this renewable organic waste that would otherwise be dumped in landfills, openly burned, or left as fodder for forest fires.

When burned, the energy in biomass is released as heat. If you have a fireplace, you already are participating in the use of biomass as the wood you burn in it is a biomass fuel.

In biomass power plants, wood waste or other waste is burned to produce steam that runs a turbine to make electricity, or that provides heat to industries and homes.

Fortunately, new technologies - including pollution controls and combustion engineering - have advanced to the point that any emissions from burning biomass in industrial facilities are generally less than emissions produced when using fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil. 

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Further analysis could focus on emphasising the socioeconomic effects of substituting renewable technologies for existing fossil-based capacity.

Detecting larger, macroeconomic effects of low-carbon technology deployment is another avenue for further research, the researchers say.

'To increase the acceptance of mitigation actions, policymakers should embrace strategies that offer other societal benefits, such as jobs,' co-author Kasparas Spokas from Princeton University added.

'The U.S. represents a very interesting case to test our approach given the current economic, political, and environmental situation.

'This study shows how investing in climate change mitigation could actually ease the transition for coal workers, who would otherwise be confronted with abrupt job losses due to the retirement of the coal fleet by 2050.'

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Joule.

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