Colorado Buys Renewable Energy Certificates to Permit Wood Burning
Denver - The State of Colorado said The Forest Service purchased
750MWh-eequivalent Renewable Energy Certificates to help support efforts
to develop oportunities for "co-firing" coal and small-diameter trees
("woody biomass") for power generation.
Fire hazards abound throughout Colorado in what are considered
"Red Zones", where overgrowth of trees and underbrush threaten
populated areas. Through a partnership with the USDA Forest
Service and the Colorado Governor's Office of Energy Management
and Conservation (OEMC), officials hope reduce the threat of
fire by creating ways to combine Biomass fuels with coal in
power generation facilities.
By consuming biomass fuels the
reduction in potential fire hazards can be achieved while
creating eco-friendly means of generating energy from
renewable resources.
It is exciting to promote innovative ways for the agency to accomplish
two vital objectives using a method that benefits so many," Rick
Cables, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Regional Forester. In
Colorado alone, 6.2 million acres fall within the "Red Zone" --
areas in which communities and homes are at risk from wildfires,
mainly due to the unnatural buildup of vegetation.
"Not only are we
reducing the risks of wildfires to communities, but we are providing
a renewable energy source that also reduces emissions," said Cables.
Biomass co-firing offsets the emissions that would otherwise be generated by coal.
The Forest Service transaction is the first example of forest-derived
biomass RECs being sold on the voluntary market.
The RECs were
developed through a program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy
via OEMC. The OEMC's implementing partners -- Aquila, Inc., McNeil
Technologies, Inc. and the Colorado Energy Science Center (CESC) --
developed the first U.S. pilot program for selling the RECs
generated by co-firing biomass and coal.
"We believe that RECs offer a unique opportunity to use forest
waste materials as renewable fuels," said Drew Bolin, the OEMC Director.
Using the forest thinnings at a power plant creates a market
outlet for what would otherwise be a waste material. If contractors
can profit by selling the biomass, it may be possible to lower the
costs of thinning forest waste and treat additional forest lands
that are in need of mitigation work.
RECs are an innovative tool
for supporting the expansion of renewable energy. RECs have been
purchased by federal agencies and corporations.
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