Beetle-kill biomass gains momentum as ‘green energy’ funding grows

[Fledermaus]

Funding sources to turn millions of acres of dead and dying lodgepole pines into biomass-generated heat and electricity are seemingly coming out of the woodwork.

With the governor’s Energy Office pushing state grants and aggressive renewable-energy programs — coupled with the potential for millions in federal stimulus dollars — the beetle-kill biomass dreams of ski towns like Vail and Avon no longer look like a kooky environmentalist’s pipe dream.

Vail has considered the possibility of a wood gasification biomass power plant since at least 2005, when town leaders first began expressing wood envy of a sister ski resort in Lech, Austria. That resort heats about 90 percent of its lodges with biomass heat.

http://coloradoindependent.com/26449/beetle-kill-biomass-gains-momentum-as-green-energy-funding-grows

[ClarkUSA]

1. Thank you, President Obama!

[kimmerspixelated]

2. O Bugger!

Just kidding! TERRIFIC IDEA!!!

[NNadir]

Oh good. Let's import lots of invasive species and change the climate so we have

a great chance to strip mine the forests.

Oh happy day!

[NNadir]

3. Oh good. Let's import lots of invasive species and change the climate so we have

a great chance to strip mine the forests.

Oh happy day!

[Fledermaus]

4. Gosh, Maine and Vermont have been using forests for biomass for decades now.

Perhaps you give us an example of a strip mined forest in Vermont or Maine?

During the 1970s, the rising demand for electricity and the retirement of some existing power sources prompted BED to look for ways to provide additional power to meet the city's growing need for electricity.

BED conducted studies to find a fuel source that would be locally available, reliable, cost-effective, non-polluting and publicly acceptable. Wood scored high on all counts. Using wood fuel as a generation source would put money back into the Vermont economy, improve the condition of our forests and provide jobs for Vermonters. That's how the Joseph C. McNeil Generating Station came to be. Construction of the McNeil Generating Station required Burlington voter approval. The bond issue went before the voters in 1978 to request authorization to finance construction. It passed with a favorable vote of 71%.

A Certificate of Public Good was approved by the Vermont Public Service Board on September 14, 1981. This certificate ensures the McNeil Station operates in a manner that will protect the health, safety and welfare of the general public and maintain the quality of the natural environment. The final cost of constructing the McNeil Station was $67 million ($13 million under budget), and the unit was completed ahead of schedule.

The McNeil Station is jointly owned by BED (50%), Central Vermont Public Service (20%), Vermont Public Power Supply Authority (19%) and Green Mountain Power (11%).

Are all harvests clearcut operations?
No. Clearcutting of woodlands is limited to areas that need to establish a new crop of trees. It may also be used in some instances to improve wildlife habitat. In these cases, the size of the area cleared is limited to a maximum of 25 acres. Land clearing practices are used in cases where the land is converted to other uses such as development, agriculture or tree planting.

One of BED's foresters monitors each harvest operation to see that wood is harvested properly. The Station's chip suppliers are required to conduct their harvesting activities in accordance with strict standards to protect the environment.

What is done with the ashes?
Wood ash, the end-product of burning chips, is temporarily placed on site in a landing area. BED works with a private contractor who reclaims the ash, mixes it with limestone and markets it as a soil conditioner and as a base for building roads. Wood ash acts in much the same way lime does to sweeten acidic soils. Other mineral nutrients present in wood ash improve plant growth.

http://www.burlingtonelectric.com/SpecialTopics/Mcneil.htm