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Abstract: Biomass energy is one of mitigation method of CO2 reduction. In Japan, it aimed to reduce fossil fuels supply 670,000kL of crude oil equivalent in thermal power plants and 340,000kL of crude oil equivalent in the utilization of heat by biomass. It was decided to use 25% or more of the forestry products such as logging residues. Japanese government aim to supply 634PJ of woody biomass for power generation in 2010. This amount of energy accounts for 2.8% of total primary energy. More than 68% of Japan is covered by forests, and more than 40% of these forests are plantations. But the use of woody biomass is limited because it is still not seen as economically viable. In this article, we developed a large scale forestry economic model which can estimate the wood chips supply for coal thermal power plants across all around Japan. By using this model, wood chips supply potential is currently 32,000m3/year and supply will increase drastically when wood chips price increase or carbon credit is installed and we found that biomass production of 15PJ that is the numeric target of Japanese government is possible. Especially, the lengthening of rotation period of forestry and the decrease of wood chips transportation cost is important for wood chips use in coal thermal plant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of this study was to contribute to filling the knowledge gap in public opinion and knowledge about forest and its certification in Japan, as well as to identify key elements and the possible role of public opinion within integrated bottom-up policies, bridging the sectors of forest, environment and energy. For the study 1930 questionnaires were disseminated in a small town in early 2007. Results from the statistical analysis indicated that forest was perceived as an ecosystem with a protective function against e.g. soil erosion or flooding, rather than a place that might serve for wood production and providing jobs. Forest certification and bioenergy from forest were identified as key elements for future integrated bottom-up policies that need to concentrate on facilitating the linkage between forestry and renewable energy as well as on promoting environmentally sound management and forest certification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The objective of this study is to analyze the in situ BECCS capacity for green-field bioenergy plants in South Korea. The technical assessment is used to support a policy discussion on the suitability of BECCS as a mitigation tool. We examined the technical potential of bioenergy production from domestic forest biomass. In a first step, the biophysical global forestry model (G4M) was applied to estimate biomass availability. In a second step, the results from G4M were used as input data to the engineering model BeWhere, which optimizes scaling and location of combined heat and power plants (CHP). The geographically explicit locations and capacities obtained for forest-based bioenergy plants were then overlaid with a geological suitability map for carbon storage. From this, a theoretical potential for in situ BECCS was derived. Results indicate that, given the abundant forest cover in South Korea, there is substantial potential for bioenergy production, which could contribute not only to substituting emissions from fossil fuels but also to meeting the targets of the country's commitments under any climate change mitigation agreement. However, there seems to be only limited potential for direct in situ carbon storage in South Korea. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]