Editorial in Favor of Lane County Biomass Energy Plant

Biomass plant a win-win for area
By Jody Jones – Register-Guard Guest Viewpoint – April 7, 2009

In 1953, my father, Aaron Jones, founded Seneca Sawmill Co. and focused on making the most of each log to manufacture high-value products. As a result, our mills produce more lumber and fewer chips and sawdust than other mills. Today, I am proud to say, we are recognized as an industry leader in sawmill technology. Seneca owns 24 patents on innovative sawmill processes that have enabled us to become the most efficient lumber manufacturer in the United States.

We apply advanced technology in every aspect of our mills. Our research and development program continually increases the quality and quantity of wood fiber recovered from each log. We analyze, streamline and perfect production through regular collaboration among our work force. We are always looking for ways to improve.

That’s why we began investigating renewable biomass cogeneration more than a decade ago. At that time, we didn’t feel the technology was advanced enough. Today, it is. So, we are moving forward with plans to build a renewable power facility that replaces natural gas as the heat source for our dry kiln and produces electricity for more than 13,000 homes.

This plant will also contribute to our goal of making the best use of each log we process. Some 75 percent of the woody biomass to fuel our electricity generator will come from bark, sawdust and shavings from our mills, with the other 25 percent from slash that we would otherwise burn in the forest. We can supply 100 percent of our cogeneration project needs.

Google Earth Maps Intended to Assist Renewable Energy Development Locations

Could the map for a Path to Green Energy affect development of renewable energy facilities in Central Oregon?

# # #

Maps That Draw a Line on Energy Projects
By Matthew L. Wald – New York Times – April 1, 2009

An overused metaphor in arguments about the environment and electricity projects is “drawing the battle lines.’’ But that is exactly what the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Audubon Society did  on maps managed by Google, for 13 Western states covering about half the land mass of the continental United States.

The idea was to tell companies that want to develop renewable-energy projects what locations were likely to provoke a fight. Although wind and solar projects do not add to air pollution or global warming, their equipment and the associated power lines can hurt endangered or threatened species, environmentalists say.

And while the battle lines are quite literally available with a few mouse clicks, the intent is not entirely hostile, with the national groups recognizing that the issue is environmental balance, pitting prairie species like the greater sage-grouse against animals like the polar bear, which lives on ice that is melting because of global warming, some of it probably caused by coal-fired power plants that wind and sun could partly replace.

Are Gorge Wind Farms Really That Ugly?

The letter to the Editor below reflects the feelings of a number of people about wind farms.  They see them not as a clean source of renewable energy but as something that visually scars the landscape.  Is there a way to both educate those who have a negative knee jerk response to wind farms (and solar plants) and reduce the visual impact of renewable energy facilities?

# # #

Gorge wind farms are shameful
P. Tildesley – Register-Guard Letters to the Editor – April 1, 2009

As a semi-truck driver in this state, I get to travel and see a great many of the beautiful views and vistas around the Western states.

Bald eagles in northern Washington and windmill generator farms south of Los Angeles — very different but each has its merits. We need renewable energy sources, but we should not combine them.

At this very moment some mindless morons from Washington state are allowing a wind farm to be built, not a few miles back, but on the very lip of the Columbia Gorge, one of this state’s most beautiful assets.

I traveled to Pendleton last week and noticed the new generators going up. What an eyesore! I then came back from Yakima down Highway 97, and when I crossed the river at Biggs, I could look down on the construction at the very edge of gorge walls.

I am saddened that our legislators allow such violence to take place. It is nothing less than eco-terrorism. Shame on the lot of you.

Wind Farm Might Hurt Grouse says ODFW

It’s developers vs. ODFW for proposed wind farm
By Lauren Dake / The Bulletin – March 06, 2009

Officials from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife are worried that a proposed Crook County wind farm could cause irreversible damage to a nearby sage grouse population.

At a recent Crook County Planning Department public hearing, officials from ODFW advised county officials of the biological risks that wind turbines may have in the proposed area.

While the potential impact of development in the area is still uncertain, officials said they would like to see a three-mile buffer around a sage grouse lek — where the birds strut during mating season.

But the developers of the wind farm said that buffer would destroy their project.

PV Powered Optimistic About the Future

Some Companies Thriving in Economy
KOHD.com News – January 29, 2009

In dark times when thousands of Central Oregonians are without work, some local businesses are bucking the trend, making plans to expand. PV Powered in Bend which makes solar-power systems plans to open a new facility on the east side of Bend and hopes to at least double its staff of 50. “Translating that into the number of jobs really depends on the timing of the growth and just overall economic issues that we’re working our way through right now,” said Erick Petersen, Vice President of PV Powered.

