Regular readers may have noticed that my blog hasn't been updated for the past two weeks. That's because I was out of the office for a week and a half, but I'm back now.

I got a lot of feedback from my last blog about the biomass power map that we are developing, and I'm playing phone tag with some of those people.

Now I just have to sit down with the information that I've gathered and get started on a list of plants to call.

In the meantime, I have some good news for biomass energy supporters in Massachusetts. On Thursday, I received an e-mail from the Committee For A Clean Economy, which has formed a coalition to educate the public on the proposed ballot initiative requiring biomass, waste-to-energy, anaerobic digestion, biofuel and advanced gasification power plants to emit no more than 250 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour to qualify as a renewable or alternative energy under the state's renewable portfolio standard.

"As currently written, the ballot petition places unreasonable restrictions on the development of green energy projects," Edward Esko, founder of Berkshire Green Energy in Pittsfield, Mass., said in the press release. "As a citizen of the commonwealth and founder of an innovative company working to develop microalgae as a source of biofuels to help lower fuel costs for farmers throughout the region, I am strongly opposed to the ballot petition. If passed, it would severely impact the ability to advance innovative cleantech projects such as our biofuel technology that is dedicated to helping Massachusetts farmers gain energy independence."

The coalition also has the support of The Massachusetts Laborers' District Council, who opposes the proposed initiative because it would inhibit job growth in the renewable energy sector.

I've written quite a bit about Massachusetts in my blog because there are several biomass power plants proposed in the state, including a $165 million, 50-megawatt plant in Russell, a $250 million, 47-megawatt plant in Greenfield and a $150 million, 38-megawatt plant in Springfield.

These plants have been hotly contested and opponents have even gone so far as to say that biomass-powered plants are dirtier than coal-fired power plants. These opponents are behind the initiative being proposed in Massachusetts, so I was happy to see this press release from people who support biomass power.

I should also mention that Biomass Magazine is planning to hold a conference in Boston. The Northeast Biomass Conference & Expo will be held Aug. 4-6 at the Westin Copley Plaza Hotel. To find out more about the conference, visit the Web site at http://ne.biomassconference.com.