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2008-948-Minutes for Meeting February 20,2008 Recorded 11/17/2008COUNTY NANCYUBLANKENSHIP,F000NTY CLERKDS CJ 2008.948 COMMISSIONERS' JOURNAL 1111712008 11;50;30 AM IIIIIII III~IIIIIIIIIIIIII'I III 2008-848 Do not remove this page from original document. Deschutes County Clerk Certificate Page If this instrument is being re-recorded, please complete the following statement, in accordance with ORS 205.244: Re-recorded to correct [give reason] previously recorded in Book or as Fee Number and Page w Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.deschutes.orjz MINUTES OF PUBLIC MEETING DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2007 Commissioners' Hearing Room - Administration Building - 1300 NW Wall St., Bend Present were Commissioners Michael M. Daly, Dennis R. Luke and Tammy Baney. Also present were Dave Kanner, County Administrator; Susan Ross, Commissioners' Office; Joe Studer, County Forester; Lee Smith, La Pine Industrial Group; media representative Chris Stollar of The Bulletin; and approximately thirty-five other citizens. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss issues relating to an offer by Silvan Power Corporation to purchase County-owned land located in the La Pine area to pursue the establishment of a biomass power plant. Chair Daly opened the meeting at 6:05 p. m. Commissioner Daly explained that there will be a staff report about the issue, then testimony can be taken from the public and others. A decision on the sale of the land will be made by the Board in the near future. Susan Ross presented an oversized map of the property, and gave an overview of the proposed real estate sale. LIGI has forwarded the offer with a recommendation to the Board. The property is 28 acres located west and south of Findley Butte Road; some improvements are already in. The Board did want to provide an opportunity for public testimony as to whether the property should be sold. State law allows certain transactions to be privileged; one is the sale of property during negotiations. While the transaction is happening, the information is privileged. If the offer is finalized, the details become public information. The media is allowed to sit in but cannot report on the transaction until it is completed. Minutes of Board of Commissioners Hearing re: Silvan Power - Biomass Project Page 1 of 10 Pages February 20, 2007 Access would probably be Mits Way. The particulars are not yet known. The potential buyers will have to address questions regarding access. Commissioner Luke noted that there is a lengthy process to determine any land use, including access and traffic impacts. Susan Ross explained that the initial process will probably take two years, as they have to go through federal, state and local land use procedures before they can even break ground. The meeting tonight is not a public hearing because there is no formal land use application at this time. When that does happen, there will be public hearings before the new La Pine City Council as well. Tammy Baney added that there will be a lot of opportunity for public input on the biomass plant. This is the first step, whether to even sell them the property. Chair Daly said that since this is an informational meeting only, and Silvan Power representatives have not yet arrived, the Board can take some testimony and find out what the community's concerns are. Tony DeBone, who runs a small co in town, said he is looking forward to having businesses in town. He does not live in an incorporated area but runs a local business, and wants to see something like this proceed. He added that if forest waste is burned at a very high temperature, there should not be a smoke problem. He wants to see this go forward. He'd like to see a traffic pattern review, and a traffic light to get across the highway. Linda Bates, who lives outside the incorporated area, had a small business in town and is still part owner. She feels like the industrial park needs to do something like this. It needs to be built up, as jobs are needed. It will benefit the city and the people living around it. Since the property could sit there for ten years, the County should go ahead and sell it if they have a buyer. It may encourage others to come in. The area needs employment and safe traffic on Highway 97. It will help if people don't have to drive up Highway 97 to go to work. That would alleviate what few additional trucks would be added to the area. There is a lot of benefit to this. This is the energy of the future, and will benefit everyone in more ways than just local jobs. Minutes of