Recently in Georgia Category

The Department of Agriculture is accepting comments on the Biomass Crop Assistance Program's (BCAP) environmental impact analysis. The Farm Service Agency is soliciting input about potential alternatives for program implementation and the potential associated environmental concerns. Comments can be made online here by Friday, June 12th. Two public meetings are scheduled in the South in Louisiana and Georgia. Details for the meeting are as follows:

June 10, 2009, 6:30pm
Hilton Garden Inn

From Ceres:

Energy crop company Ceres, Inc., announced today that it will work with University of Georgia researchers to develop new high-yielding switchgrass seed varieties and improved crop management techniques for the southeastern United States. Switchgrass, which can reach yields of 6 to10 dry tons or more in the Southeast, is widely considered an ideal raw material for next-generation biofuels and biopower.

The multi-year project will bring together plant breeders, agronomists and support scientists at Ceres and the University of Georgia to develop improved seed varieties. Field researchers will also evaluate cropping practices in the Southeast, adapting developments made by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, an Oklahoma-based agricultural research institution with which Ceres has a long-term product development collaboration.

Read the full press release here.

In response to the restrictive definition of "biomass" that was used in the federal renewable fuels standard (RFS), Southern state legislatures are passing resolutions asking Congress to expand the definition of biomass to include additional forest biomass resources from private and federal lands. The states are asking Congress to change the definition in the RFS as well as to use an expanded definition in future energy legislation, such as a renewable electricity standard (RES).

Both the House and Senate of the Georgia state legislature passed resolutions asking that the definition of "renewable biomass" include "any organic matter available on a renewable or recurring basis." The current biomass definition disqualifies 15 million acres of private forestland in Georgia for being used in biomass energy production. The Alabama House and the South Carolina House and Senate have passed similar resolutions.

For more information on the biomass definition visit: http://www.eesi.org/renewable_biomass_def.

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.

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.

Georgia and South Carolina have received DOE grants to pursue renewable energy initiatives. According to the DOE press release:

• Georgia will build on a variety of ongoing activities to create the infrastructure that will enable Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina to integrate clean energy supplies into their electricity portfolio ($257,459).

• South Carolina will seek to overcome existing barriers for coastal clean energy development for wind, wave, and tidal energy projects.  The grant will be used to develop studies on transmission, resource validation, and regulatory barriers.  The grant will also establish the South Carolina Coastal Clean Energy Regulatory Task Force to create a regulatory environment conducive to wind, wave, and tidal energy development in state waters ($492,648).

A recent report from Forbes magazine ranks the top five states for alternative energy in the categories of wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass. Rounding out the top five best places for biomass are Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina. Georgia's 25 million tons of mill wood debris; Mississippi's 3.6 million tons of logging waste, and North Carolina's methane from manure based on the 10 million hog population were the driving factors behind the rankings. Iowa and North Dakota ranked first and second.

In a press release, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue said, "Georgia's wealth of natural resources combined with our research institutions and a strong business climate create an ideal environment for the development of renewable energy. We appreciate Forbes' recognition of our ability to develop alternative energy sources."

In October 2006, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) released the report Energizing Appalachia - A regional blueprint for economic and energy development. The report focused on promoting energy efficiency, increasing the use of renewable energy resources, and supporting the development of conventional energy sources. The paper state that

The commission's objective was to provide a strategic framework for the promotion of new energy-related job opportunities through the stimulation of sustainable energy production, efficiency measures, and innovation efforts throughout the region.

The report reviews the energy landscape for the ARC region and identifies strategies for reaching their objectives.