What I would at like to see are Community Supported Energy projects, CSEs, modeled after Community Supported Agriculture [CSAs]. A CSE, operating within about a 5 mile radius, would convert locally sourced biomass into fuel for carbon negative heat for local buildings. The biochar produced by the heating systems would then be cycled back to the CSA to support their goal of producing Nutrient Dense and Carbon Negatives foods.

We know that turning milk into cheese adds a great deal of value at the farm gate. I expect turning locally produced biomass into heat and biochar, and finally supporting the growing of Nutrient Dense and Carbon Negatives foods will, as suggested by David Yarrow, also add a great deal of value. Further, this approach will keep both food and energy dollars circulating in the local economy longer. This is known to be an economic stimulus, rather than hemorrhaging the money out of the community as is the case when buying energy and food “from away”.

The synergy between the CSE and the CSA should create a result greater than the sum of the parts. Not only will it help with carbon negative heating and nutrient dense and carbon negative foods, but every ton of biochar sequestered in the soils of the CSA will also increase crop yields in a virtuous cycle. This coupling of biomass to food and energy production, integrated with the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere for many hundreds of years, is truly a triple play at the intersection of Agriculture, Energy, and the Environment.

Note: In my view. the operating radius of the CSE needs to be as small as possible in order to minimize the carbon foot print of the transportation of the biomass, fuel, and biochar.

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