Board of Commissioners Hearing re: Silvan Power - Biomass Project Page 2 of 10 Pages February 20, 2007 Dan Varcoe said he lives outside the incorporated area but owns property inside the city, and is also a business owner. He said this could present a catalyst for businesses to come to La Pine to test the waters, since a large corporation is willing to jump in. He doesn't want the area to miss this opportunity. It appears that the air might be cleaner, too, as some of the smoke from slash burning would be eliminated. He said he's lived there only since 2001, and the number of residents has increased a lot but not the number of jobs. If there are more jobs, there would be more confidence in the area. They need a little jump start. Conrad Ruel, who lives near Spring River Road, stated he's a part of the Upper Deschutes Natural Resources Coalition, and is generally supportive, but does have some environmental concerns. He said it would not be in his backyard but he is sensitive to the people living in La Pine. The Coalition supports the idea as long as the company can deal with the environment impacts. Robin Snyder, who lives in Deschutes County but not in the city, does environmental consulting and helps the Upper Deschutes Coalition oversee various agreements. One big issue they have come up against when applying for and implementing grants is that contractors don't have a place to get rid of materials they are taking out of the woods. If there was an economical way to dispose of this material, most contractors would find it more affordable, grant money could go further, and even private parties might get a lower bid. The area could end up more fire safe. At this time there is no place close enough to make transportation and distribution cost effective; this could provide an alternative. There are a lot of questions about the environment, but the water use could be less than a golf course uses. It's important that this process take place so there can be answers. The County process will ensure that all the proper steps are taken. This gives La Pine people a chance to make sure La Pine is getting a good deal, and can protect their livelihood and their lives. La Pine is a great little town and deserves a chance to look at what could happen. The City Council voted to proceed, and it would be great if the Board of Commissioners would support it. Doug Damerval said he does live within the city, and will change the course of what's been said here tonight. He stated that a lot of his friends and neighbors are at loggerheads over employment issues. A statement was made regarding 190 jobs. Creation of the jobs is in the woods and the trucks. These are already owned and are being used, so won't mean new jobs. With 28 acres within the city limits and approximately 20 jobs, that's less than one job per acre. Minutes of Board of Commissioners Hearing re: Silvan Power - Biomass Project Page 3 of 10 Pages February 20, 2007 This brings up the wage issue. The highest wage would be around $80,000 per year. They said the average job would be $15 per hour. Most jobs will be just above minimum wage. La Pine already has minimum wage jobs, and doesn't need 28 acres of semi-family wage jobs. He said he doesn't have a problem with the plant per se, so if the Commissioners want to go ahead, let's get going so we can see where it leads. He added he doesn't know anyone in town with biomass experience. Maybe it won't make a difference at all if others doing the work are from Portland or California. Gary Bell said he lives in the city limits, and grew up in a lumber town in southwest Washington, with log trucks going by his door seven days a week. He supports job creation and employment in La Pine, and is has been suggested that site planning will address the traffic issue. The impact of traffic on the community is a big concern. He would like to see an employment base to build businesses and attract other businesses. He's also for clean air. Frank Carson stated he lives just down the street, within the city. He knows a lot of people who are concerned about 40 trucks a day, one way, passing their properties. This hasn't been taken into consideration. There are a lot of children who take the bus from there. He said he would sell his house and move out of the city because of this. The city will lose population. One other issue is that he understands when La Pine became a city, property within the city limits would be turned over to the city. Commissioner Luke stated that this was never stated. The property belongs to all of the citizens of the County, not just those in the city, just like the 1800 acres