|
CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE
With hard work, BPA continues to raise its profile on Capitol Hill and develop important relationships with key policymakers and staff. In the coming weeks and months, I will be making frequent trips to Washington, DC to meet with lawmakers to lobby their support for biomass power and explain the impact of the largest threats facing our industry.
As outlined in BPA's most recent newsletter, our focus will be on three key legislative goals: securing tax credit extensions for existing facilities, reaching parity and fairness in the production tax credit, and passing an aggressive renewable electricity standard of 25 percent by the year 2020.
Achieving these goals will not be easy, but we are confident that our message of more jobs and a cleaner environment will resonate with the right decision-makers in Congress. It's not surprising that jobs and the economy have become the primary focus of most policymakers in DC. BPA plans to highlight the significant number of new jobs that can be created in the biomass power industry, and demonstrate the substantial impact these jobs have on small, rural communities where most biomass
plants are located.
We have valuable allies on both sides of the aisle that recognize the importance of biomass power and understand that without it, any energy bill will fall far short of meeting its goals. While Congress may put energy and climate legislation on the backburner to focus on health care reform, BPA will use this opportunity to reinforce the importance of supporting biomass power when it comes time to act.
Biomass Power Association Steering Committee
Bob Cleaves
President and CEO
Bill Carlson
Carlson Small Power Consultants
Frazier Blaylock
Covanta Energy
Joe Dalton
SUEZ Energy North America, Inc
Mike Whiting
Decker Energy International
Paula Soos
Covanta Energy
Phil Reese
Reese-Chambers
Scott Higginson
FourSquare Group
Sylvain Aird
Boralex, Inc.
Tom Spies
Powell Group
Van Boyette
Florida Crystals/New Hope Power
Wade Mosby
Collins Companies
Contact Us
100 Middle St
PO Box 9729
Portland, ME 04104-9729
Phone: 207-228-7376
Fax: 207-774-1127
Email: media@biomasspowerassociation.org
|
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FROM WASHINGTON DC
The contentious debate on health care reform could push energy and climate legislation to the end of the fall, or even early next year. The New York Times is reporting "growing skepticism about the prospects of Congress passing a comprehensive climate change bill this year," and Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), now head of the Agriculture Committee following the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, indicated that she did not want to act on cap-and-trade this year.
So what does this mean for biomass power? Throughout the fall, BPA will continue to meet with policymakers and Hill staff to educate them about the benefits of biomass power and seek their support on all of our top legislative priorities. Additionally, BPA will keep its members apprised of any major movement on energy or climate legislation.
The most pressing item for biomass is the extension of tax credits set to expire on December 31, 2009. Although these tax credits are separate from the climate and energy legislation, it is not uncommon for Congress to lump them together in an omnibus bill. BPA will continue to closely follow the tax credit legislation and aggressively push for their extension, regardless of whether Congress takes up the issue late in the fall or early next year.
BPA TO LAUNCH WEB VIDEO
"ENERGY FOR AMERICA"
This week BPA will launch the web video, Energy for America to show how biomass power can contribute to the nation's energy needs. The purpose of the video is to give viewers an up-close look at the unique process of recycling millions of tons of organic waste, such as tree trimmings, rice holes, and almond shells into clean renewable electricity. It also details the way biomass power can reduce greenhouse gases, protect American forests, and create new clean energy jobs. Below is a link
to the video hosted on BPA's website.
The video will be distributed to BPA members and companies, as well as online outlets and renewable energy blogs. Additional electronic copies will be sent to key Capitol Hill staff and Washington, DC influencers to help inform them of the importance of clean, renewable biomass power in the upcoming energy and climate legislation this fall. Energy for America will also be featured on the Biomass Power Association website homepage and uploaded to YouTube.
BIOMASS POWER PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN FOREST FIRE PREVENTION
Last month forest fires burned through thousands of acres in California, devastating communities and causing billions of dollars in damage. The largest fire occurred southeast of Los Angeles in Riverside County, and according to the National Interagency Fire Center, in 2009 alone there have been over 62,000 wildfires burning through over 5 million acres across the U.S. Despite the damage and devastation that these fires cause, we are reminded that biomass power can play an important role
in preventing forest fires, slowing their spread, and improving overall forest health.
Forest fires are often fueled by excess small trees and brush that choke our forests and create fire ladders that direct fires into the crowns of the largest trees. These unnatural tree densities allow crown fires to move across the landscape in a highly destructive manner. The biomass power industry removes over 68.8 million tons of forest waste annually. Removing these excess small trees and brush to establish historic forest densities improves forest health and greatly reduces
the risk that a fire will reach the crowns of the larger trees and thus become the destructive and almost unstoppable force that we often witness today.
The biomass power industry encourages regular forest management by creating a market for the excess small trees, slash and brush that are choking many of our forests. Reducing the intensity and extent of forest fires by improving forest health will prevent greenhouse gas emissions, lower costs for containment, and keep firefighters and communities out of harms way.
BIOMASS POWER: BIGGER NOT NECESSARILY BETTER OR CHEAPER
Bill Carlson, former Biomass Power Association Chairman and member of the Steering Committee, recently delivered a paper at the International Power & Energy Society Annual Meeting in Calgary titled, "Biomass Power As A Firm Utility Resource: Bigger Not Necessarily Better Of Cheaper." The study analyzes the optimal cost/benefit relationship between the location and size of traditional wood waste biomass power plants. Carlson notes that the average size of biomass
power plants currently being proposed is rising rapidly, but warns that larger plants may not yield the lower costs per kilowatt hour of electricity that economies of scale would suggest.
By examining how biomass power is subject to a host of variables specific to their surrounding environments, Carlson concludes that there are unique optimum sizes for biomass power plants that vary depending on the location. During the evaluation phase, developers should account for local fuel availability, costs, potential steam hosts, and available incentives. Designed correctly, biomass power can reduce greenhouse gases, provide a dependable base-load supply of renewable electricity,
and create new jobs in areas that have long needed an economic boost.
Click Here for the Complete Study Published in Smallwood News
HOT ITEMS: WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS
·
New Video "Energy for America": The Biomass Power Association will launch the new video titled, "Energy for America" this week. The video gives viewers an up-close look at the unique process of recycling millions of tons of organic waste to produce clean renewable electricity that reduces greenhouse gases, protects forests, and creates new jobs.
·
"Clean Energy Works" Climate Campaign: Clean Energy Works - a coalition of environmental, labor, veteran and hunting and fishing advocacy groups – recently launched a four week television campaign supporting the passage of climate legislation that centers around clean energy and green jobs.
|
