WA - Hopes to turn slash to energy dashed

The U.S. Forest Services hopes for a cost-effective way to convert slash into usable energy rather than burn it on site were dashed when it proved too expensive

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By Marcy Stamper

The U.S. Forest Services hopes for a cost-effective way to convert slash into usable energy rather than burn it on site were dashed when it proved too expensive to transport wood chips to processing plants.

The 6,000 tons of slash are in about 50 piles in the Fawn Creek area near Edelweiss, left over from a timber sale, according to Arlo Vander Woude, vegetation management program leader for the Methow Valley Ranger District.

Typically, we would have burned the slash on log landings, cleaned it up, scattered some seed and walked away, said Brad Flatten, timber sales and stewardship contracting specialist for the Forest Service.

The solicitation of proposals from a dozen contractors with experience in converting scrap wood to energy was the Forest Services first attempt in this district to explore the market for biomass conversion, but they had to reject the proposals as too costly, according to Flatten. The most common application is to grind up the slash as hog fuel to power electric generators, he said.

The Forest Service has had a successful biomass-to-energy project in the Tonasket Ranger District, where slash was sold to the Avista Kettle Falls Generating Station, which burns wood waste to run a steam turbine and generator.

The contract for slash removal in Tonasket was negotiated at an average cost to the Forest Service of $6.50/ton. The Fawn Creek proposals were considerably higher, said Flatten.

Where slash is piled and can be burned without producing much smoke and there are not significant local concerns about burning, the incentive to subsidize its removal is decreased, said Flatten. It is always cheaper to burn the slash, he said.

The area is currently open for firewood collection by anyone with a permit from the Forest Service, said Vander Woude.

The high bids were due in part to the distance from processing plants. The Colville Tribal Enterprise Corporation in Omak, which has a steam generator powered by ground-up wood waste, is not currently accepting new material, said Flatten.

The Forest Service is finalizing the specifications for another task order to thin about 100 acres near McFarland Creek. Vander Woude said he expected that the contracts will require that the trees removed for thinning be hauled away as chips or for other products, rather than be left as slash in the forest. It would be the first fuels-reduction project to incorporate biomass conversion, said Flatten, who hoped it would be ready for contractors proposals in the next two weeks.

The Forest Service intends to keep working with contractors to find a financially viable solution for the Fawn Creek slash before they have to resort to burning in the fall, said Flatten. Were hoping contractors will get in touch with us when prices are good, he said.

Additional Information

Category: Forestry>Biomass Energy

Region: Washington

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