A strong and sustainable forestry sector is a hallmark of Maine’s economy. In 2015, Maine produced enough paper, wood and forest products to account for 27 percent of the state’s exports and drive hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity.
Yet our forestry sector is in serious trouble, as mill closures and job losses reverberate through Maine’s economy. The urgency of finding innovative new uses and new markets to maximize the economic productivity of our forests is indisputable.
Fortunately, this challenge comes at a time when new renewable energy technologies are poised to drive demand for biomass both in the U.S. and abroad. So our forests are well-positioned to nurture growth and well-paying jobs in both export opportunities, with the state-of-the-art bulk conveyor system at the Port of Eastport, and with the development of home-grown green energy production in Maine.
Unfortunately, this vision for producing clean renewable energy on the domestic front is far from guaranteed. But support for the Renewable Fuels Standard, a decade-old federal policy responsible for driving innovation in how we convert wood and plant matter into sustainable low-carbon biofuels such as ethanol, is one way we can help Maine’s forestry sector rebound.
Thanks to these new technologies, cellulosic ethanol — a clean biofuel alternative to gasoline — can be distilled from Maine trees that are unsuitable for building materials, as well as the leftovers from existing wood and lumber operations. Our own University of Maine, in fact, is a prime mover in the field of sustainable forest biofuels, biochemicals and biopolymers.
While many people automatically think of corn as the raw material for ethanol production, trees, like corn, are made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. (In fact, so is crude oil.)
Ethanol already makes up 10 percent of the fuel we use in the U.S., and under the Renewable Fuels Standard, ethanol will continue to replace additional barrels of foreign oil each year. As a substitute for gasoline, corn-based ethanol cuts carbon emissions by 44 percent, according to Argonne National Laboratory, while advanced ethanol from sources such as wood offer even greater reductions in emissions. Each year, the technology is getting better, allowing ethanol producers to increase efficiency and generate additional clean fuel from plant matter that was previously unusable.
Since the inception of the Renewable Fuels Standard, ethanol and other biofuels have resulted in the creation or support of more than 850,000 U.S. jobs. Why shouldn’t some of these jobs be right here in Maine, where our forest products industry is well-positioned for growth in this sustainable energy market?
Not only could a vital biofuels sector play a major role in strengthening Maine’s economy, but it also would help maintain a critical mass of Mainers employed in harvesting trees, which is vital to the survival and success of our remaining pulp and paper mills.
Other parts of the nation are benefiting already. For example, in South Dakota, the ethanol industry has provided a $3.8 billion economic boost. Today, rural South Dakota leads the nation in economic growth and boasts the lowest unemployment rate in the nation at just 2.5 percent.
Every industry, no matter the product, has to move forward, embracing innovation and new technologies and seizing opportunities where they arise. Maine’s forests are no different. One important step in that direction is for our leaders to support the Renewable Fuels Standard and help put Maine in a strong position to take advantage of new opportunities to use our own God-given renewable resources to put Maine people and Maine forests to work, creating jobs, preserving the environment and strengthening America’s energy security.
Kevin Raye of Perry, a former president of the Maine Senate, owns and operates Down East Strategies, a public affairs consulting firm with a focus on Maine’s economy.