Vermont natural resources secretary says biomass power could double

[Fledermaus]

Vermont is a national leader in generating heat and electricity from wood chips. And the state's natural resources secretary says Vermont forests have enough capacity to at least double the current output of biomass power.

Natural Resources Secretary Jonathan Wood says he's excited about the prospect of more large scale wood chip-burning plants.

(Wood) This is a sustainable and prudent use of our resources on a Vermont scale, where we can really get ourselves in a position where we're less dependent on outside energy, we're utilizing a local product and we can keep that money within a tighter circle here within our own state. It's just a great idea.

(Host) Wood says the development of more woodchip-fired plants could help revitalize the state's forest products industry. It would also create markets for the "low-quality" wood that landowners need to "thin out" to encourage timber-quality trees.

http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/84620/

[doc03]

1. Here's a story about a coal fired power

plant in Ohio that is going to convert from coal to biomass. The plant owned by First Energy either had to install scrubbers or shut down. They came up with an alternative last week to keep it open and convert to biomass. This will save about 100 jobs and save the county $1.5 million in tax revenue. It will also create over 300 jobs to supply the plant with fuel.
http://www.timesleaderonline.com/page/content.detail/id/510002.html