Biomass power & CHP developers
Credit eligibility, emissions-rate support, feedstock scenarios and project diligence.
Forestry · Economics · Energy · Policy
Life Cycle Assessment for wood, biomass & clean-energy projects
Tax-credit readiness.
Defensible carbon accounting.
Better project decisions.
Defensible carbon accounting.
Better project decisions.
Independent analysis for projects that must withstand technical, financial and regulatory scrutiny.
Who we help
Projects where the carbon answer has real consequences.
We focus on practical work where lifecycle emissions affect eligibility, financing, markets, reporting or the decision to proceed.
Thermal & district-energy projects
Schools, hospitals, campuses, communities and other large heat users evaluating wood energy.
Sawmills, pellet & chip producers
Product-level footprints, process improvements, market questions and customer requests.
Lenders, investors & tax advisors
A traceable technical record that can stand up to diligence and review.
Agencies & grant recipients
LCA work that supports applications, reporting and public-sector decision making.
Forest-products businesses
New markets, residuals use, sourcing decisions and business-process questions with carbon implications.
Why an LCA?
More than a carbon number.
A strong LCA can create major tax, financing and project-value benefits.
Federal clean-electricity credits
For combustion or gasification projects, lifecycle greenhouse-gas analysis can be central to clean-electricity credit eligibility and emissions-rate determination.
Last reviewed: October 2026
§45Y · CLEAN ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION
0.6¢per kWh, 2026 base applicable amount
3.1¢per kWh, 2026 increased applicable amount
Higher amounts generally depend on prevailing-wage and apprenticeship rules, subject to applicable exceptions. Potential bonuses may apply for domestic content and energy-community location.
§48E · CLEAN ELECTRICITY INVESTMENT
6%base credit
30%with qualifying prevailing-wage & apprenticeship requirements
Potential 10-percentage-point bonuses may apply for domestic content and energy communities.
Eligibility and value are project-specific. Current rules also include prohibited-foreign-entity restrictions affecting certain facilities beginning construction after 2025. Final tax positions should be coordinated with tax counsel. Sources: IRS Notice 2026-47, §48E overview, and 2026 PFE guidance.
What a strong LCA does for the project
1
Tax & financing readiness
Creates a traceable emissions framework, surfaces evidence gaps early, and gives tax advisors, lenders and investors a defensible technical record.
2
Project strategy before filing
Tests feedstock, transport, facility and counterfactual assumptions before they become expensive commitments — and shows where better data could change the answer.
3
Operational insight
Reveals the stages that drive emissions and cost, supports scenario comparisons, and targets practical improvements in sourcing, logistics, energy use and production.
4
Reusable evidence base
Creates a structured record that can support later grants, customer questions, diligence, reporting, permitting discussions and future model updates.
For combustion and gasification facilities, lifecycle emissions can be part of the federal emissions-rate determination — not optional context.
Our process
From messy project data to a defensible LCA.
A structured workflow keeps the work understandable for contributors and rigorous for analysts.
1
Scope
Map the tax, regulatory and decision questions.
2
Evidence
Collect project facts, sources and supporting records.
3
Model
Normalize units and run deterministic calculations.
4
Stress-test
Test assumptions, scenarios and sensitivity.
5
Package
Build a source-linked report and support file.
The Bick, Berry & Ross LCA Workbench
A proprietary workflow for forest-products and wood-energy projects.
- Requirements mapped to the data that must support them
- Source and provenance tracking for material inputs
- Deterministic calculations separated from judgment
- Visible gaps, assumptions, scenarios and review status
Compiled reference library
A curated library of third-party LCA studies, methods and sector research.
- Treasury / IRS / DOE guidance and methods
- General LCA methodology and reference texts
- CORRIM and wood-products / biomass literature
- Forest carbon, feedstock, transport and precedent studies
Compiled for analysis and comparison; third-party studies are not represented as Bick, Berry & Ross work.
What you receive
A usable decision package, not a black-box number.
Deliverables are built around the question at hand and the evidence needed to support it.
LCA report
Written for the tax, financing, permitting, grant or business decision at hand.
Source-linked support file
Material inputs traced to their underlying evidence.
Scenario results
Model comparisons and sensitivity on assumptions that matter.
Evidence-gap list
A clear statement of what better data could change the answer.
Plain-language summary
For owners, lenders, boards and other nontechnical decision makers.
Relevant experience
Grounded in the forest sector, energy projects and business decisions.
Our advantage is the combination: forestry, economics, markets, wood energy, policy, grant work and technical communication.
Decades of work on forest management economics, forest-products businesses, biomass utilization, markets and practical decision tools.
Renewable-energy policy, wood-energy program work, project development and more than 20 Forest Service wood-energy / forest-products grants managed.
Carbon accounting, GIS, technical guidance, data provenance and the translation of complex analysis into material that owners, agencies and lenders can use.
Specific client engagements can be discussed where confidentiality and permissions allow; this site does not imply authorship of the third-party LCA studies in our compiled reference library.
Qualifications
Three disciplines. One integrated LCA team.
Forestry, economics, wood energy, policy and project development.
Steven Bick, PhD
SAF Certified Forester · forest economist · consultant
- 38+ years of forestry and forest-economics practice
- Principal, Northeast Forests LLC since 1993
- Director, The Forest Business School
- Author of eleven forestry and forest-products books, including Harvesting Woody Biomass: A Small Business Guide
Alison H. Berry
Economist · forest-sector consultant
- 20+ years in forest-sector consulting and research
- Biomass utilization, markets, economics and policy analysis
- Project development and stakeholder engagement
- Technical communication for businesses, agencies and regional initiatives
Maura L. Ross
Energy engineer · wood-energy specialist
- Energy engineering and environmental science background
- Wood-energy program and renewable-energy policy experience
- Managed 20+ Forest Service wood-energy / forest-products grants totaling $2.5M+
- GIS, technical guidance, grant development and stakeholder coordination
FAQ
Questions we expect early in the conversation.
The right scope depends on the decision, the facility, the feedstock and the quality of available data.
Does my project need an LCA for §45Y or §48E?
For electricity-producing projects where eligibility depends on a lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions rate, lifecycle analysis can be central to the credit determination. The exact requirement depends on the facility, feedstock and current Treasury/IRS rules, so we scope this with the project team and tax counsel.
How long does an LCA take, and what does it cost to scope?
It depends mostly on system complexity and data readiness. A short scoping review can usually identify the likely work, missing evidence and major methodological issues before anyone commits to a full analysis.
What data will we need to provide?
Typical inputs include feedstock quantities and sources, transport distances and loads, electricity and fuel use, production volumes, process details, facility records and supporting documents. We translate technical requirements into plain-language information requests for the people most likely to know the answers.
Do you work with our tax counsel and engineers?
Yes. LCA work for tax, financing or project diligence is strongest when the technical analysis, engineering facts and tax interpretation stay connected. We provide the lifecycle and evidence framework; tax counsel makes the final tax determination.
What standards or methods do you follow?
We start with the controlling regulatory or decision framework, then use established LCA methodology and applicable forest-sector literature. We document the methodology and sources used for each engagement rather than applying a generic template.
Can the LCA be reused for grants, customers or reporting?
Often, yes. A well-structured source-linked analysis can become a reusable evidence base for grants, customer questions, lender diligence, reporting and future model updates, although each later use may require its own scope or review.
Start with the project question
Not a generic template.
We can help define the right LCA scope before you commit to a full analysis.
Steve Bicksteve@northeastforests.comAlison Berryalison@woodland-resources.comMaura Rossmaura.ross27@gmail.com