Powering the Future
How Bioenergy IsPositioned to Support Georgia’s ExpandingEnergy Need
Winter 2026
By John Casey
Demand for electricity in Georgia is growing — driven by AI data center development and growth of the state’s
manufacturing sector. As investment continues to flow to all four corners of the state, developers, regulators and policymakers are asking one simple question: where can bioenergy derived from wood fiber scale reliably?
With one of the most productive forest resource bases in the world, a deeply integrated forest products supply chain and nationally recognized research institutions, Georgia’s forestry sector is increasingly cited across industry and academia as one of the most compelling answers.
manufacturing sector. As investment continues to flow to all four corners of the state, developers, regulators and policymakers are asking one simple question: where can bioenergy derived from wood fiber scale reliably?
With one of the most productive forest resource bases in the world, a deeply integrated forest products supply chain and nationally recognized research institutions, Georgia’s forestry sector is increasingly cited across industry and academia as one of the most compelling answers.
Bioenergy isn’t a new or unproven technology. What has been missing is consistent policy and market signals that allow capital to move with confidence.”
– Pete Madden, President, U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities
RevaTerra’s Arcana bio-coal is a sustainable drop-in replacement for fossil fuels.
A Forest Economy Built for Scale
In Georgia, decades of investment in seedling genetics, advanced silviculture and good forest policy have produced a highly productive and renewable feedstock base that supports both traditional forest products and emerging technologies.
From an industry perspective, that scale and reliability matter. Ben Chambers, vice president of external affairs and sustainability at Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM), describes Georgia’s forest economy as “one of the strongest and most integrated forest products ecosystems in the world.” That matters because new technologies don’t need to invent a supply chain from scratch. They can leverage a system that already works at commercial scale.
Georgia’s private landowner model, combined with sustainable forestry practices, provides confidence “that long-term
feedstock needs can be met sustainably and competitively,” Chambers said. RYAM has been a leader in innovative
manufacturing in Georgia since 1939. Chambers noted that the company’s facilities that leverage wood fiber down to the molecular level require consistent quality and reliable volume of raw material.
In Georgia, decades of investment in seedling genetics, advanced silviculture and good forest policy have produced a highly productive and renewable feedstock base that supports both traditional forest products and emerging technologies.
From an industry perspective, that scale and reliability matter. Ben Chambers, vice president of external affairs and sustainability at Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM), describes Georgia’s forest economy as “one of the strongest and most integrated forest products ecosystems in the world.” That matters because new technologies don’t need to invent a supply chain from scratch. They can leverage a system that already works at commercial scale.
Georgia’s private landowner model, combined with sustainable forestry practices, provides confidence “that long-term
feedstock needs can be met sustainably and competitively,” Chambers said. RYAM has been a leader in innovative
manufacturing in Georgia since 1939. Chambers noted that the company’s facilities that leverage wood fiber down to the molecular level require consistent quality and reliable volume of raw material.
Turning Residuals into Renewable Energy
As Georgia’s electricity demand rises — driven in part by large,
power-dense users like AI data centers — state regulators are leaning
hard on reliability of existing infrastructure while new capacity is developed.
In the Georgia Public Service Commission’s approval of Georgia Power’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan, the company received approval for the continued operation of coal-fired units at Plants Bowen and Scherer (about 4,000 MW combined), extending the role of coal assets in the
system’s near- and mid-term energy mix.
That context is helping accelerate interest in solutions that can reduce coal and natural gas dependence without requiring a complete rebuild of coalera infrastructure. One Georgia-based example is RevaTerra, which is using a novel chemistry platform to convert woody biomass (chips) into a pelletized “bio-coal” product designed as a 1:1 drop-in for coal. The company’s product is engineered to match coal performance metrics with minimal changes to handling and combustion and without an energy-intensive process.
CEO Jude Davies emphasized Reva-Terra’s advantage of working inside the manufacturing footprint already in place for wood pellet export markets: “We fit entirely in existing infrastructure by partnering directly with existing wood pellet manufacturers. Our approach adds optionality for final products — creating new pathways for woody biomass to be
leveraged for domestic energy.”
Pete Madden, president of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities, stresses that bioenergy technologies succeed or fail based on market certainty and long-term demand. That market certainty
is also shaping how Georgia scales bioenergy — whether through standalone biomass facilities like Piedmont Green Power in Barnesville or Albany Green Energy, or by co-locating biomass energy production at existing pulp and paper sites where infrastructure and fiber supply chains are already in place.
“Bioenergy isn’t a new or unproven technology,” Madden said. “What has been missing is consistent policy and market signals that allow capital to move with confidence.” From his perspective, Georgia’s advantage lies in the fact that the state already has the feedstock, infrastructure and operating experience needed to support large-scale deployment.
Madden frames bioenergy as a portfolio solution that complements—rather than replaces—other power sources. “You’re still going to have natural gas, coal and nuclear, but then biomass can play a smaller role.
