|  Download
A PDF Brochure
The state of Massachusetts shocked the industry when they halted biomass for power development pending results of a study due in April. As a dramatic 1st for any state, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has experts studying the "lifecycle net effect on atmospheric carbon balance of using Massachusetts forest biomass for energy production".
What are life cycle impacts, and who would have thought that something so unknown to the industry could have such an immediate and potentially devastating impact?
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a standardized tool that can help us better understand the carbon balance issue as well as other potential environmental impacts of the products we make and sell as well as the systems surrounding those products.
LCA is relatively new to the Power Industry, but companies such as BC Hydro have already investigated areas where LCA could add values to certain decision making processes.
- Assessment of new technology or products
- Standards/specifications/and guideline development
- Review of systems design
Few engineers have had the opportunity to learn about LCA, but, as evidenced by recent EPA decisions on biofuels, life-cycle decision making matters more each day.
Besides hearing the basic components of LCA, join Mary Ann Curran, PhD, as she discusses:
- Key issues associated with data collection, impact assessment modeling, and interpretation of the results
- Current event driven real world applications of LCA such as biobased products
Who Should Attend - Utility executives with renewable energy responsibilities
- Directors of renewable or fossil fuel resource development
- Managers of strategic planning
- Power generation managers
- Procurement managers and analysts
- Public utilities and regulatory staffers
- NGO's and green advocacy groups
- Finance and investment professionals
- Lawyers
- Government staff responsible for green program strategy and planning
- Renewable and clean-tech project developers
- Water professionals
- Sustainable fuel, and feedstock interests
Learning Outcomes - Distinguish and classify LCA methodology and describe various LCA approaches
- Assess both how to locate and model the necessary data
- Examine how data drives assessment models and how key variables can significantly alter the results
- Classify, to the degree possible, sustainability, and define how we can quantify that measure and apply those techniques to various decision making processes
Requirements for Successful Completion of Program Participants must be logged in to the web conference for its entirety to receive continuing education credit. Instructional Methods Web based PowerPoint presentation and on-line interactive question/answer session. Continuing Education Credits: EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer up to 0.1 CEUs for this program.
|
