Recently in Biopower Category
The Alabama Forestry Commission has released a guide to help residential, commercial, and industrial consumers evaluate the opportunity to use woody biomass to fuel their energy needs. The guide illustrates the available woody biomass in Alabama and states that between 2001 and 2008 "Alabama's tree inventory increased by a net amount of 13.9 million tons annually or a 1.3% increase." The guide also lists helpful tools in evaluating woody biomass opportunities including the USDA Forest Service's fuel value calculator. The guide can be accessed here.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently analyzed the potential impacts of three federal renewable electricity standards. The report found that the "differences between average national electricity prices in the RES cases and the base case are less than 1%... and no state sees an increase of more than 5% compared to the base case in 2022, th eyear of peak impact on prices."
The report states that Southeast states would generally rely on biomass co-firing and the purchase of renewable energy credits to reach the mandate. John Wilson of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy disputes this finding. "The technical report's regional perspective is at odds with similar studies by others, and with our own investigation into the potential for renewable energy in the Southeast," Wilson wrote on his blog. "The three major problems with this report are: biopower is poorly analyzed, or at least poorly documented; transmission is assumed to be built quickly; and distributed generation is not adequately considered." To read more of Wilson's comments visit the SACE energy blog.
The report states that Southeast states would generally rely on biomass co-firing and the purchase of renewable energy credits to reach the mandate. John Wilson of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy disputes this finding. "The technical report's regional perspective is at odds with similar studies by others, and with our own investigation into the potential for renewable energy in the Southeast," Wilson wrote on his blog. "The three major problems with this report are: biopower is poorly analyzed, or at least poorly documented; transmission is assumed to be built quickly; and distributed generation is not adequately considered." To read more of Wilson's comments visit the SACE energy blog.
From TimberBuySell.com:
Peregrine Energy Corporation, a leader in developing independent power and other industrial energy efficiency-related projects, announced today that it plans to develop a new woody biomass-fueled cogeneration plant at Sonoco's Hartsville Manufacturing Complex, according to Ralph H. Walker, Jr., president of Peregrine Energy. The $135 million investment by Peregrine represents one of the largest single capital development projects in Darlington County's history.
Plans are for Peregrine to construct and own a new 50-megawatt capacity facility that will be capable of generating enough electricity to power approximately 14,000 homes. The new biomass-fueled cogeneration facility will replace Sonoco's existing coal-fired boilers. Once the facility is operating, Peregrine intends to sell the entire electrical output and all renewable energy certificates associated with the plant to Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc., and low pressure steam from the plant to Sonoco for use in the manufacture of recycled paperboard and other converted products at its Hartsville complex.
From the U.S. Department of Energy
The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved a request from Georgia Power Company to convert its Plant Mitchell Unit 3 from a coal-fired power plant to a biomass power plant. Located near Albany, Georgia, the facility will be able to produce 96 megawatts of power once the conversion is completed in June 2012, making it one of the largest biomass power plants in the United States. It will draw on surplus wood fuel from suppliers within a 100-mile radius of the power plant. Georgia Power, the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, requested the conversion last summer and plans to begin the conversion by spring of 2011. The Georgia PSC approved Georgia Power's request on March 17, while also approving the utility's construction of two new nuclear power units at its Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant in southeast Georgia. See the Southern Company press release on the initial request and the press release on the approval from the Georgia PSC
From Andalusia Star-News:
PowerSouth joins 36 other cooperatives and municipal electric companies in Georgia, Alabama and Florida in agreeing to purchase power from a planned 100-megawatt biomass-fired power plant near Fort Gaines, Ga. The contracts are for an initial term of 30 years, with options to extend the term to 40 years. All the plant's output is committed, as are all of the renewable energy credits.
Yellow Pine plans to sell electricity generated from environmentally friendly wood waste. The material will come from timber harvesting residuals and the collection of non-commercial tree species' tree-thinnings, lumber scraps and wood waste reclaimed from landfills, according to published reports. Construction on the facility is slated to begin this summer.