But that role is going to make a huge impact to local communities,” said
Madden, emphasizing that projects can have outsized local effects on wood supply, demand and rural employment.
As utilities plan for unprecedented load growth, biomass will also have a role in reliability, with data centers, advanced manufacturing and AI driving new demand. “Once you bring these data centers up online, you can’t take them down even for microseconds,” Madden said.
“Biomass is a proven, baseload, dependable solution that utilities already know how to operate.”
Carbon and the Economics of Biomass Adoption Erin Lincoln, director for the Center of Forest Business at the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, argues Georgia’s bioenergy case is fundamentally an economics and reliability story as power demand climbs.
“If we can capture the positive downstream rural economic impacts and provide that information to decision
makers, I think that will help us recruit global business and get policymakers on board,” she said, pointing to employment, local tax base and sustainment of working forests as critical considerations.
According to a 2022 study by Warnell researchers, replacing coal in Georgia’s power plants with woody biomass could
cut emissions while meeting the state’s electricity needs. The study models a scenario in which Georgia’s coal generation is fully replaced with woody biomass—about 7.34 million tons a year-- while still meeting traditional timber demand across Georgia and neighboring states. With mill closures reshaping demand for low-value fiber, the question is today whether that material is wasted emissions through decomposition on the forest floor—or if it is leveraged as power for communities.
For companies looking to invest in woody biomass, the near-term question is less about technical feasibility and
more about how federal tax policy and project design affect financial viability at scale. The Inflation Reduction Act’s
technology-neutral clean electricity tax credits (Sections 45Y and 48E) are based on lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions
performance, creating incentives for projects that can demonstrate low or net-zero emissions outcomes. Federal
forestry advocates have historically emphasized that sustainably sourced biomass delivers climate benefits through
forest regrowth and active management.
However, the current eligibility frameworks for clean energy tax credits rely on lifecycle emissions accounting
rather than a categorical renewability or carbon-neutral definition.
As a result, some developers are evaluating pathways that pair biomass generation with carbon capture and storage
or other emissions-reduction strategies. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) in a bioenergy project means capturing the
CO2 coming out of the facility’s smokestack, compressing it and permanently storing it deep underground, instead of
releasing it into the air.
Early investments hint that this strategy is unlocking capital for bioenergy facilities. In Louisiana, Strategic Biofuels’
Louisiana Green Fuels facility would generate 100 MW from wood, and capture and store about 1.1 million tons of
CO2 per year in a nearby underground reservoir. In California, a data center developer called NewYork GreenCloud
is buying and upgrading an existing biomass site from 18 MW to 41 MW to power an on-site data center, using wood
chips to produce energy and capturing biochar as a byproduct, which the company cites as the basis for measurable
carbon removal.
Matt Hestad, senior vice president for the Georgia Forestry Foundation, strategies are promising, but it needs
to be researched further. “We’re exploring the opportunity to accelerate investment into bioenergy by working
with academic partners, GFA members and major energy users to validate key fundamentals for CCS and biochar --
from geology availability and permitting pathways to supply chains and landowner participation — so investment can be deployed with confidence.”
As Georgia’s electricity demand rises — driven in part by large,
power-dense users like AI data centers — state regulators are leaning
hard on reliability of existing infrastructure while new capacity is developed.
In the Georgia Public Service Commission’s approval of Georgia Power’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan, the company received approval for the continued operation of coal-fired units at Plants Bowen and Scherer (about 4,000 MW combined), extending the role of coal assets in the
system’s near- and mid-term energy mix.
That context is helping accelerate interest in solutions that can reduce coal and natural gas dependence without requiring a complete rebuild of coalera infrastructure. One Georgia-based example is RevaTerra, which is using a novel chemistry platform to convert woody biomass (chips) into a pelletized “bio-coal” product designed as a 1:1 drop-in for coal. The company’s product is engineered to match coal performance metrics with minimal changes to handling and combustion and without an energy-intensive process.
CEO Jude Davies emphasized Reva-Terra’s advantage of working inside the manufacturing footprint already in place for wood pellet export markets: “We fit entirely in existing infrastructure by partnering directly with existing wood pellet manufacturers. Our approach adds optionality for final products — creating new pathways for woody biomass to be
leveraged for domestic energy.”
Pete Madden, president of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities, stresses that bioenergy technologies succeed or fail based on market certainty and long-term demand. That market certainty
is also shaping how Georgia scales bioenergy — whether through standalone biomass facilities like Piedmont Green Power in Barnesville or Albany Green Energy, or by co-locating biomass energy production at existing pulp and paper sites where infrastructure and fiber supply chains are already in place.
“Bioenergy isn’t a new or unproven technology,” Madden said. “What has been missing is consistent policy and market signals that allow capital to move with confidence.” From his perspective, Georgia’s advantage lies in the fact that the state already has the feedstock, infrastructure and operating experience needed to support large-scale deployment.
