Biomass plant safeguards in place

[Fledermaus]

A million tons of wood will be needed to fuel Gainesville's proposed 100-megawatt biomass power plant.

Every day, an estimated 130 trucks will deliver 25 tons of wood apiece.

That demand could have huge impacts on the area's forests and ecology.....

Regan said that, while fuel type will vary based on the available supply, on average the plant will likely use 50 percent to 60 percent forest waste from timber production.

About 20 percent to 30 percent of the fuel will come from urban forestry practices and yard waste and between 5 percent and 10 percent will come from mill residue such as sawdust at paper manufacturing plants, Regan said.

Companies to collect urban wood and yard waste already exist and will likely expand to fill the increased demand, Regan said. Most of that wood now ends up in landfills at the expense of the deliverer.

American Renewables is a Boston-based company with two biomass power plant projects in Florida and one in Texas. All three plants will be operational before 2014.

Josh Levine, director of project development for American Renewables' Florida projects, said a similar forest stewardship plan was adopted by Austin Energy for the plant being designed in Nacogdoches County, Texas.

"However, it's important to note that the Gainesville facility took it one step further than our contract in Austin did," Levine said. "Gainesville requested a Forest Stewardship Incentive payment. There's a base level of sustainability and guidelines, but if a supplier goes above and beyond, then they would be eligible for an incentive of 50 cents to a dollar per ton."

The incentive is based on third-party certification after objective reviews of best practices.

"There's really two levels of protection," Regan said. "The minimum standards say we will not use wood not in compliance with the division of forestry regulations. A lot of the mom-and-pop operations that come in here and scalp the earth are not going to be eligible."

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090426/ARTICLES/904261008/1002?Title=Biomass-plant-safeguards-in-place#