Vermont Public Radio: Some skeptical of biomass benefit (wood fired power plants)

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/85807/

Some skeptical of biomass benefit

Monday, 09/14/09
Nancy Cohen

Portsmouth, NH

(Host) There are a growing number of proposals to build wood-burning biomass power plants in the Northeast.

Some environmentalists say wood can be a renewable, low-carbon fuel. But others aren't convinced.

As part of a collaboration with Northeast public radio stations, Nancy Cohen from WNPR reports.

(Cohen) Six years ago the Public Service Company of New Hampshire made an unorthodox decision to re-fashion one of its three coal-burning boilers at its power station in Portsmouth so it could burn wood. Station manager Dick Despins points out mounds of wood floating by on a conveyor belt.

…

(Audio and transcript at the link.)

[NNadir]

1. Vermont has the cleanest electricity in North America although some people are trying to destroy its

clean infrastructure out of ignorance.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/st_profiles/sept05vt.xls

Vermont gets 80% of its electricity from nuclear energy, although all the gas salemen here and elsewhere can't wait to destroy that infrastructure and start dumping their dangerous fossil fuel waste into their favorite dump, the atmosphere.

[excess_3]

2. Greenies are against anything that works. n/t

[hunter]

3. We should call them what they are -- incinerators.

The temptation to feed these power plants "biomass" from questionable sources outside the design specs of the plants is great.

California has more of these plants than any other state and there are always a few shut down because they are not profitable when owners are forced to comply with air quality regulations.

It would probably be a positive thing if plants like this were built as incinerators capable of utilizing a wide variety of waste streams, but incinerators have a bad reputation. That's why corporations want to build these less capable "biomass" plants. It is entirely greenwash.