D.C. clean energy investor calls biomass secure solution

Biomass Power & Thermal
By Luke Geiver February 01, 2012

The Washington D.C.-based clean energy investment team at Leaf Clean Energy Company has been around since 2007, and according to Peter O’Keefe, director of the company, his team has seen the ups and downs of the market. For 2012, O’Keefe believes the woody biomass market is looking up. During a webinar hosted by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), O’Keefe provided perspective on the growth potential for the biomass sector in 2012, telling listeners that woody biomass “is an area that we think has tremendous promise in the U.S.” With investments in a biomass power facility in Georgia and another in Florida, Leaf Clean Energy is looking for more opportunities, he also said.

The reasoning behind the company’s search for new biomass investment is directly linked to the base load power supply and future changes in that market. “If you look at base load power and the attack that it is under, biomass is absolutely a secure solution for us.” O’Keefe pointed out the recent domestic and global issues with nuclear power and the push by European utilities to use renewable energy resources such as pellets. The wood pellet industry is an area he believes will drive growth in the biomass industry based on Europe’s demand for the product and from census data from 2000 to 2010 that shows wood pellets are the fastest growing home heating fuel over that span. “We are blessed with an abundant biomass resource in the U.S.,” he said.

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