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        "Dendro"  is a prefix that means "wood",  from ancient Greek "dendros" meaning "tree".   It is not a word in common usage yet, but i 'm pretty sure it will be in the  near future.    Advances in wood burning technology have made generation of electrical energy from wood much more practical.   Burning fossil fuels like coal or oil add carbon to the atmosphere,  but burning wood is considered carbon neutral as the carbon in trees was recently in the atmosphere and would be added anyway when a tree dies and rots.    It is possible to save some of the charcoal produced during the process before it totally burns so that the process is actually carbon negative,  sequestering carbon out of atmospheric circulation and producing a useful fertilizer .   Wood is produced most effeciently by  coppicing, or cutting trees so they resprout from the roots,  leaving the soil intact and making very little environmental impact compared to clearcutting.   This ancient practice combined with efficient modern techniques is leading to new, ecologically integreated patterns of energy production that are very practical and practicable in areas with significant forest resources.
          Building modest sized wood powered electrical generation plants could be a huge benefit to local economy in rural areas.  Not only is there the primary employment at the generation plant,  there are the land owners who have a market for  their wood and there are the workers who cut it and haul it to  the plant.    We have a lot of woodland that is too thick with maple , poplar and other species that are suckering out from cut stumps, a natural coppicing.       I know that here, a lot of land is taken over with invasive species such as alainthus and there are areas where bull pine chokes out everything else.    Having a ready market for this could be of tremendous benefit for local people. as well as local woodlands.  
  Here are some resources and information about large scale electrical power generation from wood.  

        
Wood fired power plant  Hot New High Tech Energy Source is ..Wood?
                                                                                           National Geographic News  -  March 12, 2009
Burning trees for power may seem backward, dirty, and environmentally hostile. But a high-tech new way of wood burning holds great potential to save energy, cut costs, and even fight global warming, a new study says. For example, in the United States wood could sustainably supply "enormous amounts of energy, comparable to power production from hydroelectric [dams]," says the study, to be published in tomorrow's issue of the journal Science.
Already, "advanced wood combustion" is powering a U.S. college and cities across Europe, such as Joensuu, Finland.   Joensuu's "air quality has improved greatly," said city resident Antti Asikainen, a forestry expert at the Finnish Forest Research Institute. "It's a really clean technology     Mason Inman -           (read full article)          
                                                                                                                            


Sri Lanka is a leader in application  of dendropower, and are actually about the only folks using the term.  This video takes a while to get to the point, but the scenery is beautiful  and it is really  a charming little production of the  Bio Energy  Association of Sri Lanka.    I really like the  overview of the ecological problems and the comprehensive, permacultural approach they are taking.  The various sizes of plants for different applications is nice too.  Impressive and inspiring. 


    interface south
Center for Urban Interface Forestry is a cooperative effort between U.S. Forestry Service,   state foresters from southern states, and the University fo Florida's forestry department.    They have a large archive of university studies done on the economics and lecological effect of  power generation from wood.  They have sponsored the Wood to Energy program.  Here is how they describe their  purpose on their website:
          "This project aims to increase community understanding and discussion about the possibility of using wood for energy in the South. We are generating outreach materials for Biomass Ambassadors to use in communities across the region. The materials are currently in draft form and we are seeking input and suggestions for improving them."
wood to energy logo


wood chips Wood Is New Coal as Polluters Use Carbon-Eating Trees

June 2 2009  (Bloomberg) -- Wood is becoming a hot commodity in a new low-carbon world.     Power companies are burning more trees because the renewable fuel can be cheaper than coal and ignited without needing permits to release carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.
Vattenfall AB of Sweden, Germany’s RWE AG and American Electric Power Inc. of Ohio, the biggest coal-burner in the U.S., have switched a few plants over to wood and more are planned. So far that hasn’t driven up paper prices or strained forests, which absorb carbon dioxide in photosynthesis.        ( read full article)          


Pittsylvania plant Pittsylvania Power Station.
           Located on 224 acres in Hurt, Virginia, produces enough electricity to power about 19,000 homes, using wood as its fuel.    Pittsylvania consists of a single 79.6-megawatt wood-burning generating unit that began commercial service in 1994.        The plant is equipped with a selective non-catalytic reduction system to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides. The station receives its cooling water from Mill Creek. and employs abouit 26 people.  
( taken from ) Dominion's Pittsylvania power station

Stevens Croft        40 Mw plant,  Lockerbie, Scotland
Steven's Croft biomass plant

          Built on time and on budget, Steven's Croft is the biggest biomass plant in Scotland. Each year it generates enough electricity to power the equivalent of 70,000 homes.  The £90m scheme, which was recently opened by First Minister for Scotland Alex Salmond, makes an important contribution to the UK effort to tackle climate change by displacing up to 140,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases every year.Steven's Croft also sees a further significant investment in the local and regional economy. It's created 40 direct jobs and will help to maintain up to 300 indirect jobs in the local forestry industry. Local farming will also benefit from the long term, low risk energy crop initiative being developed by E.ON.
          The plant is fuelled entirely by biomass material.  Over 480,000 tonnes of fuel is needed to power the station every year.  The fuel is a blend of:     60% sawmill co-products and small round wood, 20% coppice willow and 20% recycled fibre.

Air Burner Air Burner's  S220,  loaded and burning.  Rocky Mountain National Park

The company Air Burner  has been a leader in  technology that enables clean burning of wood in areas where smoke is unacceptable.  Most of their models  are simply huge wood disposal systems, better than open burning, but a waste of energy.   The company says this model is capable of producing 300Kw of electrical power.   Here is a link to the PDF about this model.
Here is a link to the Air Burner  website