14 DAY TRIAL // Writing in a recent issue of the journal Biomass and Bioenergy, a team of researchers with the University of Missouri makes a case of how having small biomass plants pop up like daises across rural areas in the United States can yield noteworthy financial benefits and also help stabilize the country's national grid.
In their paper, the scientists explain that, according to their investigations, bioenergy, i.e. clean energy obtained by exploiting organic sources such as biomass, is becoming increasingly popular in the United States.
This is chiefly due to the fact that, when compared to other power sources, bioenergy does not come with a rather scary price tag. Hence, there are a lot of people who are starting to use it to power not only their homes, but also workplaces.
The University of Missouri researchers further detail that, thanks to advancements made in the field of technology, small biomass plants can now be built at a fairly low cost.
They argue that, should many such small power plants be built in rural areas and interconnected, the result would be that people living in these regions would have access to a cheap and reliable energy source, and that the strain on the national power grid would be reduced.
“Farmers already have access to a large amount of biomass material left over each year after harvests. If they had access to small biomass power plants, they could become close to self-sustaining in terms of power,” explains specialist Tom Johnson, as cited by Science News.
“If the grid was improved enough, they could even provide additional power to other people around the country, helping to stabilize the national power grid. This could help save rural citizens money and be a boon for rural economies,” he further details.
Apart from the fact that they would become nearly independent, energy-wise and help stabilize the national grid, rural areas equipped with lots of small biomass plants would also be more appealing to manufacturers and firms that might agree to set up camp in such regions.
However, the University of Missouri specialists warn that, in order for the bioenergy industry to really take off in rural areas, it is mandatory that policymakers and the people who live in these areas work together and come up with a well-articulated development plan.
“We need an integration of policy and programs among community leaders, rural entrepreneurs and economic developers or practitioners who act as conduits between entrepreneurs and policy. In order to grow this bioeconomy, the goals of these actors need to be aligned,” Tom Johnson says.