This white paper explores the complementarities between restorative forest management practices and the deployment of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) in the western United States (California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington). This is a region of particular importance given the mechanical thinning planned in response to elevated wildfire risk, which has the potential to generate large volumes of low-value biomass. This Whitepaper contributes to the Energy Future Initiative (EFI) synthesis report Taking Root: A Policy Blueprint for Responsible BECCS Development in the United States. 

The Whitepaper is organized around three main research questions:

1. What is the supply of low-value woody biomass and what are the opportunities for geological sequestration in the region? 

2. What are the potential net emissions benefits of different options for removing and utilizing this biomass from a life cycle perspective

3. What are the policy actions necessary to generate these benefits?

The work concludes with the following six recommendations: 

1. Update the federal Renewable Fuel Standard’s rules to include biomass from forests at high risk of wildfire

2. Allocate existing resources within the Department of Energy to better support BECCS, and expand future appropriations for BECCS programs 

3. Enhance USDA’s BECCS portfolio in the 2023 Farm Bill 

4. Support market development and enhancement within the U.S. Forest Service  

5. Enhance federal policy stability 

6. Leverage federal and state procurement to catalyze market development for biomass derived products and bioenergy