Community Sentiment
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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Biomass Plant Technicians?
Task-level automation exposure for Biomass Plant Technicians: 18 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
29%
weighted task index
18 of 18 tasks scored
Median Salary
$102,040 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
29,320 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
-5.1%
employment change
2,300 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 51 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$61,230 – $131,620
Highest medians
Washington $131,620
Nevada $131,400
New Jersey $131,370
Idaho $124,440
North Dakota $122,160
Lowest medians
Guam $61,230
Wisconsin $66,080
Puerto Rico $70,640
Virginia $73,640
Vermont $78,240
State figures come from the 51-8013 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 29%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 63%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 11%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 13%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 63/100
High
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
18 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 14%
3 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 11%
2 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 74%
13 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#17861 · Core · 18% automatable
Operate biomass fuel-burning boiler or biomass fuel gasification system equipment in accordance with specifications or instructions.
physical manipulation — Hands-on biofuel plant equipment operation
Operate biomass or biofuel production equipment.
#21208 · Core · 24% automatable
Perform tests of water chemistry in boilers.
physical manipulation — Testing samples requires lab hands-on work
Test materials, solutions, or samples. Test fluids to identify contamination or other problems.
#17864 · Core · 18% automatable
Operate high-pressure steam boiler or water chiller equipment for electrical cogeneration operations.
physical manipulation — Hands-on biofuel plant equipment operation
Operate biomass or biofuel production equipment.
#17862 · Core · 18% automatable
Operate equipment to heat biomass, using knowledge of controls, combustion, and firing mechanisms.
physical manipulation — Hands-on biofuel plant equipment operation
Operate biomass or biofuel production equipment.
#17863 · Core · 18% automatable
Operate equipment to start, stop, or regulate biomass-fueled generators, generator units, boilers, engines, or auxiliary systems.
physical manipulation — Hands-on biofuel plant equipment operation
Operate biomass or biofuel production equipment.
#17860 · Core · 54% automatable
Inspect biomass power plant or processing equipment, recording or reporting damage and mechanical problems.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Inspect sustainable energy production facilities or equipment. Record operational or production data. Notify others of equipment repair or maintenance needs.
#17866 · Core · 82% automatable
Record or report operational data, such as readings on meters, instruments, and gauges.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Record operational or production data.
#17855 · Core · 17% automatable
Operate valves, pumps, engines, or generators to control and adjust production of biofuels or biomass-fueled power.
physical manipulation — Hands-on biofuel plant equipment operation
Operate pumping systems or equipment. Operate biomass or biofuel production equipment.
#17858 · Core · 31% automatable
Calculate, measure, load, or mix biomass feedstock for power generation.
data analysis — Production requirement calc; human validates inputs
Measure ingredients or substances to be used in production processes. Calculate specific material, equipment, or labor requirements for production. Load materials into production equipment.
#17867 · Core · 5% automatable
Clean work areas to ensure compliance with safety regulations.
physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of work areas
Clean work areas.
#17856 · Core · 8% automatable
Perform routine maintenance or make minor repairs to mechanical, electrical, or electronic equipment in biomass plants.
physical manipulation — Hands-on sustainable energy equipment maintenance
Maintain sustainable energy production equipment.
#17854 · Core · 22% automatable
Measure and monitor raw biomass feedstock, including wood, waste, or refuse materials.
physical manipulation — Physical tank/level gauging in plant
Measure stock or liquid levels in sustainable fuel production systems.
#17859 · Core · 15% automatable
Calibrate liquid flow devices or meters, including fuel, chemical, and water meters.
physical manipulation — Hands-on adjustment of liquid flow controls
Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of water, cleaning solutions, or other liquids.
#17857 · Core · 45% automatable
Assess quality of biomass feedstock.
visual inspection — Material quality often needs hands-on or visual inspection
Evaluate quality of materials or products.
#17869 · Core · 66% automatable
Read and interpret instruction manuals or technical drawings related to biomass-fueled power or biofuels production equipment or processes.
visual inspection — Blueprint setup reading partial, human confirms
Study blueprints or other instructions to determine equipment setup requirements.
#21209 · Core · 8% automatable
Operate heavy equipment, such as bulldozers and front-end loaders.
physical manipulation — Heavy construction equipment operated manually
Operate heavy-duty construction or installation equipment.
#17865 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Preprocess feedstock to prepare for biochemical or thermochemical production processes.
physical manipulation — Hands-on handling of biological feedstock, unpredictable materials
Prepare biological feedstock for physical, chemical, or biological processing.
#17868 · Supplemental · 70% automatable
Manage parts and supply inventories for biomass plants.
data analysis — Materials inventory records and forecasting automatable
Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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