Lengthening Fire Seasons

Over the last few decades, the US fire hazard season has been lengthening and has been associated with bigger fires and greater annual acreage burned. Residential dwellings continue to encroach on what was once uninhabited forest land, and global warming is contributing to warmer temperatures and increased drought. As a result, the costs to prevent fires, fight fires, and repair damage to homes and infrastructure continue to increase. In addition to state, tribal, local, and private mitigation efforts, billions of federal dollars are spent annually suppressing and fighting wildfires.

Beetle kill Forests

US forestland also continues to be ravaged by the infestation of the Mountain Pine Beetle and other invasive bugs. All 19 western states and Canada have experienced aggressive devastation by the Pine Beetle, with over 88 million acres of timberland infested at a 70-90% kill rate. Likewise, the infestation of the emerald ash borer has introduced similar kill rates of ash trees from the east coast through the upper Midwest.

Although this infested wood can sometimes still be harvested and used as wood products, most is just left standing. This results in a dangerous abundance of readily available kindling for wildfires.

Some of this dead standing timber may be harvested as feedstock for SynSel Modular Synthetic Biorefineries. If 10% of the timber killed by the Pine Beetle alone was recovered, it could feed over 850 SynSel plants for 20 years.

Sustainable Forestry

SynSel partners with landowners, wood harvesters, and industry certifiers to incorporate sustainable forestry practices. Our goal is to help maintain thriving, resilient, and fire-adapted ecosystems within our procurement zones. Planned woodland thinning and controlled burns to remove flammable vegetation are examples of practices recommended by the Wildland Fire Leadership Council.

Third-party certifiers include:

• The Forest Stewardship Council

• The Sustainable Forestry Initiative 

• The Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification 

• The American Tree Farm System

• The Forest Resources Association

An extensive Fire Hazard Community Outreach initiative will also be implemented to harvest dead fallen timber and other hazardous woody biomass identified by forestry experts.

Non-Fire Natural Disasters

SynSel targets traditionally safe regions such as the Upper Great Lakes, the Upper Northeast, and the Sunbelt to develop Modular Synthetic Biorefineries. In comparison, US oil refinery infrastructure is largely concentrated in the coastal states. These coastal refineries and their necessary seaport infrastructure are particularly susceptible to non-fire natural disasters such as: 

• Hurricanes: US oil refinery capacity is particularly susceptible to hurricanes due to the large concentration of refineries on the coasts. The Gulf Coast is responsible for more than 50% of US refining. Hurricanes have caused damage and disruption to the refinery infrastructure itself as well as the seaport infrastructure that moves the vast majority of inputs and outputs.

• Earthquakes: Many coastal refineries are close to known earthquake faults, and they are extremely susceptible to disruption if/when a major earthquake strikes.

• Tsunamis: All refineries located on the coasts are susceptible to tsunamis.

• Volcanoes: West coast refineries are particularly susceptible to volcanic activity.