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An unusual coalition has formed among politicians, environmentalists and foresters to find an alternative to fossil fuels, create new jobs and reduce the threat of wildfire.
Together, they have recently formed a task force to study the feasibility of a biomass plant that could generate electricity in Nevada County.
Biomass is plant material such as brush, pine needles and small trees that can be burned to produce electricity in a specialized plant; chipped into pellets for heating homes; or turned into liquid fuel.
Neighboring Placer County has plans to build a biomass plant at North Lake Tahoe and has secured $1.4 million in federal dollars to do so.
A biomass plant in Nevada County could create jobs and take material from wildfire-prone lands choked with manzanita and small trees, while reducing the need for petroleum-based fuel.
“We think it's feasible. We think we can make it work,” said District 1 Supervisor Nate Beason, one of 15 local officials that met in the task force earlier this month.
Other members of the task force include Forest Supervisor Tom Quinn, former Dow Chemical research physicist Warren Knox and former county supervisor Peter Van Zant of Sierra Watch. The Nevada County Economic Resource Council hosted the discussion.
The cost of building a biomass plant and the cost of transporting woody material from rural lands where it is cleared are two hurdles the exploratory committee is trying to overcome.
Technological and legal obstacles also will be considered, along with how residents would react to a smoke stack in their backyard.
“We're really trying to determine if the pluses offset the minuses,” Beason said.
To make such an effort economically appealing to a timber contractor, a limited number of trees 30 inches in diameter may need to be harvested along with smaller brush, said Beason.
Funding from private investment groups and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are available to fund biomass projects, said Keith Logan, a sustainability consultant for the ERC who first brought the idea to the organization.
At a board meeting today, county supervisors will consider urging federal lawmakers to broaden the way biomass regulations are outlined within the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.
The bill is meant to create jobs, reduce dependence on foreign oil and combat global warming.
The bill assumes biomass would come from forested lands. But when setting rules for biomass, both public and private oak woodlands need to be considered too, said Supervisor Hank Weston in a letter to Rep. Tom McClintock.
It also exempts private lands. That could make fueling a Nevada County biomass plant more difficult, because a large proportion of the county's land — 30 percent — is managed by federal agencies, Beason said.
“We think the bill is just too narrow,” Beason said. “To have a plant, you have to have a fuel source.”
Building a biomass energy and fuel-producing facility locally would add thousands of jobs, provide an immediate and sustainable economic stimulus to the region, and help guard the region from wildfire, Weston wrote in his letter.
“Expanding the definition to include biomass from private and public lands will make it economically feasible to conduct thinning projects, thus reducing catastrophic wildfire, saving lives and property and reducing federal fire suppression costs,” Weston stated.
More than 218,000 acres of land in the county is managed by the Tahoe National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies.
“Neither the (U.S. Forest Service) nor the BLM has had the resources to perform effective fuel reduction on their lands,” Weston stated.
The BLM Folsom Field Office manages 1,000 isolated parcels scattered across 15 counties.
The agency funds two to three fuel projects each year, when as many as 300 are needed, according to the agency's 2008 Sierra Resource Management Plan.
In Nevada County, BLM manages more than 17,000 acres.
Private landowners also face prohibitive costs to clear the areas around their homes because government assistance is limited, and the Nevada County Fire Safe Council has halted its popular chipping program due to a lack of funding, Weston said.
To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
Together, they have recently formed a task force to study the feasibility of a biomass plant that could generate electricity in Nevada County.
Biomass is plant material such as brush, pine needles and small trees that can be burned to produce electricity in a specialized plant; chipped into pellets for heating homes; or turned into liquid fuel.
Neighboring Placer County has plans to build a biomass plant at North Lake Tahoe and has secured $1.4 million in federal dollars to do so.
A biomass plant in Nevada County could create jobs and take material from wildfire-prone lands choked with manzanita and small trees, while reducing the need for petroleum-based fuel.
“We think it's feasible. We think we can make it work,” said District 1 Supervisor Nate Beason, one of 15 local officials that met in the task force earlier this month.
Other members of the task force include Forest Supervisor Tom Quinn, former Dow Chemical research physicist Warren Knox and former county supervisor Peter Van Zant of Sierra Watch. The Nevada County Economic Resource Council hosted the discussion.
The cost of building a biomass plant and the cost of transporting woody material from rural lands where it is cleared are two hurdles the exploratory committee is trying to overcome.
Technological and legal obstacles also will be considered, along with how residents would react to a smoke stack in their backyard.
“We're really trying to determine if the pluses offset the minuses,” Beason said.
To make such an effort economically appealing to a timber contractor, a limited number of trees 30 inches in diameter may need to be harvested along with smaller brush, said Beason.
Funding from private investment groups and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are available to fund biomass projects, said Keith Logan, a sustainability consultant for the ERC who first brought the idea to the organization.
At a board meeting today, county supervisors will consider urging federal lawmakers to broaden the way biomass regulations are outlined within the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.
The bill is meant to create jobs, reduce dependence on foreign oil and combat global warming.
The bill assumes biomass would come from forested lands. But when setting rules for biomass, both public and private oak woodlands need to be considered too, said Supervisor Hank Weston in a letter to Rep. Tom McClintock.
It also exempts private lands. That could make fueling a Nevada County biomass plant more difficult, because a large proportion of the county's land — 30 percent — is managed by federal agencies, Beason said.
“We think the bill is just too narrow,” Beason said. “To have a plant, you have to have a fuel source.”
Building a biomass energy and fuel-producing facility locally would add thousands of jobs, provide an immediate and sustainable economic stimulus to the region, and help guard the region from wildfire, Weston wrote in his letter.
“Expanding the definition to include biomass from private and public lands will make it economically feasible to conduct thinning projects, thus reducing catastrophic wildfire, saving lives and property and reducing federal fire suppression costs,” Weston stated.
More than 218,000 acres of land in the county is managed by the Tahoe National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies.
“Neither the (U.S. Forest Service) nor the BLM has had the resources to perform effective fuel reduction on their lands,” Weston stated.
The BLM Folsom Field Office manages 1,000 isolated parcels scattered across 15 counties.
The agency funds two to three fuel projects each year, when as many as 300 are needed, according to the agency's 2008 Sierra Resource Management Plan.
In Nevada County, BLM manages more than 17,000 acres.
Private landowners also face prohibitive costs to clear the areas around their homes because government assistance is limited, and the Nevada County Fire Safe Council has halted its popular chipping program due to a lack of funding, Weston said.
To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
