Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Fracking Changes Everything

Biomass Power & Thermal
By John Crouch April 05, 2012

A headwind is approaching the biomass energy sector, and it’s called cheap natural gas. Fracking has dramatically changed the supply outlook for natural gas in North America for the foreseeable future and biomass proponents who fail to factor it into their planning will regret it.

The impact on the economics of proposed projects is obvious, but I think the impact on the political process could be even more profound. The decrease in heating energy costs will predominantly impact our urban communities, and it may also widen the gulf between urban and rural energy costs in both the U.S. and Canada.

Read more