located outside of Redmond belongs to everyone. The city will make the determination of zoning and that type of thing. The County is working with the city on an agreement to help them until they get up and running. In two years they will be making the decisions regarding the plan and the land use part. Mr. Carson said that there may be 20 new jobs, but they will lose that many citizens. Even though he is retired, he can contract out for work for more than $15 per hour. Bernie Roberts decided not to speak at this time. Minutes of Board of Commissioners Hearing re: Silvan Power - Biomass Project Page 4 of 10 Pages February 20, 2007 Shan Harper lives outside the city limits but has two small businesses in town. There is a lot to decide in this matter. La Pine does need to generate some kind of employment base, whether it is 20 or 190 or whatever. There has been much said about this issue, but Shan doesn't read the paper or watch local TV, but the Chamber of Commerce advises what's going on. Shan hopes the council will take everything into account and do what is best for La Pine, and hopes there will be a lot of jobs and that everything will be considered. Joe Stutler, County Forester, said he came to hear the proposal. He has seen a few details but doesn't know the capacity and all that. He said he does know through experience with other biomass plants in Warm Springs and Klamath Falls, he was contacted by a company three weeks ago that wants to come to Deschutes County and haul chips all the way to Roseburg to power the particle board facility there. They are looking to find as much source as they can possibly get, and will chip and haul for free. The only cost would be moving it from small acreages to a large grinder. From the Forester prospective, he has heard figures of 20,000 acres per year are necessary to feed this plant. If you took at La Pine and National Forest and BLM lands, there is enough source for a long period of time, just considering the federal land. When you look at the Community Forest Plan for the area, there are thousands of acres of private land that could also be a market for the biomass plant. From a source perspective, it is a renewable resource and this is possible. Based on research on biomass, lots of places could be thinned, and something else can be planted that grows faster to feed the plant quicker. This is not an issue, looking at it from a Forester focus. Ken Lane, who lives outside the city limits, said he was on the steering committee for the greater La Pine Wildfire plan and the Deschutes Coalition. He came to put in a few words in support of biomass, not necessarily for Silvan but for any company. The area does have the fuel. He attended the biomass conference in Portland, which showcased good information. The problem in the area is that the fuel is there, mostly on federal land. For a biomass plant to operate, there needs to be a stewardship plan. Otherwise there would not be enough fuel available. There are a lot of grants coming to the Coalition, and they hope to see funding every year. Right now the material just goes up in smoke. Not long ago there were smoke columns coming from property right across from the proposed plant. This impacts global warming and is a waste, and it is a no-brainer if something else can be done with this fuel. As citizens and stewards of the land, this needs to be done for now and for future generations. Minutes of Board of Commissioners Hearing re: Silvan Power - Biomass Project Page 5 of 10 Pages February 20, 2007 Considering all the big fires that have happened, the money spent on these fires and the wasted wood could be put to good use. Firefighting pays good money, but all those resources go up in smoke. Most of the Community Forest Plan committees are in favor of this, and it can't come too soon. The material needs a place to go. Dwight Detwiler, who owns All American Timber Company in La Pine, a post and pole plant, said that it takes approximately four loads of pole material to keep things running. He is having trouble getting that much material. Those who have the material - the county, State, Forest Service - won't put it up in timber sales. The Forest Service said they won't put it up just for biomass use, and they have to bid on it just like anyone else. There are a lot of associated problems. He asked how many truckloads were burned in two days. Mr. Stutler said that they have to use 3" and smaller, and are set for a year for anyone who is looking to use it. This wood has sat for a year. In terms of trucks, probably 40 or 50, it wasn't the big stuff. Mr. Detwiler stated that it is hard to see