A group of nine biomass
companies has formed the Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC), a non-profit
association dedicated to advancing the use of biomass for heat and other thermal
energy applications. The founding members of BTEC include biomass fuel
producers, appliance manufacturers and distributors, and supply chain companies
that represent the breadth of interests in the fast growing biomass thermal
energy industry. The initial founding members of the
Biomass Thermal Energy Council are: Bear Mountain Forest Products, BioHeatUSA,
Energex Corporation, Forest Energy Corporation, International WoodFuels, Marth,
New England Wood Pellet, PelletSales.com, and Woodstone. Learn more here.
The report, State of the States 2008: Renewable Energy Development and the Role of Policy, was recently release by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The report takes steps to identify the impact of renewable energy policy on renewable energy development. The authors found that the:
The report also provides a comprehensive overview of renewable energy policies including market and production incentives and provides, when able, best practices in policy development. The authors also report which states have enacted various types of renewable energy policies and grades them on whether they encourage or hinder renewable energy development. The full report can be found here.
- Existence of an RPS is significantly correlated to higher renewable percentages of overall electricity generation
- Production incentives at the state level, while a small sample (n=6), are significantly correlated to higher renewable electric capacity and generation, as well as individual resource categories.
- Interconnection policies meeting best practices ... are correlated with increased renewable energy capacity and generation overall, as well as individually with higher biomass, hydroelectric, and PV capacity.
The report also provides a comprehensive overview of renewable energy policies including market and production incentives and provides, when able, best practices in policy development. The authors also report which states have enacted various types of renewable energy policies and grades them on whether they encourage or hinder renewable energy development. The full report can be found here.
From MarketWatch:
USA Biomass, the nation's leading association of biopower companies, has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Energy Foundation to promote the importance of renewable, biomass energy generation in meeting the nation's growing energy needs, while reducing our "carbon footprint' and promoting a healthy environment.The Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that biomass-based power currently provides nearly 45 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, or about 1.2% of the nation's electric sales. DOE projects that overtime, biomass could supply as much as 14% of the nation's power needs. Biomass in all forms, including for heat and industry, power generation, and motor fuels, supplied 3.5% of America's total energy supply in 2007.According to recent studies, the greenhouse gas reductions from operating biomass plants are significant. For every megawatt hour of biomass power, approximately 1.6 tons of CO2 are avoided, resulting in a projected reduction of almost 30 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.USA Biomass is the only national organization devoted solely to the growth and long-term viability of biomass-powered electric generation -- a growing industry that is strengthening America's rural economy, promoting energy independence and reducing carbon emissions. It has 41 member companies operating 80 power plants in 20 different states. These power plants use a broad range of biomass fuels -- from wood chips in Maine, bagasse in Florida and rice hulls in Louisiana, to forest waste in Arizona and orchard prunings in California. Their website is www.usabiomass.org.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Georgia, already a national leader in turning wood into electricity, could get two more wood-burning power plants by 2015, in a plan announced Thursday by Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Tucker-based Oglethorpe Power Corp., the nation's largest power supplier to co-ops, is ready to spend about $1 billion to build the plants. They would generate enough electricity from Georgia wood to power between 100,000 and 120,000 homes. A third plant is under consideration.
Perdue called Oglethorpe's commitment a "pioneering investment that will transform the way we provide clean and renewable energy to Georgians."
Each plant is expected to employ 40 people, and spend about $30 million a year to buy trees and wood waste.
Five other energy companies, including Georgia Power, have announced plans to build six wood-to-electricity plants here. In addition, two cellulosic ethanol companies are racing to build the nation's first plant that will turn wood into fuel for cars and trucks.
North Carolina State University will be home to a new national research center aimed "to revolutionize the nation's power grid and speed renewable electric-energy technologies into every home and business." The NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management (FREEDM) Systems is focused on developing technology for transforming the nation's electric power grid into a "smart grid" that will "easily store and distribute energy produced from solar panels, wind farms, fuel cells and other energy sources." The center will begin operations immediately with support from over 60 private companies involved in electricity production. More information about the center can be found at the FREEDM Center website and the NC State press release.
