08-20-2014, 06:45 AM
I am surprised that nobody has brought up biomass generation as an option. With the constant supply of biomass material just from the invasive species - especially right now - I wonder of it could be practical and cost effective. It sure would beat the cost of importing the bunker oil that we use right now. And while it would never be able to eliminate the need for outside energy sources, it could mitigate the need to some extent. We surely have to have enough albizia material for at least a small generation plant.
We tried it in Nederland Colorado a few years ago, and the project failed because of outside influences, not because of the viability of the technology. I am concerned that those same socio-political struggles could be an issue here too. However, it certainly can't be any worse than in Nederland.
It could provide a demand for the invasive species biomass material, which could then motivate the collection of invasive species. Perhaps even incentivize it. And it would provide a method for dealing with the waste stream problem that invasive species eradication struggles with.
We tried it in Nederland Colorado a few years ago, and the project failed because of outside influences, not because of the viability of the technology. I am concerned that those same socio-political struggles could be an issue here too. However, it certainly can't be any worse than in Nederland.
It could provide a demand for the invasive species biomass material, which could then motivate the collection of invasive species. Perhaps even incentivize it. And it would provide a method for dealing with the waste stream problem that invasive species eradication struggles with.