how they could keep the plant running on the available fuel. Commissioner Luke said that they will have to show that they can get the material, and would not make the investment in the plant if they weren't sure of it. Mr. Detwiler said that there are plenty of people to use the wood if the Forest Service would put it up. And he asked what would be made on timber revenue if the County ever got it back. He added that Findlay Butte Road is a hazard, even without trucks running on it. It isn't built for a lot of traffic. Someone will get hurt. He's all for living wage jobs, but in the County that is $10 to $20 per hour. There are good jobs in La Pine but not enough good people to fill them. If you want 190 people to do the work, they will have to be imported; they won't come from La Pine. He added he has a site down now because he can't get good people, and Scott Logging also does. They pay good wages. Commissioner Daly explained that this meeting is to decide whether the County enters into a sale contract for the site. If there is no wood out there, this probably won't happen. They will also have to sell the power. Minutes of Board of Commissioners Hearing re: Silvan Power - Biomass Project Page 6 of 10 Pages February 20, 2007 Commissioner Luke stated that he heard from a lady who said they should just cut the trees. And there is talk about charging local government for the cost of wildfires even when they start on unmanaged federal lands and go into private lands. It is going to be difficult to find material, but that is part of the two-year process. They won't build if they don't have contracts in place. There is a lot of stuff that needs to happen if the County decides to sell the property to them. Mr. Detwiler said that in his opinion, and professional forester Chris Jordan, who works for Cascade Timberlands, thinks that the County is growing 232 million board meeting a year and is harvesting 26. He has a second pole plant and is trying to get bigger material for log homes, but the Forest Service won't sell it. Commissioner Luke said that it is not always the Forest Service's fault, as there can be regulatory agencies and others that set the rules. Commissioner Baney stated that the traffic issues would have to be mitigated as well. That is a part of the issues to be addressed. Robin Snyder said at the last meeting, an announcement was made by Silvan that they had received a power contract, that someone in California is willing to buy the power. Ken: said that if anyone is interested in the amount of material available in Oregon, the Forest Institute has had a study done. Deschutes County has a lot of material, but is #6 in the State of Oregon; five others have more biomass material. The biomass is available but has to be within a certain distance of the community to make the plant viable. A comment was made, why others aren't doing this if it is so lucrative. Several states are putting them in; five are in the process right now. Part of that is because the State and the Governor's initiative give incentives for biomass projects, including tax breaks. The Healthy Forest Restoration Act passed in 2003 says that funds are supposed to go into fuels reduction and for biomass to reduce the threat of wildfire. This needs to be pushed, and Senators and Representatives need to support it. Funding is not trickling down as fast as it should be. The County needs to get $400,000 per year, which is the maximum it can get from the federal government. Other grants might be available through Western States and FEMA. This will reduce wildland fire threats. It may not be the highest paying jobs but they would be good jobs. And it would keep our communities from burning down. Minutes of Board of Commissioners Hearing re: Silvan Power - Biomass Project Page 7 of 10 Pages February 20, 2007 Joe Stutler explained that he isn't familiar with the site, but if the work is on National Forest or county land, essentially the same standards are followed, which are the best management standards and keep the area from being clear-cut. The trees are thinned out to produce a healthier stand of trees. If you go back 100 years, there was a lot of ponderosa pines that were harvested and not replanted, so lodgepole pines took over. Feeding the plant won't compromise the community. In the New Neighborhood and other areas are built so that homes are not in the way of a fire. There is a 15-20 foot space between crowns, and the bitterbrush was mowed instead of eliminating it. This is his vision of what would happen in biomass. Ms. Harper asked if there is other land available for people to purchase in the same