Seneca Biomass Plant: a Register-Guard Editorial

Look through the smoke
Keep Seneca power plant in context
Editorial – Register-Guard – Apr 5, 2009

A Thursday meeting sponsored by the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency gave people an opportunity to express concerns about Seneca Sawmill’s proposal to generate electricity from wood waste at a power plant north of Eugene. The plant would produce 476 tons of pollutants each year, which sounds like a lot. Before deciding to oppose the plant on that basis, however, people should try to put the 476-ton figure in context.

Most of the plant’s pollution by volume, 386 tons, would be carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. Lane County’s major industrial sources of pollution are permitted to emit nearly 16,000 tons of these gases each year. Smaller industries add to the total.

Industrial sources are relatively minor sources of these pollutants — far greater quantities come from cars and trucks. According to ­LRAPA’s most recent inventory, prepared in 2002, gasoline- or diesel-fueled vehicles and equipment pumped 100,000 tons of carbon monoxide into Lane County’s air, and 14,000 tons of nitrogen oxides.

The Seneca plant’s emissions of other pollutants are in the range of 1 percent of the total from existing industrial sources, and again, greater quantities of some pollutants come from nonindustrial sources. For instance, the plant would emit 26 tons of particulate pollution each year. LRAPA’s inventory showed nearly 3,000 tons coming from residential fireplaces and wood stoves. The plant would emit nearly 8 tons of volatile organic compounds. LRAPA tallied 8,000 tons of those compounds coming from vehicles, with wood stoves and fireplaces adding 10,000 tons.

What’s more, people should bear in mind that at least some of the wood waste to be burned in the proposed Seneca plant is currently burned in open slash fires. Such fires add pollutants to the atmosphere without the benefit of the clean combustion technology and pollution control equipment Seneca intends to install.

The plant would produce 18.8 megawatts of electricity, enough to serve 13,000 residential customers. That electricity will come from somewhere else if it isn’t produced by Seneca. Some new electricity is being generated by windmills and solar panels, but most comes from turbines fired by natural gas. Those turbines also produce emissions. Blocking Seneca’s proposal would have the effect of shifting the pollution resulting from Lane County’s electricity demand to some other area.

No one wants an additional 476 tons a year of pollutants in Lane County’s air. The prospect looks less dire, however, when placed alongside the much larger quantities emitted by other industrial and nonindustrial sources. The volume of pollutants would be offset by a reduction in smoke from slash burning. And whatever the net increase in pollutants would be, Lane County residents would not be asking people in some other area to bear the environmental burden of that portion of their electricity consumption.

Is Biomass a True “Renewable Resource”?

The Letter to the Editor under the blog post entitled “Is Woody Biomass a Wise Choice for Energy” asks a number of serious questions whether burning woody biomass is really a viable way to produce clean energy.  Be sure to read the letter after you read the following article about the Kettle Falls, Washington wood burning power plant as well as the blog post entitled “Is Biomass Energy Actually Viable Long-Term”.

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Wood: The Hot New Renewable Energy Source
BY DOUG NADVORNICK – Spokane Public Radio – April 2, 2009

Renewable energy sources are catching on in the Northwest. Windmills have become a familiar sight along parts of the Oregon-Washington border. But the hot new form of renewable energy is actually the region’s oldest source of heat: wood.

It’s also known as biomass. Entrepreneurs and local governments are eyeing it as a potential fuel for new power plants in the Northwest.

It’s a noisy climb to the roof of Avista Utilities’ wood waste burning plant near Kettle Falls, Washington. Avista is known primarily for hydropower. But 25 years ago it opened this facility in the middle of timber country, about 85 miles northwest of Spokane.

Is Woody Biomass a Wise Choice for Energy?

Wood isn’t a wise choice for energy
By Erik Silverberg – Register-Guard GUEST VIEWPOINT – April 2, 2009

Having burned through much of our oil, coal and natural gas, we’re now eyeing our forests.

In late January, Eugene’s Seneca Sawmill Co. announced plans to build a wood-fired power facility at its mill location off U.S. Highway 99. It will produce almost 19 megawatts of electricity annually — enough to energize 13,000 homes.

