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California Biomass Residue Emissions Characterization (C-BREC) webtool

Select facility location to model

This tool is meant to model the climate impact of California biomass utilization facilities.

How this model works

  1. A fuelshed is selected through the choice of a facility location and a maximum driving time.
  2. Historical forest treatments (2022-2024) are used as a proxy for ongoing treatment activity in the fuelshed.
  3. Reference emissions (controlled burn, wildfire, and decay in the case that debris is left on the landscape) from each historical treatment site are modeled.
  4. Use case emissions (emissions from collecting, processing, transporting, and using debris, along with wildfire and decay of material left on the landscape) are modeled.
  5. The accumulated climate forcing from each scenario is calculated and presented.

How to use this page

  1. Pan and zoom the map, then click once to drop a facility marker. The latitude and longitude are recorded automatically and the Submit button becomes available.
  2. Use the “Maximum Travel Time for Fuels” slider to expand or contract the fuelshed. The hauling distance field below will auto-populate based on a 45 mph (≈72 km/h) travel speed, but you can overwrite it if you have site-specific data.
  3. Work through the form from top to bottom to describe the residue handling and end-use assumptions. Each label has a “?” icon with definitions if you need clarification.
  4. Click Submit to run the model. The results panel will update with charts and tables comparing the selected use case to the reference case.
  5. When you are satisfied with the configuration, use the Download results CSV button to capture the current output, or adjust the inputs and re-run for alternate scenarios.

Longer travel times of (>60 minutes) will result in a longer runtime. Please be patient.





Residue




End use