As with many industries, from hospitality to healthcare, biomass has shouldered some of COVID-19’s broad impact. The immediate aftershock when the pandemic hit levied a hefty economic toll, as businesses shut down and biomass demand plummeted.
But, like healthcare, forestry, and agriculture, biomass was deemed essential, which meant production had to continue. Following this mandate, the biomass industry set up social distancing measures as much as possible, approved in-plant living arrangements during quarantine, and grappled with the stresses of a potentially sick workforce. Work churned along, even as major shares of the population stayed home and businesses were brought to a standstill. After all this time, the cogs behind biomass continue to spin, even amid a once-in-a-century pandemic.
A Marketing Blitz: What’s Behind Biomass
As a COVID-19 spring spilled into summer, heavyweights in the biomass industry began a marketing blitz aimed at explaining biomass’ carbon benefits, and dispelling a misinformation-laden media circuit as well as an online trove of falsehoods.
The campaign’s capstone involved a video headlined “How Biomass Works,” which distilled biomass’ inner workings into a more palatable format for an array of audiences. These audiences included people from the top of the political hierarchy on down, including federal, state, and local lawmakers, teachers, business owners, students, and the everyday citizen. With such a patchwork of information (or misinformation) proliferating, the video helped bundle biomass basics into something easily accessible.
Pursuing Change: The Battle for Biomass Continues
Besides the pandemic, other hurdles still stand in the way of the biomass industry’s full economic potential. Electrical power remains out of the RFS’ (Renewable Fuel Standard Program) scope, with the EPA holding out on inclusion. However, bigwigs in the biomass industry have applied pressure for the introduction of legislation to rectify this. This would remedy the RIN (renewable identification number) disparity that currently affects the industry—a disparity that translates into massive dollars lost for biomass.
Biomass Continues to Function
The stresses brought to bear on the biomass industry have been felt, but biomass has been buttressed by the necessity the work entails. While other sectors shut down, operation in the industry continued. Now, as the nation begins a return to normalcy—and businesses open their doors—the industry is poised to deliver production, even as demand rises. For the industry on the whole, operation is still a go.
Solutions Suited to You
With demand comes the need for production. Industries don’t exist in a vacuum; partnerships help processes continue to run smoothly, even during a pandemic. If you need total turnkey systems solutions, trust ProcessBarron as your provide. You can request a quote, speak to a representative in your area, and search out more things relevant to your industry on our blog.