Multiple factors contribute to the company’s desire to pursue this route. The plummeting real estate market has trimmed demand for wood products. The quality and quantity of Seneca’s timber has declined, primarily from poor forest practices. The 2007 Oregon Renewable Energy Act created a renewable portfolio standard that enables sawmills and electric companies to deal in this so-called “renewable” power.

OREA states that sizable utilities must gradually increase the proportion of power generated from “renewable” sources to at least 25 percent by 2025. However, the bill lists a variety of energy sources as “renewable” — such as solar, wind, and even wood-burning.

This standard implies no difference between gathering the 25 percent directly from the sun or from burning trees. It suggests that creating windmills and creating electricity from our forests are both equally beneficial. It supposes no difference between drawing power from ocean waves, or drawing pulp into a furnace.

Klamath Area Biomass Plant Using British Technology is Proposed

Biomass energy projects such as the one described below are a possible step towards increasingly necessary Distributed Generation but the question still arises: can the nearby area provide sufficient woody biomass (and, in the case below, solid waste from urban areas) to allow the power plant to operate in a sustainable and eco-friendly fashion?

It is generally accepted that the woody biomass and solid waste necessary to fuel a biomass power plant must be available within a 50-mile radius of the plant.  Much beyond that distance the additional cost (mostly diesel fuel for trucks) usually makes the collection of fuel for the plant simply too expensive.  Sufficient fuels for the long-term and located within a financially feasible collection area are two questions addressed in the comments and related article at: Is Biomass Energy Actually Viable Long-term?

In addition, based on quotes in the article below, the proposed plant appears to be one that would utilize a British-based technology that uses decomposing biomass to produce gas that in turn is burned to generate electricity.  If so, then there is a major challenge to limit the amount of greenhouse gases released by the power generation process.

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Klamath Tribes propose biomass energy plant
Herald and News – September 11, 2008
 
The Klamath Tribes are seeking partners for a proposed biomass generation facility planned for the former Crater Lake Mill site 25 miles north of Chiloquin.

Preliminary plans call for an 8-megawatt plant that would use a variety of biomass sources, such as woody material and solid waste from urban areas. At full capacity, the plant could provide energy for about 4,000 homes.

The plant would cost between $8 million and $12 million and is planned for the former Crater Lake Mill site.

Jef Mitchell, a Klamath tribal council member, said the British technology would use of a variety of biomass sources instead of just one.

“The technology is really extraordinary,” said Mitchell.

Woody material or other matter would be decomposed and 90 percent of it would become gas to drive generators. The rest would be a solid carbon byproduct.

Enterprise Zones May Boost Central Oregon’s High Desert Economy

‘Enterprise zones’ may boost High Desert economy
By Tony Fuller – KTVZ.com – April 30, 2008

Property tax breaks can lure more business – and jobs

It’s something we all like to hear, two words: tax break!

For major manufacturers and trade sector employers, it could be exactly what they want to hear when they plan on bringing their company to Central Oregon.

Take companies like T-mobile for example, which qualified for an “enterprise zone” in Redmond, which gives them a break on property taxes. Now the company has become a major employer in the region.

So by designating three new areas throughout the region, as the state did this week, in five or 10 years, hundreds, even thousands of jobs could be on the way.

It’s one of the oldest and frequently used programs in the state.  A tax break that jumps starts economic development in rural areas like, in this case, La Pine, the Bend Airport and Crook County. 

Crook County Rural Renewable Energy Development Zone Approved

According to earlier news reports (March 1, 2008)  ”Ochoco Power LLC (a division of La Pine-based Sylvan Power), which has plans to build a $40 million biomass power plant, and Pacific Wind Power, a California energy company looking into building a large wind farm – are seriously considering building in Crook County”.

Crook County Rural Renewable Energy Development Zone Approved
Press Release Excerpts – Economic Development for Central Oregon – April 29, 2008

The Oregon Economic & Community Development Department (OECDD) signed into existence a Rural Renewable Energy Development Zone (RREDZ) for Crook County that was effective April 29, 2008.