Madden frames bioenergy as a portfolio solution that complements—rather than replaces—other power sources. “You’re still going to have natural gas, coal and nuclear, but then biomass can play a smaller role.
But that role is going to make a huge impact to local communities,” said
Madden, emphasizing that projects can have outsized local effects on wood supply, demand and rural employment.
As utilities plan for unprecedented load growth, biomass will also have a role in reliability, with data centers, advanced manufacturing and AI driving new demand. “Once you bring these data centers up online, you can’t take them down even for microseconds,” Madden said.
“Biomass is a proven, baseload, dependable solution that utilities already know how to operate.”
Carbon and the Economics of Biomass Adoption Erin Lincoln, director for the Center of Forest Business at the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, argues Georgia’s bioenergy case is fundamentally an economics and reliability story as power demand climbs.
“If we can capture the positive downstream rural economic impacts and provide that information to decision
makers, I think that will help us recruit global business and get policymakers on board,” she said, pointing to employment, local tax base and sustainment of working forests as critical considerations.
According to a 2022 study by Warnell researchers, replacing coal in Georgia’s power plants with woody biomass could
cut emissions while meeting the state’s electricity needs. The study models a scenario in which Georgia’s coal generation is fully replaced with woody biomass—about 7.34 million tons a year-- while still meeting traditional timber demand across Georgia and neighboring states. With mill closures reshaping demand for low-value fiber, the question is today whether that material is wasted emissions through decomposition on the forest floor—or if it is leveraged as power for communities.
For companies looking to invest in woody biomass, the near-term question is less about technical feasibility and
more about how federal tax policy and project design affect financial viability at scale. The Inflation Reduction Act’s
technology-neutral clean electricity tax credits (Sections 45Y and 48E) are based on lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions
performance, creating incentives for projects that can demonstrate low or net-zero emissions outcomes. Federal
forestry advocates have historically emphasized that sustainably sourced biomass delivers climate benefits through
forest regrowth and active management.
However, the current eligibility frameworks for clean energy tax credits rely on lifecycle emissions accounting
rather than a categorical renewability or carbon-neutral definition.
As a result, some developers are evaluating pathways that pair biomass generation with carbon capture and storage
or other emissions-reduction strategies. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) in a bioenergy project means capturing the
CO2 coming out of the facility’s smokestack, compressing it and permanently storing it deep underground, instead of
releasing it into the air.
Early investments hint that this strategy is unlocking capital for bioenergy facilities. In Louisiana, Strategic Biofuels’
Louisiana Green Fuels facility would generate 100 MW from wood, and capture and store about 1.1 million tons of
CO2 per year in a nearby underground reservoir. In California, a data center developer called NewYork GreenCloud
is buying and upgrading an existing biomass site from 18 MW to 41 MW to power an on-site data center, using wood
chips to produce energy and capturing biochar as a byproduct, which the company cites as the basis for measurable
carbon removal.
Matt Hestad, senior vice president for the Georgia Forestry Foundation, strategies are promising, but it needs
to be researched further. “We’re exploring the opportunity to accelerate investment into bioenergy by working
with academic partners, GFA members and major energy users to validate key fundamentals for CCS and biochar --
from geology availability and permitting pathways to supply chains and landowner participation — so investment can be deployed with confidence.”
If we can capture the positive downstream rural economic impacts and provide that information
to decision makers, I think that will help us recruit global business and get policymakers on board.”
— Erin Lincoln, Director for the Center of Forest Business, University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
A Market-Driven Case for Investment
As energy demand grows and global markets seek credible low-carbon solutions, bioenergy and carbon technologies offer Georgia a path to meet those needs while reinforcing its existing strengths. Rather than relying on a single technology or policy lever, the state’s advantage lies in the depth of its forest economy, the maturity of its infrastructure, and the alignment between industry and research.
For companies and investors looking to deploy bioenergy and forest-based carbon technologies at scale, the message from across Georgia’s forest sector is consistent: the foundation is already in place. ■
John Casey is a strategic communications professional who supports clients through the art of storytelling. In his downtime, John can be found hunting and fishing on his family’s centennial farm in Northwest Georgia.
As energy demand grows and global markets seek credible low-carbon solutions, bioenergy and carbon technologies offer Georgia a path to meet those needs while reinforcing its existing strengths. Rather than relying on a single technology or policy lever, the state’s advantage lies in the depth of its forest economy, the maturity of its infrastructure, and the alignment between industry and research.
For companies and investors looking to deploy bioenergy and forest-based carbon technologies at scale, the message from across Georgia’s forest sector is consistent: the foundation is already in place. ■
John Casey is a strategic communications professional who supports clients through the art of storytelling. In his downtime, John can be found hunting and fishing on his family’s centennial farm in Northwest Georgia.
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Georgia Forestry Magazine is published by HL Strategy, an integrated marketing and communications firm focused on our nation's biggest challenges and opportunities. Learn more at hlstrategy.com
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