Environmental Costs and Benefits of Biomass Energy Use in California

Responding to two oil crises during the 1970s, and to burgeoning environmental concerns, California developed a strong program to promote the development of its renewable energy sources. By the early 1990s California led the world in the production of power that uses a variety of renewable resources, including biomass, geothermal, solar, and wind. But world energy markets had also undergoneradical change, and California was awash in cheap natural gas. Moreover, the technology for converting natural gas to electricity was improving dramatically. With deregulation of the California electricity industry looming on the horizon, the future commercial viability of renewable energy production was in doubt.