industrial development. Commissioner Luke said that this is the largest piece sold. Most have been subdivided into lots already, and anyone can buy them. Susan Ross said that the most demand is for 1 to 5 acre parcels. This property, if not sold, would be partitioned into smaller lots. It is a simple process if the use fits the zoning and criteria. There is an industrial reserve section, which will be one of the last parcels to be developed. The infrastructure is not yet in place and they are going through the final plat approval. This could take six months. She added that they are constantly doing partitions for 1 to 2 acre parcels, and these can be combined if someone wants a larger piece. Rob Shuck stated that regardless of whether the power plant goes in, the County and City are obligated to allow access to those who buy the property, no matter how many vehicles there are. If the County will develop the property, the community needs to back them up. He said he has two lots in Newbery Business Park and a home in Ponderosa Pines. Behind his home are slash piles that have not been burned, huge truckloads full, and it is a shame to burn all that. He worked for Roseburg Forest Production and they are interested in what we have. They are the biggest company in the state in this field. As far as traffic goes, they don't have to go through town. He added that he can't say that he likes to see the town grown, but is a 4th generation Oregonian, raised on the coast where wood products, the mills and fishing went down. Progress is progress, and he doesn't like going into Bend. Minutes of Board of Commissioners Hearing re: Silvan Power - Biomass Project Page 8 of 10 Pages February 20, 2007 George Morris said he lives outside the city limits, and is on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and does business in and outside of the city. One issue not brought up is water usage. The newspaper says they would use the same as 130 homes. He's not sure how much, percentage wise, it would affect water capacity. Another question is what happens to the water after it is used. Does it dissipate into steam or go into the sewer, or get reclaimed, or does it become more toxic with tannins or something else. Commissioner Luke said that this would be discussed as part of the land use process. Environmental impacts are an important part. When you take all of the water the cities use, it cannot even be measured at Pelton Dam. Perhaps it would come out of the shallow water table, not the deep aquifer. Commissioner Baney added that this is a critical issue to be addressed when there is a land use application. There is nothing before the Board today regarding this process. Commissioner Daly stated that the Commissioners won't be making these decisions anyway. Commissioner Baney asked how many in the audience are form inside the city limits. (About 20 hands went up.) An audience member asked if the meeting could be rescheduled with the Silvan representatives in attendance. Commissioner Luke said that there have been several meetings already with them in attendance, and they made a presentation at the January 2 City Council meeting. Commissioner Baney stated that the Board will gather public input and move forward. Commissioner Daly added that there will be a lengthy land use process and a lot more hearings before anything is built. Being no further discussion or testimony offered, Chair Daly adjourned the meeting at 7:30 p.m. Minutes of Board of Commissioners Hearing re: Silvan Power - Biomass Project Page 9 of 10 Pages February 20, 2007 DATED this 20th Day of], 2 07 for the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. is R. Luke, Wce Chair ATTEST: Tammy Baney, Cissioner &41l Recording Secretary Attachments Exhibit A: Public notices re: the meeting Exhibit B: Sign-in cards to testify Exhibit B: Public input re: the biomass project Minutes of Board of Commissioners Hearing re: Silvan Power - Biomass Project Page 10 of 10 Pages February 20, 2007 Deschutes County 1300 NW Wall Street, Ste. 200 Bend, OR 97701-1960 Phone (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.deschutes.ora NEWS RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: Susan Ross, 383-6713 Bend, Oregon February 13, 2007 Public Input Requested Regarding South County Land Sale to Silvan Power On Tuesday, February 20, 6:00 p.m., a public meeting will be held to hear South County citizen comments regarding the sale of Deschutes County property to Silvan Power as the location of a future biomass power plant. The Silvan Power land sale meeting will take place in the Justice Court courtroom (east side of the complex) in