While offering similar benefits as a Rural Enterprise Zone, a Rural Renewable Energy Development Zone encompasses an entire county for the purpose of attracting new biomass, wind, geothermal, solar and other alternative or renewable energy production projects. RRED Zones were allowed by state statue in 2003 to avoid “gerrymandered” enterprise zones for wind farms.

Crook County initiated the process two months ago in order to provide a meaningful incentive for renewable energy production. Possible projects include a wind farm being considered along the southern border of the county and two biomass power production plants near Prineville. The combined investment of these projects could attract capital investments exceeding $150 million.

Is Biomass Energy Actually Viable Long-term?

Energy derived from biomass requires a steady source of burnable woody materials that cost money to procure.  First there is the upfront cost to actually harvest or collect the biomass.  Then there is the substantial – and most likely constantly increasing – cost of fuel to power the large vehicles necessary to bring the woody mass to the biomass plants.  This is why it is considered economically feasible to run a biomass plant only when the woody fuel is within a 50-mile or less radius of the plant. Click on map to the right to see the rough 50-mile estimates for the three proposed Central Oregon Biomass Plants.

Of course, solar energy has none of these constraints.  And, unlike the source of biomass fuels, there is no fear that the fuel for solar power - the sun – will cease any time soon.

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Will Biomass Fuel Burn Out in 10 Years?

The Bulletin – February 6, 2008

Woody Biomass Plant Map

In the next few years, Central Oregon could see three new power plants that could generate more than 50 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 40,000 homes – and all from a renewable resource that is found throughout the region.

But some people have questions about whether the companies can get a hold of enough of that renewable resource.

The proposed plants would be fueled from biomass – small trees, branches, urban wood waste and other material that is burned to generate electricity. While project managers say a portion of the wood would come from private lands and be diverted from landfills, a big chunk of the biomass fuel would come from the federal forests that surround the facilities.

Project managers with Silvan Power, which is proposing to build power plants in La Pine and Prineville, and Warm Springs, which is proposing to expand its facility on the reservation, say there is plenty of small woody material in the forests to fuel the facilities. And that material needs to be removed to reduce potential fuel for wildfire and keep forests healthy.

There is lots of material that should be removed, agreed Phil Chang, program administrator with the Central Oregon Intergovenmental Council.  But Chang said that Silvan Power should do some computer modeling to show how much could be removed over a long period of time, which might make the environmental community more comfortable.

“There are hundreds of thousands of tons of material that’s pretty close in to the city of Prineville or the city of La Pine that probably everyone could agree should be removed to restore the forest and also help reduce fire risk,” said Chang, who works on biomass-related projects. “Whether there would still be several hundred thousands of tons of matter that everyone agrees on in 10 years is a question that is answerable, but has not been looked at yet.”

Some people have concerns that after a decade or two of removing the small woody debris from forests, the power plants will start using larger trees or remove too much of the small wood from certain places.

Sawmill Near Eugene to Build Woody Biomass Plant

Sawmill to build plant to generate electricity
Seneca Sawmill will begin construction of a wood-fired cogeneration plant in the fall
By Diane Dietz – The Register-Guard – January 27, 2009

In a bold move, the Seneca Sawmill Co. of Eugene is building a $45 million wood-fired power plant that will generate enough electricity to light up 13,000 houses.

Construction will begin in October 2009 and the so-called cogeneration plant will come on line a year later — under the watch of Jody Jones, managing partner in the business started by her father, Aaron, 56 years ago.

Her decision to build created a stir in an industry that’s doing little more than quietly licking its recession-caused wounds.

“Wow, somebody’s actually going to start construction, huh?” said Diana Enright, assistant director of the Oregon Energy Department, who oversees renewable energy.

The company can go ahead because it has a strong balance sheet resting on its founder’s conservative philosophy — be prepared to survive the worst of times and the good times will take care of themselves, sawmill general manager Richard Re said.

The proposed 18.8-megawatt cogeneration plant is expected to produce more than twice the electricity needed to power all three milling operations at Seneca’s plant along Highway 99 near the Airport Road intersection — leaving plenty to sell at a profit to a local or regional utility.

