Placer biomass plant gets federal funding

[Fledermaus]

An innovative energy-producing biomass plant in Placer County got a boost of green this week from the federal government.

The plant was one of more than 800 projects earmarked in this year's $410 billion federal spending bill signed by President Barack Obama on Wednesday.

"It is kind of like a down payment to pay for the technology," biomass plant project manager Brett Storey said of the coming $1.4 million in federal funds.

The plant, which was two years in the planning, is expected to be built by 2012 in a yet-undetermined site in the north Lake Tahoe region.

Placer's project will provide a clean-burning source for electricity and heat from a renewable energy source. It will convert forest waste from tree thinning and debris from orchards and vineyards into renewable energy.

"The potential benefits from the technology are far-reaching," Montgomery said.

The benefits include healthier forests, a lower wildfire risk, watershed protection, improved air quality and new jobs, the supervisor said.

Throughout the state, about 30 biomass plants have been located near forest lands so they can be fueled by woody debris. The plans also can be used to burn trees unsuitable for lumber or unsafe to leave standing, but the trees must be ground into small chunks about the size of lemons

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