CLINTON, N.C. -- North Carolina's hardwood forests - located in the eastern part of the state - are becoming a high demand commodity for a growing energy industry.

Parts of Europe are transitioning to the use of wood pellets for power generation and the heating of their homes and businesses. It's part of their effort to meet requirements for reduced carbon emissions.

But Dr. Robert Parr with Medical Advocates for Healthy Air said wood pellets actually could be worse than burning coal.

"The problem with wood pellets is that it's an industry that's been formed based on misinterpretations of science,” Parr said. "When you add it all up, you find that the only way that can possibly work is if all the emissions at the power plant are not counted."

Parr is also concerned about the increased amount of particulate matter released into the atmosphere with the cutting down of trees and the process it takes to turn them into pellets.

There are three wood pellet plants in North Carolina, located in Sampson, Northampton and Ahoskie counties. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. exports of wood pellets more than doubled between 2012 and 2014, making this country the largest global exporter of pellets.

Jack Spruill owns farm and woodland in Washington County and has been working on a conservation project to protect the hardwoods. He said claims that wood pellets are a wholly renewable resource are false, because when trees are replanted, they're rarely replaced with the hardwood varieties that were there.

"There is just very little planting. And the whole idea that it's a renewable energy resource because it's being replanted is just totally wrong,” Spruill said. "If you rely on natural regeneration, that is very, very slow."

Parr said poor air quality near wood pellet plants causes increased cardiac and pulmonary disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and dementia. And as a former emergency room doctor, he's concerned about the long-term impact on the citizens of North Carolina.

"We have an area that already has low health parameters, and then we have these plants that are coming in and the plants have multiple stages where they release these toxic chemicals,” he said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 60 percent of the 30 million acres of bottomland forests that once covered the southeastern United States have been destroyed.


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Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a material as thin as an atom to reduce power consumption.

A national study showed by 2030, 9% of the country's energy will be consumed by data centers, keeping the internet, AI applications and other technology humming.

Matthew Panthani, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at Iowa State University, and his team are focused on using light rather than heat to generate power for the data centers sprouting up close to home.

"Iowa seems to be a popular place to build data centers," Panthani observed. "Meta and other companies have built data centers, even in the Des Moines area. They're taking advantage of the relatively low electricity prices afforded by wind energy."

Panthani's lab is focused on developing atom-thin sheets of a silicon-germanium alloy which are stacked in layers and used to create highly energy efficient semiconductors, which can be used in power-hungry data centers.

Using light to transmit data is not new. Companies have used fiber optic technology to transmit light across oceans, for example. But Panthani pointed out doing it on a much smaller scale, such as between components on the computer chips in data centers, is something quite different.

"That's really because there isn't a material that can enable scalable, on-chip light sources," Panthani explained. "The materials that we're developing are intended to have properties, both the manufacturability and properties, that could enable that."

According to the Electric Power Research Institute, the internet's 5.3 billion users can demand as much power as 800,000 households. It will sharply increase this decade, sending the demand even higher and making new technology like this even more important.


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Rising demands for clean energy efficiency are producing a wealth of work opportunities in Illinois. These in-demand jobs are also promoting a healthier environment. According to the Energy.gov report, Energy Facts: Impact of the Investing in America Agenda on Illinois, The Inflation Reduction Act will contribute to job increases by producing $18 billion of investment in clean power generation and storage by 2030. E2 is a nationwide network of business leaders that focuses on environmental and economic policy.

Michaela Preskill, state director of advocacy for E2, said Illinois' "robust and growing" clean energy jobs are driving economic growth.

"Clean energy jobs grew by over 4% last year, and that's eight times faster than the state's overall economy," she said.

Workers manufacturing Energy Star appliances are using advanced materials for the construction and servicing of homes and commercial buildings. These efforts result in cost-effective lighting and HVAC systems, Preskill noted, which saves consumers and homeowners money. The report also claims the Inflation Reduction Act means commercial building owners can receive up to $5 per square foot in tax credits to support energy efficiency improvements.

Clean energy industry watchers predict an 8% growth of employees in Illinois in 2025. Preskill said there is no indication the trend will slow down, but diversity is an issue. The site 'Save-on-energy-dot-com,' says women represent only 22% of workers in the energy sector and 32% in the renewable energy sector. She admits the field is traditionally male, but is optimistic for change.

"It's about 70% male, 30% female in Illinois. We are seeing that more and more females enter year after year. And I think it will slowly become more inclusive. But we got some work to do for sure," she explained.

The International Energy Agency site reports female employees in the energy sector earn nearly 20% less than male workers.

Groups concerned about pollution and climate change are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a trio of bills dubbed the "make polluters pay" package.

Assembly Bill 1866 would increase fees on 40,000 idle oil wells and accelerate cleanup.

Nayamin Martinez, executive director of the Central California Environmental Justice Network, said right now, companies often pay fees without actually cleaning up "orphan wells."

"The authorities are not proactively going and inspecting these sites," Martinez pointed out. "We have a program that goes to do inspections on active and abandoned uncapped wells, and we have found that many of them are leaking."

The Western States Petroleum Association argued current regulations are sufficient and companies are making progress plugging their idle wells.

A second measure, Assembly Bill 3233, would protect local communities' rights to limit oil drilling. It comes in response to a lawsuit from Chevron, eliminating a part of 'Measure Z' in Monterey County, which would have required companies to phase out oil drilling in that area.

Raquel Mason, senior legislative manager for the California Environmental Justice Alliance, said oil wells leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and release other toxic substances into the air and water.

"Those pollutants that are coming off these wells can have different health-harming impacts like respiratory issues, different types of cancer, headaches, nosebleeds," Mason outlined. "We hear about too often from community members who are living near these types of facilities."

A third bill would fine oil companies in the Inglewood Oil Field in Los Angeles $10,000 a month for operating low-producing wells near local neighborhoods.