So why are some companies doing so much better? They say they found a niche and have customers outside Oregon. PV Powered hopes to expand overseas. “Clean energy is without question the place to be. Wind, biomass, solar, geothermal,” said Petersen.

PV Powered was hit by the downturn in August 2008 when they laid off 10 people as they waited for the federal investment tax credit that wasn’t renewed until September. But now they say they’re cautiously staying positive. “We’re predicting a significant growth in the business year over year, we are growing in the residential market, we’re significantly growing in the commercial market,” said Petersen.

Eugene Water & Electric Pioneers Renewable Energy Payments

EWEB a pioneer in renewable energy payment plans
By Bill Welch – Guest Viewpoint – Register-Guard – November 25, 2008

Gov. Ted Kulongoski recently unveiled his climate change goals for the 2009 Oregon Legislature. One of the goals — developing a pilot program to allow Oregonians to sell renewable power directly to their local utility — prompted a guest viewpoint by Jennifer Gleason of the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (Register-Guard, Nov. 18).

Gleason’s central point was that the success of a pilot program hinges on the need for a renewable energy payments policy, also known as REP. In such a policy, utilities purchase all of the output from customers’ generation systems “at a fair price for an extended period.” She correctly identified several elements to make sure a policy works.

One need not look far to find an example of a successful pilot program. That’s because the Eugene Water & Electric Board already completed a pilot program almost identical to what the governor and Gleason are suggesting. The utility also has an REP in place for customers who wish to install solar or other renewable generation systems.

The utility initiated its pilot program, the EWEB Photovoltaic Generation Program, in 2001. EWEB provided access to its electric distribution system, provided 10-year contracts to purchase all the output of photovoltaic generation systems at almost twice the average retail rate, and worked with local contractors to implement the program — all of the key elements Gleason identified.

In 2007, EWEB created a full program modeled after the pilot program. EWEB’s Photovoltaic Generation Program currently is the only one of its kind in Oregon.

Economic Development for Central Oregon Backs Solar

EDCO joins Oregon team at international solar trade show
EDCO – September 1, 2008

Earlier this month, EDCO joined a team of 18 representatives from the private and public sector in Oregon at one of the world’s largest solar power manufacturing shows in Valencia, Spain. The show attracts more than 20,000 professionals from across the globe.

Team “Invest in Oregon” included representatives from the Governor’s office, commercial real estate (Colliers), Oregon Dept. of Energy, investor-owned power utility PGE, University of Oregon, a private engineering and site selection consulting firm, Bend-based solar inverter manufacturer PV Powered, four economic development organizations, local government and a chamber of commerce. Oregon was the only U.S. state represented at the show, which enabled the team to generate significant interest by companies interested in siting new manufacturing operations in North America.

Solar power manufacturers are one of the hottest industries currently on the globe. Typical production facilities can run from $75 million in new buildings and equipment to more than $2.5 billion. Today, Oregon is uniquely positioned with tax credit and property tax programs to lead the nation in attracting these investments and, more importantly, the high-paying jobs that accompany them.

In just the past 18 months, Oregon communities have landed more new solar projects than any other state including industry leader SolarWorld, Solaix, xSunx, Intel’s new solar venture SpectraWatt, and polycrystaline manufacturer Peak Sun Silicon. Homegrown PV Powered is also on the global map as a growing concern and the largest U.S.-based inverter manufacturer. Oregon raked in a large number

Geothermal Plant Wins Klamath County Land-Use Approval

Geothermal plant wins land-use approval in Southern Oregon
Posted by The Associated Press – March 27, 2008

Raser Technologies, a Utah company, has won land-use approval for a 10-megawatt power plant using geothermal heat on a farm in Southern Oregon.

The $35 million plant would draw on hot water beneath Liskey Farms south of Klamath Falls, where the owners already use the region’s abundant geothermal heat for greenhouses and a biofuels facility.

A megawatt provides enough power for about 1,000 typical homes, according to the rule-of-thumb calculations used in the utility industry, so the geothermal plant would provide enough power for 10,000.

The Klamath County Planning Commission unanimously approved the company’s proposal this week.

Jeremy Magrath of Raser Technologies said the plant will use six acres, with another 300 acres needed for the wells to feed hot water into the plant and then reinject it into the ground to preserve the energy source.

He said it’s uncertain when construction will begin because the company is working on other permits. He said the company is pushing to get those completed this year so it can take advantage of green-power incentives that expire this year.