Solar thermal, woody biomass plants coming to New Mexico

[Fledermaus]

There were two announcements on Thursday about renewable energy plants coming to New Mexico.

Gov. Bill Richardson announced a solar thermal plant which will be built in Santa Teresa, and members of the state’s congressional delegation announced a woody biomass plant in southern New Mexico.

The solar thermal plant, which a Richardson press release called “New Mexico’s Suntower” will be a 92 megawatt concentrating solar thermal facility.

This plant will not be operating with the photovoltaic panels that many think of when they hear about solar energy.

Solar thermal power, according to the Economist , is created when “mirrors concentrate sunlight to produce heat. That heat is then used to create steam, which in turn drives a turbine to generate electricity.”

U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman and U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, meanwhile, announced today that a woody biomass facility will be coming to New Mexico because of the stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama earlier this year.

The $2.5 million in funding will go towards a Woody Biomass Energy Development project. The project includes 5 megawatt wood pellet production plant which will work with a Mescalero Apache Tribe sawmill.

The plant will run from wood from forest-thinning designed to protect the Lincoln National Forest from fire danger.

http://newmexicoindependent.com/29387/solar-thermal-woody-biomass-plants-coming-to-new-mexico

[kestrel91316]

1. Plant waste and woody biomass belong in the ground and not

vaporized into the air. We CANNOT just cut up and burn all our trees. If we destroy the soil's microbial ecosystems we WILL destroy ourselves.

[excess_3]

5. same old rhetoric from the big oil companies .nt

[Fotoware58]

7. Ummmm

AND, just WHAT do oil companies have to do with electricity generation from biomass?!?!? Yet another attempt to derail the issue with disinformation!!!

[Fotoware58]

6. Sorry

Ummm, just WHO is advocating clearcutting National Forests to use for biomass power generation?!?!? Your kneejerk reaction only serves to provide disinformation and keep the restoration of our forests from happening.

[Fotoware58]

2. Amazing

It's very surprising that someone would build a woody biomass plant without some kind of guarantee or subsidy to remove Federal biomass. The Waxman-Markey bill is still scheduled to ban the use of ALL Federal biomass as "renewable energy". Al Gore was "stumped" about using scrap wood, logging slash and tiny trees to go towards renewable energy targets. He claims that current NEPA rules are inadequate to protect forests against the use of such materials. (Al also claims that Clinton's Northwest Forest Plan was a success but, owl populations and old growth habitat continue to steeply decline.) Steven Chu was asked if there were any scientific reasons why Federal biomass couldn't be used as renewable biomass. He said there wasn't. (He also admitted to Congress that he hadn't even read the entire bill!)

Also in question is the fact that eco's will surely litigate projects that cut trees on the National Forest. In most parts of the country, lumber mills are closing up until they get some assurance or legislation that will guarantee them some sort of annual volume coming off Federal lands. It's just not going to happen, IMHO. The courts won't allow it because of conflicting rules, laws and policies.

Instead, more forests will be vaporized, along with all the other bad impacts that go along with incinerated trees, destroyed forests and cooked soils.

[BadgerKid]

3. Arizona, too, maybe.

World’s Largest Solar Power Plant Coming to Arizona in 2011

http://takeaction.wordpress.com/2008/02/26/should-congress-renew-the-clean-energy-tax-credit/

The Arizona solar power plant has been named Solana, which means “a sunny place” in Spanish, and will be located 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, near Gila Bend, and cover 1,900 acres. The capacity of the power plant has been projected at 280 megawatts — a capacity which could power 70,000 homes and create 1,500 jobs. The electricity generated by the plant will be sold to APS to the tune of around $4 billion for over next 30 years.

The 1900 acre plant will be completed by 2011 – IF AND ONLY IF Congress renews the clean energy tax credit that’s set to expire at the end of 2008.


(I thought Arizona already has one, but cannot verify at the moment.)

[Fotoware58]

4. I wonder...

where they are going to get the water to make the steam?!?!

OH.....Yeah.....all they need to do is bulldoze a few of those golf courses and they should have plenty, eh?