Solar Energy Doesn’t Need “Feeding” but Woody Biomass Does

Although woody biomass appears on the surface to be an excellent renewable energy source it, like all energy sources, has its drawbacks.  As excerpts from an Oregon Public Broadcasting report below describes, energy generated from woody biomass requires feeding the plant with wood that is burned to produce energy while the fuel for solar is, for all intents and purposes, unlimited and without the potential negative consequences of burning wood to produce energy.

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Central Oregon Sees Wood-Based Biofuels In Mixed Light
Ethan Lindsey – OPB News – January 17, 2008

Wood was probably mankind’s first energy source.

Now, some timber businesses see wood as a renewable source of energy that could give Oregon, and the Pacific Northwest, the kind of economic clout the oil-rich gulf states now have.

That future is a long way off.

Burning wood for energy simply isn’t financially worthwhile right now.

Nor is burning the wood hot enough to produce more profitable oil or biofuel.

But that hasn’t stopped the government, and other interest groups, from exploring the new business potential of what they call ‘woody biomass.’

Cal Mukumoto is the manager of Warm Springs Biomass, a subsidiary of the timber company owned by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

Cal Mukumoto: “It’ll be a while before this is a real good replacement.”

The Warm Springs tribe received a $250,000 grant from the federal government to develop a woody biomass power plant.

And Mukumoto, along with most companies thinking about biomass power, say they hope to build new plants in balance with the environment.

Cal Mukumoto: “That’s one of the reasons the Warm Springs tribe sized this plant a little smaller than what the supply said. We didn’t want this biomass plant to start saying ‘feed me’. It says it anyway, but we didn’t want it in a low voice.”

Phil Chang is the biomass program administrator for the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council.

Phil Chang: “Basically we have all this forest thinning activity going on to reduce the risk of wildfire and restore forest ecosystems. And we have this choice between taking all this small woody biomass material, chopping it up into pieces and burning it up in the woods.”

He points out that unlike typical timber factories, woody biomass doesn’t need big, thick trees.

Asante Riverwind, the Sierra Club activist, says scale is why environmentalists aren’t embracing biomass like you might think they would because, although it seems like a green technology, the future could give the biomass business just as much financial clout as the rest of the timber industry at the expense of truly renewable energy.

Asante Riverwind: “Our biggest concern, among many, is that a lot of money and expenditures go into creating a biomass plant. So they have a big appetite. And what happens ten, twenty years done the line? Are we creating something similar to the mills around here, an insatiable appetite that’s going to be fed at a significantly harmful cost to the environment.”

Loss of Federal Energy Tax Credit Worrisome to Area Biomass & Geothermal Producers

Although the following article focuses only on biomass and geothermal energy production and has a number of minor factual errors (and is somewhat of a typical Bulletin “puff piece”), it does contain some interesting and important information.

An important item to note is the obstructionist efforts of the Republicans to block the continuation of the exisiting credit provisions.  This obstructionism was backed by the threat by Republican President George W. Bush to veto any bill that might cost Big Oil anything.  It would have been appropriate for the reporter to include information on the subsidies and tax breaks Big Oil gets so the reader could compare that information with what all of the renewable energy technologies get in their entirety.

Unfortunately the reporter also failed to include that the tax credits that were not renewed also affect wind and solar energy projects as well as biomass and geothermal.

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Tax Credit Loss Worries Area’s Renewable Energy Producers

By Keith Chu – The Bulletin – December 27, 2007

Congress left key tax credits for renewable power producers on the cutting-room floor in the package of energy legislation passed last week – to the disappointment of the people behind renewable projects in Central Oregon.

The bill originally provided $6.26 billion worth of tax credits for producing several types of renewable power, along with other incentives to encourage more renewable projects.  Democrats cut that half of the bill after it failed to overcome a Republican roadblock in the Senate.  President Bush threatened to veto the measure because he opposed increasing taxes on oil companies to pay for the incentives.
The tax credits don’t expire until the end of 2008, but local renewable energy producers said they’d like to see them renewed as soon as possible to provide some financial certainty for the big investments they’ve put into renewable power.