Integrated ecological and economic solutions are increasingly sought after by communities to provide basic energy needs such as home heating, transport, and electricity, while reducing drivers of and vulnerability to climate change. Small rural communities may require a coordinated approach to overcome the limitations of economies of scale. Low-carbon development strategies present potential for large payoffs at a household and community scale. Southeast Alaskan forests previously harvested for timber are currently re-growing and require thinning to maintain ecosystem service benefits such as wildlife habitat, hunting, etc. Thinned material presents a potential biofuel source. However, without verification among decision alternatives, communities may not have the momentum, vision, or conviction to stimulate a shift to a new energy source. We developed a network approach to evaluating multiple energy delivery pathways, and a calculation of carbon, energy, and dollar savings presented by each pathway. We quantified chain of production impacts; from the point of energy extraction and transport (upstream), through consumption and emissions accounting (downstream). Our findings suggest substantial greenhouse gas emission savings of over 70% as well as heating cost savings for all bioenergy scenarios compared to fossil fuel scenarios. The “Prince of Wales Island Bioenergy cost and emission LCA Calculator” is an excel-based tool that we developed for this project to assess a range of bioenergy scenarios on their GHG emission savings. This tool can facilitate dialog between land managers, planners, community members and decision-makers and can be updated when new information or additional scenarios become available. It can also serve as a template for applications in other circumstances. Link to full article