the South County Services Building in La Pine, 51340 S. Highway 97. Conducted by the Board of County Commissioners, this is a public meeting and not a public hearing. There is no formal land use application before the Board of County Commissioners. For more information about the Silvan Power land sale meeting, please call 383-6713. Deschutes County Government provides for the safety, security and health of Deschutes County's 143,390 citizens through public safety, human services, adult parole & probation, juvenile justice and many other valuable public services. For more information, please go to www.deschutes.ora . Page 1 of 1 Bonnie Baker From: La Pine Chamber of Commerce [Director@lapine.org] Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 9:08 AM To: Undisclosed-Recipient:; Subject: Bio-Mass Meeting Tonight Public Input Requested Regarding South County Land Sale to Silvan Power Tonight February 20 at 6pm, a public meeting will be held to hear South County citizen comments regarding the sale of Deschutes County property to Silvan Power as the location of a future biomass power plant. The Silvan Power land sale meeting will take place in the Justice Court courtroom (east side of the complex) in the South County Services Building in La Pine, 51340 S. Highway 97. Conducted by the Board of County Commissioners, this is a public meeting and not a public hearing. There is no formal land use application before the Board of County Commissioners. For more information about the Silvan Power land sale meeting, please call 383-6713. 2/20/2007 Bonnie Baker From: Anna Johnson Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 3:37 PM To: Anna Johnson Subject: Public Input Requested on Potential Land Sale to Silvan Power Importance: High Attachments: Silvan Power Land Sale.doc A Silvan Power Land Sale.doc (12... On Tuesday, February 20, a public meeting will be held to hear South County citizen comments regarding the sale of Deschutes County property to Silvan Power as the location of a future biomass power plant. The Silvan Power land sale meeting will take place in the Justice Court courtroom (east side of the complex) in the South County Services Building in La Pine, 51340 S. Highway 97. Conducted by the Board of County Commissioners, this is a public meeting and not a public hearing. There is no formal land use application before the Board of County Commissioners. For more information about the Silvan Power land sale meeting, please call 383-6713. Anna M. Johnson Public Communications Coordinator DESCHUTES COUNTY (541) 330-4640 office (541) 280-5263 cell (541) 385-3202 fax 1300 NW Wall Street, Ste. 200 Bend, OR 97701 www.deschutes.org www.deschutes.org/mostwanted/ Deschutes County Government provides for the safety, security and health of Deschutes County's 143,390 citizens through public safety, human services, adult parole & probation, juvenile justice and many other valuable public services. For more information, please go to www.deschutes.org . 1 . k IW' 1 ( ~ I an a nv/ 1 of" e hie, a ed e ~Iatlil hoe yet taI'deolde, South Count y Administration Bldg. 51*M- 8 ft-- 1I 97 La Pine i P IWO cha to d era s. s ~NO COM want, to fio m -VI Public meeting on the Proposed Biomass, Power Plant February 2 B. PIN r i IF YOU WISH TO TESTIFY IF YOU WISH TO TESTIFY Please complete this card & turn it in to a County staff person. Mailing Address: Phone E-mail Address: %731-~s~• Date: ©~z /-Z V/ 07 Subject: IF YOU WISH TO TESTIFY Please complete this card & turn it in to a County staff person. Name. Mailing Address: eo, - Phone E-mail Address: Date: Subject: ~ p,<t =vim IF YOU WISH TO TESTIFY Please complete this card & turn it in to a County staf er on. Name d Mailing A . ress: -7-712 Phone 573C - E-mail Address: Date: Subject:,, . IF YOU WISH TO TESTIFY Please complete this card & turn it in to a County staff person. Name: -NYorr Mailing Address: i6y-~, - ~~aa-VE LP Phone 6_--y, /o;"7 E-mail Address: ~yc Dater cor, Subject: Please complete this card & turn it in to a County staff person. N a m e -.<7:)A4,kJ (1,4fC0e'cS___ Mailing Address: Phone -7 7 E-mail Address: Date: z --"v a 7 Subject: r Vf/- tf,4.~ ~ Cow IF YOU WISH TO TESTIFY Please complete this card & turn it in to a County staff person. Name: Ce c~,a1 kA J R 4Ar M1.7,Z1 g Phone P(gfi E-mail Address: Date: Subject: IF YOU WISH TO TESTIFY IF YOU WISH TO TESTIFY Please complete this card & turn it in to a County staff person. Name: ~b« n~d~ Mailing Address: fro U):/ uK I2d UAA DA- q 7 °7 0 1 Phone 541 3V7 4&0Z E-mail Address: ~S' da-r4ion 2 eaoi , Date: 2-010 ems, Subject: alb 7fzr bt-P, . IF YOU WISH TO TESTIFY Please complete this card & turn it in to a County staff person. Name: rxr»erv Mailing Address: Doe 4c,- i/',, e OR 977;3 Phone #:/-yam -suet E-mail Address: co ~l~es,a Date: 2 -,G `O7 Subject: &)/e mew f 111t ens JI IF YOU WISH TO TESTIFY Please complete this card & turn it in to a County staff person. Name: GAN `o[I Mailing Address: _5-/g_5-7 Phone , yc( E-mail Address: IC ~yv►s~~~~. Date: D-L . --Lo 1 0 Subject: ?