Woody Biomass Energy Output & Efficiency
 Mass amounts of energy are wasted every year in the U.S. when slash piles from forest management and thinning are burned. For example, in 2008 the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota alone had approximately 239,000 green tons of woody biomass heaped up in slash piles, with another estimated 1,000,000 tons of "air dry" slash piles.fn
That is enough woody biomass to generate up to 19 trillion BTU, or 5.6 TW of electricity. To put that in perspective, that is enough energy to power 4.6 million homes for a year. It would take up to 33 million barrels of crude oil to generate a comparable amount of energy.
Below are various tables with addtional energy information related to woody biomass.
| Average Thermal Energy Content by Fuel Type |
| Fuel |
Unit |
Energy output |
| Natural Gas |
1 Cubic Foot |
1,009 - 1,034 BTU |
| Crude Oil |
1 Gallon |
138,095 BTU |
| Crude Oil |
1 Barrel |
5.8 million BTU |
| Gasoline |
1 Gallon |
125,000 BTU |
| Ethanol |
1 Gallon |
84,400 BTU |
| Coal |
1 Ton |
16.2-26 million BTU |
| Wood (cord) |
1 Ton |
18-24 million BTU |
|
Source
| Cost per BTU by Fuel Type (2008) |
| Fuel |
Cost per BTU |
| Natural Gas |
$11.89 |
| Crude Oil (at $50 per barrel) |
$8.62 |
| Crude Oil (at $150 per barrel) |
$24.14 |
| Gasoline (at $3.00 per gallon) |
$24.00 |
| Wood |
$15.15 |
| Coal (at $36 per ton) |
$2.22 |
| Thermal Energy by Wood Species |
| Wood Species |
BTU per cord |
| Balsam Fir |
11.3 million BTU |
| Aspen |
12.5 million BTU |
| Pine (white) |
13.3 million BTU |
| Maple |
21.3 million BTU |
| Oak |
22.7 million BTU |
|
Source
| U.S. Renewable Energy Consumption by Energy Source (2008) |
| Energy Source |
Quadrillion BTUs |
| Hydroelectric |
2.463 |
| Woody Biomass |
2.165 |
| Geothermal |
.353 |
| Wind |
.080 |
| Solar |
.319 |
|
|
Source
Environmetal Benefits of Woody Biomass Utilization |
