Mr. Studds. Your statement will appear in the record in its 

 entirety. 



[The following was received for the record:] 



Statement of Martin R. Adams, Deputy Program Director for Solar, Geo- 

 thermal, electric and storage systems, assistant secretary for energy 

 Technology 



Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I am pleased to be here today 

 to discuss the Biomass Energy Systems program of the Department of Energy with 

 particular emphasis on the aquatic biomass component of the program. 



Biomass is a term we use to describe organic material used for energy; the term 

 includes animal wastes and plants, both terrestrial and aquatic. Biomass can be 

 burned directly to produce heat energy or it can be converted to fuels which replace 

 petroleum and natural gas. In 1977 about 1.8 Quads/yr or 2.4 percent of the United 

 States' energy supplies were obtained from biomass sources. This is primarily from 

 direct combustion of wood wastes in the forest products industry. 



The potential United Sttes biomass resource base has been estimated to be as 

 large as 10 to 15 Quads/yr on a sustainable basis. This would include forestry 

 residues and wastes, agricultural residues and wastes, and crops, grown for their 

 energy value. This places biomass as a significant energy resource for the future. 

 The Domestic Policy Review (DPR) of Solar Energy, and other studies, have estimat- 

 ed 1985 levels of biomass usage in the range of 2.6 Quads and a total of 3-7 Quads/ 

 yr are estimated by 2000. This makes biomass potentially the single most important 

 renewable solar energy contributor between now and 2000. 



It is this exciting potential that has led to an increased emphasis on biomass 

 energy within the Department of Energy during the past few years. As an example, 

 the budget of the Biomass Energy Systems program increased by a factor of 13 in 

 just three years, from $4.5 M in fiscal year 1976 to $58 M in fiscal year 1980. 



The biomass program objective is to develop biomass resources and related con- 

 version technologies for displacing U.S. use of petroleum and natural gas. In pursuit 

 of this objective the program has established four major lines of activity: 



To perform research and development of innovative systems; 



To develop production techniques to increase the resource base of biomass and 

 decrease biomass feedstock costs; 



To develop bioconversion systems such as fermentation to make alcohol and 

 anaerobic digestion to produce gas and by-products; and 



To develop thermochemical conversion processes which produce petroleum substi- 

 tutes such as heavy oils. This work also includes direct combustion of wood, to 

 produce heat for steam and for electricity production. 



During the next two decades, wood and agricultural crops, residues and wastes 

 will provide the vast majority of this biomass material. However, as demand for 

 biomass resources increases, there will be increased competition for prime forest 

 and farm land to produce higher value products such as lumber, paper and food 

 crops. Increased competition for land, as well as fresh water to irrigate the land 

 may well be the limit on the ability of biomass to contribute to U.S. energy needs. 

 In such a circumstance, alternative sources of biomass such as the ocean as well as 

 ponds, swamps, and other bodies of water will look increasingly more attractive as 

 biomass resource areas. 



Aquatic biomass resources offer the long-term potential for supplying large por- 

 tions of U.S. energy demands. Aquatic biomass involves both marine or ocean-based, 

 and terrestrial or land-based biomass production. Land-based aquatic biomass might 

 include freshwater production as well as biomass growth in saltwater or brackish 

 water. Much of the land-based aquatic biomass could be grown on marginal land, 

 not suitable to traditional forestry or agricultural use. An example of this is the 

 work being done by private industry on the growing of algae in brackish water 

 ponds in the Southwest. 



We estimate that, before the year 2000, aquatic biomass, based on continental and 

 ocean production could contribute up to 1 Quad/yr of additional alternate fuel and, 

 in the next century, 3 or 4 Quads/yr. We cannot now closely estimate whether land- 

 based or ocean systems will make up the larger part of this amount. While the 

 ocean potential is large, so too is that of land-based aquatic systems. 



Whatever the form of the aquatic biomass, the key to achieving this potential lies 

 in developing high-yield species and in developing cost-effective growing and har- 

 vesting techniques. Our best present estimates for potential yields are in the neigh- 

 borhood of 25-30 dry ash-free tons/acre/year for marine biomass and, perhaps as 

 much as five to six times that for some land-based aquatic biomass. These figures 



