Building the Biomass Power Grid
April 23, 2009
BY Rona Johnson
It seems like everyday there is a new story on the Internet about a power supplier switching to biomass or building a biomass-powered plant or using landfill gas to produce electricity. Some days there are several stories regarding biomass-based power.
The U.S. DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently released its annual assessment of leading utility green power programs, which you can see at http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2009/679.html. The report indicated that despite the weak economy utility green power sales were growing. "In 2008, total utility green power sales exceeded 5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), about a 20 percent increase over 2007," according to an NREL press release. "More than 600,000 customers are participating in utility programs nationwide."
They also found that the rates customers are paying for green power continue to drop, which is truly good news. The report said wind is the primary source of green power, but if all the news stories I've read regarding the building of biomass-based power generating facilities and cogeneration plants come to fruition, we may be getting closer to edging wind out of its top spot.
Like the ethanol industry, however, as we grow there are going to be bumps in the road. For example, Biomass Magazine associate editor Anna Austin wrote an article about a group that's opposing the construction of a 50-megawatt woody biomass power plant in Russell, Mass. Residents there are afraid it will use too much water and possibly pollute the Westfield River. I also read a story about a proposed Florida plant coming up against the water issue and the food versus fuel debate. These stories may not be very positive for the industry but I think we all need to be aware of the issues that are out there and to be able to defend our industry when we face opposition. We don't write these stories to bring everyone down. We write them so that future developers will know what they are up against and to be prepared.
Unfortunately when these stories are written the reporters sometimes don't call experts in the biomass field to comment. And, sometimes they don't even give the company a chance to respond. Those stories then go out on the Internet and the people who read them don't have enough information to make informed decisions.
I've found this a lot in the ethanol industry. No matter how many stories that we do on ethanol plants reducing water use, there is a constant barrage of stories about the ethanol industry draining aquifers. I think the run-up in corn prices last year is a great example where a lot of hype over the ethanol industry eating up all the corn in the world just got out of hand. I think what has happened in the ethanol industry, especially when the Grocery Manufacturers Association started their attack, should be a lesson to all of us to make sure we tell our side of the story whenever we have the opportunity.
On a happier note, I will be on a plane headed for Portland, Ore., to attend BBI International's International Biomass Conference & Expo next week. See you in Portland!
The U.S. DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently released its annual assessment of leading utility green power programs, which you can see at http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2009/679.html. The report indicated that despite the weak economy utility green power sales were growing. "In 2008, total utility green power sales exceeded 5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), about a 20 percent increase over 2007," according to an NREL press release. "More than 600,000 customers are participating in utility programs nationwide."
They also found that the rates customers are paying for green power continue to drop, which is truly good news. The report said wind is the primary source of green power, but if all the news stories I've read regarding the building of biomass-based power generating facilities and cogeneration plants come to fruition, we may be getting closer to edging wind out of its top spot.
Like the ethanol industry, however, as we grow there are going to be bumps in the road. For example, Biomass Magazine associate editor Anna Austin wrote an article about a group that's opposing the construction of a 50-megawatt woody biomass power plant in Russell, Mass. Residents there are afraid it will use too much water and possibly pollute the Westfield River. I also read a story about a proposed Florida plant coming up against the water issue and the food versus fuel debate. These stories may not be very positive for the industry but I think we all need to be aware of the issues that are out there and to be able to defend our industry when we face opposition. We don't write these stories to bring everyone down. We write them so that future developers will know what they are up against and to be prepared.
Unfortunately when these stories are written the reporters sometimes don't call experts in the biomass field to comment. And, sometimes they don't even give the company a chance to respond. Those stories then go out on the Internet and the people who read them don't have enough information to make informed decisions.
I've found this a lot in the ethanol industry. No matter how many stories that we do on ethanol plants reducing water use, there is a constant barrage of stories about the ethanol industry draining aquifers. I think the run-up in corn prices last year is a great example where a lot of hype over the ethanol industry eating up all the corn in the world just got out of hand. I think what has happened in the ethanol industry, especially when the Grocery Manufacturers Association started their attack, should be a lesson to all of us to make sure we tell our side of the story whenever we have the opportunity.
On a happier note, I will be on a plane headed for Portland, Ore., to attend BBI International's International Biomass Conference & Expo next week. See you in Portland!
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