From kevin.weeks at state.or.us Tue Nov 10 09:03:57 2009 From: kevin.weeks at state.or.us (WEEKS Kevin) Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:03:57 -0800 Subject: [Forest_Biomass] Biomass training workshop - Springfield Message-ID: <2659B04496B9C544A0CB26155C1FD1B65BC1E730@WPODFEXCL01.ODF.STATE.OR.US> Forest Biomass News list members: The Western Forestry and Conservation Association is offering a training workshop in Lane County about forest biomass: "Managing Forestlands for Biomass Utilization" on December 10, 2009 at the Holiday Inn in Springfield, Oregon. Additional information about the workshop is available on the Web at: http://www.westernforestry.org/biomass/biomass.htm Kevin Weeks Public Information Officer Oregon Department of Forestry (503) 945-7427 From kevin.weeks at state.or.us Tue Nov 10 10:57:38 2009 From: kevin.weeks at state.or.us (WEEKS Kevin) Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:57:38 -0800 Subject: [Forest_Biomass] Oregonian story - Eugene biomass permit appeal Message-ID: <2659B04496B9C544A0CB26155C1FD1B65BC1E79E@WPODFEXCL01.ODF.STATE.OR.US> Activists say Eugene biomass plant will release too much pollution By Scott Learn, The Oregonian November 09, 2009, 9:31AM The Oregon Toxics Alliance is appealing the issuance of a pollution permit to a new Eugene-area biomass plant, saying the wood-fired power plant will release a host of pollutants and 234,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year. Seneca Sustainable Energy received an air permit last month from the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency . The alliance filed the appeal Friday, arguing that the permit doesn't require enough pollution control or monitoring. The company, an offshoot of Eugene-based Seneca Sawmill , would burn forest residue and bark, sawdust and shavings from mill operations at the plant to generate 18.8 megawatts of electricity a year and provide heat for the mill's drying kilns. The drying kilns have been heated with natural gas, which releases 3,500 tons of carbon a year, Seneca says. The company notes that many conservation groups and regulators see biomass as carbon neutral, since it burns renewable resources -- namely, trees. But the toxics alliance questions the sustainability of the plant. In addition to carbon releases, the plant would be Eugene's largest source of styrene, acetaldehyde and naphthalene, all carcinogens, the alliance says. It would burn 32 tons of wood an hour, the alliance says. Seneca plans to open the $45 million plant next year on six acres at its Highway 99 site north of Eugene. -- Scott Learn Link to web story: http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/11/activists_say_eugene_biomass_p.html Kevin Weeks Oregon Department of Forestry (503) 945-7427 From kevin.weeks at state.or.us Thu Nov 12 09:37:34 2009 From: kevin.weeks at state.or.us (WEEKS Kevin) Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:37:34 -0800 Subject: [Forest_Biomass] Baker City Herald - wood pellet plant Message-ID: <2659B04496B9C544A0CB26155C1FD1B65BC31FD7@WPODFEXCL01.ODF.STATE.OR.US> Ochoco Lumber Co. receives grant for wood pellet fuel plant Written by ED MERRIMAN Baker City Herald November 11, 2009 04:01 pm A $4.89 million federally funded economic recovery grant from Business Oregon is headed to the Ochoco Lumber Co. of John Day. Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced Tuesday the funding will construct a wood pellet fuel facility, helping support the retention of 80 full-time jobs and creating 11 new ones in the community. The grant opportunity was made possible by the U.S. Forest Service and funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Malheur National Forest officials worked in conjunction with Business Oregon staff to make the pellet fuel project possible. ?This project will save and create jobs in an industry hit very hard by the current recession,? Kulongoski said. ?It will not only have a huge impact on the local community, but will also have a profound impact on the health of our forests.? The Recovery Act grant will allow Ochoco Lumber, doing business in John Day as the Malheur Lumber Company, along with its partner Bear Mountain Forest Products, to produce pine fuel pellets for retail sale in the Pacific Northwest as well as Bear Bricks, a compressed fuel product. Bear Mountain Forest Products, founded in 1988 and based in Portland, operates manufacturing plants in Brownsville and Cascade Locks and sells its products to more than 400 retailers in the western United States, according to the governor?s announcement. ?We are very excited about this project,? said Ochoco Lumber President Bruce Daucsavage. ?This is going to mean good things for this community.? The new facilities will utilize biomass harvested from private lands as well as nearby U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands. The plant will produce pellets for bulk delivery to fuel pellet boilers in hospitals, schools and other commercial and government buildings in the region. The company also hopes to significantly increase production by providing fuel pellets to large industrial users such as utility companies. The recovery funds will help the company purchase and install a new drying system, two pellet-making machines and the infrastructure necessary for the boiling and drying processes. The governor?s office reported that the company plans to have the pellet-making operation up and running by the end of next summer. Baker County woodland owners and economic development officials are still waiting for a response to a similar request submitted for federal funding under the recovery act, according to Gene Stackle, business development manager for the Baker City/County economic development team. However, he said with the closures earlier this year of some of Northeastern Oregon?s last remaining lumber mills in John Day, La Grande and Enterprise, projects that expand markets for wood products, including biomass for wood pellets and other products, is good news to area woodland owners and the regional economy ?We haven?t heard anything, but we haven?t given up,? Stackle said. He said the approval of recovery act funds for the biomass project in Grant County renews hope that some of the recovery funds may yet be headed to Baker County for woody biomass project. In the meantime, he said Elkhorn Biomas of Baker City is continuing their self-funded firewood processing and woody biomass projects. ### Kevin Weeks Oregon Department of Forestry (503) 945-7427 From kevin.weeks at state.or.us Fri Nov 13 07:37:58 2009 From: kevin.weeks at state.or.us (WEEKS Kevin) Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:37:58 -0800 Subject: [Forest_Biomass] Forest Biomass Work Group meets November 17 in Salem Message-ID: <2659B04496B9C544A0CB26155C1FD1B65BC31FEB@WPODFEXCL01.ODF.STATE.OR.US> Oregon Department of Forestry NEWS RELEASE Forest Biomass Work Group meets November 17 in Salem November 13, 2009 Contact: Kevin Weeks (503) 945-7427 A workgroup of representatives from state government, forest industries, renewable energy development and the environmental community will meet in Salem on November 17 to talk about the role of Oregon?s forests in providing energy production from wood. The Forest Biomass Work Group will meet on Tuesday November 17 at 10:00 a.m. in the Administration Building (Tillamook meeting room) of the Oregon Department of Forestry complex, 2600 State Street in Salem. Time is provided in the agenda for a working lunch - participants may bring their own lunch or contribute money towards a shared lunch. Members of the public attending the meeting are encouraged to bring a lunch. The proposed agenda for the meeting includes a discussion defining the direction, charter and work plans for the broader group and Work Group subcommittees assigned to topics including policy development, outreach, research, economic development and fuel supply. Members of the public are invited to participate in the meeting. The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. Requests for an interpreter for the hearing impaired or other accommodations for persons with disabilities should be made at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Questions about accessibility or special accommodations for the meeting can be directed to the Oregon Department of Forestry at (503) 945-7427. Timber that may not have a market saw-log value -- either from being too small, damaged, waste from mill production or being too far from a potential milling market ? holds great potential for producing energy. Forest biomass is a renewable source of energy, as wood biomass is generated as a by-product of active forest management. Additional information about the Oregon Department of Forestry is available on ODF?s web site, www.oregon.gov/ODF. ### Kevin Weeks Public Information Officer ODF Agency Affairs Office (503) 945-7427