BIOMASS HUB

With one dissent in its House of Representatives and unanimous support in the Senate, Washington state passed the Forest Biomass Supply Agreements Combined Bill 2481.

If signed by the Governor, the bill will allow the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to enter into long-term agreements to supply biomass from overcrowded young forests and after-harvest slash to the biomass energy economy.

To date, a major obstacle to realizing the benefits of biomass energy has been securing reliable and predictably priced biomass feedstock.  The legislation from Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark aims to create a forest biomass industry from state trust lands.

Biomass Initiative

In 2009, HB 2165 was enacted into law authorizing DNR to implement biomass energy pilot projects in eastern and western Washington.  Removing biomass feedstock in ecologically sustainable ways to produce energy (liquid fuels or heat and electricity) can:

• Provide income for forest landowners while improving forest health;
• Create rural jobs;
• Reduce wildfires and greenhouse gas emissions; and
• Aid in the production of renewable energy.

In January 2010, Goldmark announced the first four companies selected to partner with DNR in test projects in renewable energy projects using biomass from forested state trust lands.  The pilot projects will use woody biomass—the residual waste (slash)—that the companies purchase in part from state trust lands managed by DNR.  The biomass can come from timber harvests or be removed during forest health treatments such as thinning over-crowded and fire-prone tree stands.

They include:

• Parametrix will launch a pilot to convert woody biomass into liquid fuels at SDS Lumber in Bingen (Klickitat County) using fast pyrolysis technology.
• Borgford BioEnergy, LLC in Valley and Springdale (Stevens County) will utilize wood waste to generate electricity, bio-oil, syngas, and bio-char.
• Atlas Products in Omak (Okanogan County) will use forest biomass to produce wood pellets for heating.
• Nippon Paper Industries USA, Ltd. in Port Angeles (Clallam County) will utilize wood waste for the cogeneration of heat and electricity at its paper mill, as well as selling excess energy.

Image: Flickr/Steve G. Bisig