-,;o f~ PIS" Please complete this card & turn it in to a County staff person. Name: Lt)~~ Mailing Address: 6 ,~~'q G Phone : ,=i 1 E-mail Address: Date: I- f, 7 o Subject:& ~ IF YOU WISH TO TESTIFY Please complete this card & turn it in to a County st ff person. Name:! ,to Mailing Address: oxv, ~j ~Amk Phone S4L~9 E-mail Ad ress: Date: Q a )hv Subject: P, SANDRA IRWIN February 20, 2007 Deschutes County Commissioners To the Deschutes County Commissioners I am unable to attend the meeting scheduled in La Pine this evening regarding the proposed biomass plant. My husband works in the evening, and I need to stay home with my children. However, I do want to voice my objections to the land sale. These objections are based upon the following: Aix Quality: my 5-year old daughter has acute asthma. She is medicated daily to keep it under control. Emissions from the plant - whether they are visible or not - and additional smog from transportation will affect her health, and the health of many others with asthma and other lung-related issues. Wood burning also emits a lot of carbon dioxide, which is a major cause of global warming. Will the forest be re-forested to offset the release of carbon dioxide into the air? Water usage: The plant will use vast amounts of water, which will affect the supply for residents during drought periods. In addition, our water supply has many issues, including nitrates. Although many residents are still debating what measures need to be taken to protect our water supply, the issues are related, since the plant will use a lot of water. Employment: The plant will employ around 20 people. Silvan will contract for the forestry work, and cannot guarantee that the contractor will be local. Therefore, minimal jobs will come to the area. Quality of life: I moved to La Pine not only for my job, but for other reasons. I enjoy the outdoors. The biomass plant would take away from that enjoyment by not only being unattractive, but by polluting the air. There are more issues than not when one researches wood burning biomass plants. I am submitting two documents for the Commissioners to review before you make a decision and to help you all become informed. Thank you for your consideration, Vl/ Sandra Irwin 53332 ALICE DR • LA PINE, OR • 97739 PHONE: 541-610-8564 Capacity Factors Annual CFs range from 19% to 106%. Some plants with low Us (e.g., Multitrade and McNeil) are peaking units: The plants with very high Us have special circumstances. Shasta and Colmac were still under the first 10 years of California Standard Offer contracts when the data were obtained. Williams Lake can operate as high as 15% over its rated capacity, and can frequently sell extra power. Heat Rates The Williams Lake plant also holds the distinction of having the largest single boiler (60 MW) and the lowest heat rate (11,700 Btu/kWh) of any 100% biomass-fired power plant. Biomass-cofired coal plants can achieve slightly lower heat rates, as exemplified by Greenidge Station (11,000 Btu/kWh on the biomass portion of the fuel, compared to 9818 on coal alone). The least efficient plants in this report have heat rates of about 20,000 Btu/k%. A "typical" value is about 14,000 Btu/kWh (24.4% thermal efficiency, HHV). Cogeneration The four cogeneration plants in the report-Okeelanta, Snohomish, Lahti, and Camas-are recent plants, using the latest technology, in traditional niches for biomass power: two at pulp and paper mills (Snohomish and Camas), one at a sugar mill (Okeelanta), and one at a municipal district heating plant (Lahti). The estimates given in Table 2 for these plants represent only the solid fuel biomass portion of the energy input. At the two pulp and paper mills, recovery boilers produce large fractions of the total steam from waste liquor; the wood waste boilers at these facilities constitute focus of this report. At Lahti, coal and natural gas produce most of the energy; wood wastes and refuse derived fuel (RDF) are fed to a gasifier that supplies low-Btu gas to the boiler. The Okeelanta cogeneration plant burns bagasse for about 6 months of the year, and burns urban and other wood wastes at other times. Fuels The cost of biomass fuel from mill wastes and urban wood wastes can range