| A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to estimate the technically available forest and willow biomass within a 25 mile radius of Syracuse, NY and Tupper Lake, NY. Land cover and land use were used to determine the appropriate land base and restrictions were applied for slope, parcel size and designated wetlands. Approximately 245,798 oven-dry tons (odt) of forest biomass are technically available annually around Syracuse, which could produce 35-61 MWe of power. There are 167,733 acres of agricultural land technically available for growing willow biomass crops, which could produce 21,000 odt/yr of willow biomass and 3-5.25 MWe of power, depending on the rate of crop adoption and its yield. There are approximately 237,328 odt of forest biomass technically available annually around Tupper Lake, which is enough to produce 33-59 MWe of power. There are 1,931 acres of agricultural land in this area so willow biomass production would be minimal. |
