A Baselining of Alternative Fuel Usage

ABSTRACT

Alternative fuel usage is becoming a more and more prevalent topic of discussion and important research area for those who work in the energy field and perform research on energy topics. This interest is due to the dwindling supply and increasing cost of more traditional energy supplies, as well as environmental considerations. Bio-fuels have now become an important research area as they have the potential to be able to replace some portion of the current United States dependence on traditional energy sources.

This research project performed a baselining effort on as large a sample of solid fuel boilers (utilizing the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) data) as was possible given the time and resource constraints of the project. This baselining effort in particular focused on alternative fuel usage commonly used in facilities surveyed across the United States. It is felt that the baselining report generated as a result of this effort will provide valuable assistance to researchers as they continue to analyze the impact of alternative fuel usage (particularly the use of bio-fuels). This is a relatively new research field that will impact much of the focus on energy generation and fuel supplies for many years to come.