Florestas e Bioenergia (Forests and Bioenergy)

This article is an overview of the present status and prospects for the use of planted forests for bioenergy in São Paulo state, Brazil. The author compiled data to estimate the state's land area suitable for forest biomass production. Sugarcane and eucalyptus plantations were compared in terms of energy production and costs, with eucalyptus being slightly more than half as expensive / unit energy / hectare as sugarcane. Finally, a series of policy recommendations necessary to facilitate the use of forests for energy production.