University Relations and Communications, 715-346-3046, Fax 715-346-2042, http://www.uwsp.edu/news
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will present a series of public presentations on renewable wood resources for energy beginning Wednesday, February 3.
The series will focus on woody biomass and the opportunities that exist to use this renewable resource to meet our energy needs today and in the future. The free lectures are open to the public and will be held on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. in Room 170 of the Trainer Natural Resources Building.
Eight regional and national speakers will define what woody biomass is, how it is harvested and used as a feedstock for direct heat and power generation. They will give an overview of the opportunities and potential of biofuels from woody biomass, the state of technology to extract biofuels from biomass, and where this industry is heading in the next five, ten and twenty years.
The first lecture, “Introduction to Forest Biomass,” will be presented by Don Peterson, president of Renewable Resource Solutions, LLC, on February 3. He will discuss the basics of woody biomass to potential end-use markets, as well as compare and contrast the positives and negatives of all aspects of woody biomass from extraction to utilization.
The next presentation will be Wed., February 17. Bob Govett, UWSP professor of resource management, will present “Comparative Boiler Basics – Comparative Energy Potential and Costs.” Future presentations will be announced later.
The series, co-sponsored by the College of Natural Resources and the biology department in the College of Letters and Science, is coordinated by John DuPlissis, forestry outreach specialist, 715-346-4128.
