MILLBROOK – Forest biomass could replace as much as one-quarter of the liquid fossil fuel now being used for industrial and commercial heating in the Northeast United States, a new study by the Millbrook-based Cary Institute found.

Replacing foreign fossil fuels with homegrown wood could solve some of the environmental problems, said Thomas Buchholz of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont.

“The biggest opportunities for bio-energy in the Northeast is directly replacing oil that is so heavily dependent upon in the commercial, industrial and home markets,” he said. “If we utilize an approach where we take the biomass and try and substitute for oil use, that allows the transportation costs to be minimized and the carbon implications because we can then utilize the wood close to where it is growing throughout the region.”

The report does have caveats, though. The potential for forest biomass varies widely within the region and forest resources must be carefully managed to protect the other important services and goods they provide, the report said.