Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s stance on biomass has recently changed its tune from one of skepticism to one of acceptance as a state-wide “clean” energy policy. Why the sudden switch? State environmental groups, the same groups who helped lobby to get him into office, are wondering the same thing and are now turning against Patrick’s newfound position at large.

According to a recent article in the Boston Phoenix, the Patrick administration will release a document in the next few weeks that will contain the final regulations for the state’s biomass subsidies.  According to environmental groups, the Administration is planning to reverse its original position as a nod towards a handful of developers who stand to make money off of biomass production.

These regulations will come at the expense of ordinary electricity-utility ratepayers who will be forced to pay extra to subsidize a practice that negatively impacts the environment and opens the way for clear-cutting of forests and increased carbon emission (carbon emissions from biomass are particularly concentrated).

Susan Reid, vice-president and director of the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) of Massachusetts stated that, “It is deeply troubling that the Patrick administration would jettison good policy and good science.”  James McCaffrey, director of the Massachusetts Sierra Club stated: “We will be very disappointed and very upset” if the Administration doesn’t reverse course. “It is going to indicate that the industry had a real hand in weakening these regulations.”

In an effort to determine whether biomass was as dirty as projected, the Administration commissioned the so-called “Manomet Report.” The study cast serious doubt on whether woody biomass is clean at all.  Based on the Manomet Report (pdf), the Administration issued a letter to draw up regulations allowing woody biomass to qualify for subsidies only if it met certain efficiency standards.  These regulations are the very regulations environmental groups are waiting anxiously for this fall.

In addition to state-wide policy, biomass has created tension throughout municipalities and local townships.  In Greenfield, for example, many homeowners have placed anti-biomass signs on their lawns as western Mass will face the brunt of production given the vast natural resources that exist in that region of the state.

While the struggle for a clean energy economy continues to envelop both Massachusetts and national politics, the debate over biomass remains clear: do state residents wish to see increased clear cutting across the state in return for dirty energy?  In a world that is faced with the daunting impacts of climate change, perhaps we should instead focus our policy efforts on coupling energy efficiency efforts with renewables such as wind, solar and geothermal.  Trees act as carbon sinks absorbing excess carbon out of the atmosphere; going forward, it would be wise policy to instead preserve as many carbon sinks as possible.