Wood recyclers go whole hog into biomass

Firm uses chips to combat downturn in wood products industry

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By David Holley - Pamplin Media Group

Photo By JONATHAN HOUSE / Pamplin Media Group

Photo Caption - Rob Broberg is general manager of Vancouvers H&H Wood Recyclers in Vancouver, where biomass fuel is produced (above). Hes working on a proposed biomass plant in La Pine with Wellons Inc., which has constructed more than 200 facilities throughout the world.

Rob Broberg knows how to turn a bad situation around.

As general manager of Vancouvers H&H Wood Recyclers, Broberg oversaw the sale of about 40 truckloads a day of hog fuel wood chips from forest debris to firms such as Georgia Pacific and Longview Fiber. Then the paper industry took a downturn and the companies no longer needed his wood products.

Im sitting there with 40 loads a day wondering what Im going to do now, says Broberg, who grew up in Scappoose.

But he and H&H owner Larry Olson had an idea.

Backed by Olson, Broberg started a new business, St. Helens-based Biogreen Sustainable Energy Co. He plans to open a new biomass facility in La Pine, near Bend, where the wood chips from those 40 truckloads will be burned and converted into energy.

Although biomass plants have been operating for decades, theyve re-emerged in recent years as a sustainable way to maintain forests and provide renewable energy.

Most of Oregons biomass plants were built before the 1980s, and none were added from 1985 to 2005, says Mark Kendall, senior policy analyst for the Oregon Department of Energy.

However, in the past two years, four have sprung up in Oregon, Kendall says. Now Oregon hosts 64 biomass sites, 18 of them generating electricity.

It is a low-cost, competitive energy supply, Kendall says. It has recently gained a claim as a renewable resource that has good ecological and good economical favor.

Biomass facilities end up emitting no net carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to the energy department.

On the whole, its probably much better than the pollution that is going to come out of the coal power plant, says Hal Salwasser, dean of Oregon State Universitys College of Forestry.

Potential flaws
In recent years, companies have been heating hog fuel to create steam, which powers turbines and produces electricity. The electricity can power an adjoining plant or be transmitted to a grid to power homes and other buildings.

Environmental issues became more important to Broberg after he attended Lewis & Clark College for four years.

It definitely opened my eyes, he says.

Thats one factor that sparked his interest in working for H&H and starting Biogreen Sustainable. The new plant would provide enough electricity to power 15,000 houses, he says.

Deschutes County has given its approval for the facility, and the city of La Pine has all but OKd it. Broberg is waiting to hear back on an application for state Business Energy Tax Credits, as well as air-quality permits from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

He estimates the plant will cost about $60 million to build and expects to raise $30 million of that from private investors. The tax credits could land Broberg $10 million, and he could get another $21 million in federal production tax credits.

The business would provide about 20 full-time, living-wage jobs in La Pine. Broberg says he doesnt expect a return during the first two years of operations, while the company pays off debt.

There are some potential flaws with biomass, Salwasser says. Hog fuel, for example, is produced by extracting forest debris and turning it into wood chips. Taking too much out of the forests can cause harm; enough debris must be left behind to allow the forest and its soil to regenerate.

Broberg says his company appreciates the importance of forest management and will spend 20 percent of operating costs for pollution control.

Sustainable biomass companies are much more widespread in Europe. This side of the world needs more investment in biomass and less in oil-based energy, Salwasser says.

We need to do some smart thinking in this country to shift off from the degree of dependence on foreign oils, he says. Our lifestyles need to change.

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New biomass plant
Biogreen Sustainable Energy Co.

What: Uses hog fuel wood chips from forest debris to create electricity. Material is derived from small trees, undergrowth, slash piles, thinnings, yard debris, construction material, orchard removals, rice hulls and fruit pits.

Where: Company is in St. Helens; planned biomass plant is in LaPine

Other: When finished, the $60 million power plant could produce 19 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 15,000 homes

Additional Information

Web Site: http://www.theoutlookonline.com/sustainable/story_2nd.php?story_id=125201808799370400

Category: Forestry>Biomass Energy

Region: Oregon

Ad Running: 9/10/2009-10/10/2011

Ad Posted: 9/10/2009 7:58:07 PM

Ad Viewed: 712 times

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