Originally published December 14 2005
Central Oregon hosts yet another biomass power project
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
La Pine, Ore., will be the site of a new $20 million, 20-megawatt wood-fired power plant, one of many currently in the works for that area of the state.
Within a week, a group of investors hopes to sign an agreement to build a $20 million, 20 megawatt wood-fired power plant in La Pine.
The proposal, which could create up to 80 jobs, is one of several biomass power projects that has been floated recently in Central Oregon, where surrounding national forests are seen as a ready supply of fuel for the plants, which convert wood waste to electricity.
advertisement ``There is enough forest product infrastructure in the area to facilitate this,'' said Sandy Lonsdale, one of the potential investors.
The road network is favorable and there's a push in the West for increased green power.''
Already, the Warm Springs Forest Products company operates a 3-megawatt power plant in Jefferson County and plans to expand its power-generating capacity to 20 megawatts.
That's enough energy to power as many as 18,000 homes, according to the Western Area Power Administration.
And earlier this year, Sisters businessman Steve Pyke announced plans for a smaller biomass power plant in Sisters, which would provide enough electricity to run Sisters High School and Middle School.
The concept of using wood for fuel is nothing new.
Trees have been used as a source of direct heat for centuries.
But several factors have stoked renewed interest in the technology, which uses heat from combustion to turn steam-fired turbines.
Nationally, politicians have been pushing strategies to reduce reliance on fossil fuels with tax breaks and other financial incentives for developers of renewable energies.
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