from about $0/MBtu to about $1.40/MBtu, depending on the distance from the fuel source to the power plant. Getting to zero fuel cost depends on locating a power plant in an urban area next to a wood waste processor, or next to a large sawmill or group of sawmills. Deregulation will make this zero fuel cost strategy more important in the future. Agricultural residues (primarily orchard tree removals) can be processed into fuel and delivered to nearby biomass power plants plants for about $1/MBtu. Only if open burning of residues is prohibited will transferring some of this cost to the orchard owners be possible. Forest residues are much more costly ($2.40-$3.50/MBtu), because of the high costs of gathering the material in remote and difficult terrain, processing it to fuel, and transporting it to power plants. There are strong arguments for government programs to bear the costs of forest management and (in the West) fire prevention. Only if such programs are created will forest residues be as cost-competitive fuel as in the future. Plants that have come close to zero fuel cost are Williams Lake, which is located very close to five large sawmills, and Ridge, which accepts raw urban wood wastes and whole tires, and burns landfill gas. Other plants burning primarily mill wastes include Shasta, Kettle Falls, Stratton, Snohomish, Grayling, Bay Front, Multitrade, and Camas. Other plants 3 burning primarily urban wood wastes (and in some cases RDF) are Okeelanta, Colmac, Lahti, and Tacoma. Sawdust from furniture manufacturing is the main biomass fuel at the Greenidge plant. Plants burning agricultural residues include Okeelanta, Tracy, Madera, Chowchilla II, and El Nido. Plants burning significant amounts of forest residues include McNeil, Shasta, Stratton, and Grayling. Lessons Learned The project experiences described in the following sections capture some important lessons learned that lead in the direction of an improved biomass power industry. Undoubtedly, many other problems and solutions did not surface in the interviews and in the documents and articles that served as source materials. A summary of the lessons learned from these 20 biomass plants follows; in each category an effort is made to identify plants that illustrate particular points, so the reader can go to those sections to learn more. Fuel The highest priority at most biomass power plants is to obtain the lowest-cost fuels possible. This involves tradeoffs in fuel quality, affects the design and operation of the system, and frequently is limited by permit requirements. Some fuel-related lessons illustrated in this report are: • At Bay Front, the conversion from coal and oil to biomass and other waste fuels kept an old generating station operating and provided continued employment. • At the McNeil Station, long-term fuel contracts insisted on by financing institutions created some costly problems. As required, McNeil had 15 or 20 long- term fuel contracts when it started up. The CF dropped because of dispatch requirements, resulting in lawsuits and settlements with fuel suppliers and odors from the wood piles. The plant now runs more economically by buying wood fuel under short- term contracts. • Maintaining adequate fuel supply in the midst of a declining regional timber industry has been the single biggest challenge for the Shasta plant. Almost from startup, Shasta has tried to diversify its fuel sources. From an initial list of permitted fuels that included only mill waste, logging/thinning residue, and cull logs, Shasta added agricultural residues, fiber farm residues, land and road clearing wood wastes, tree trimmings and yard wastes, and natural gas. • The San Joaquin Valley Energy Partners plants (Chowchilla II, El Nido, and Madera) experimented in combusting low-cost, low-demand agricultural waste materials such as grape pomace, green waste, onion and garlic skins, and bedding materials not desired by competing facilities. However, the most difficult-to-burn agricultural residues were assigned to the "tertiary" fuel category and mixed in small percentages with better fuels, primarily wood. • Experience at the Tracy plant shows that urban wood waste can be a comparatively inexpensive fuel (-$0.35/MBtu) if the plant is located close to the urban area. Compared to urban wood waste, orchard wood is relatively expensive (-$1.00/MBtu) because growers are used to simply pushing and burning it, and are generally not willing to pay a fee to have the wood removed. • Tacoma found that focusing on fuel cost (0/kWh) rather than fuels that provide highest efficiency (Btu/kWh) saved the plant $600,000/yr. Opportunity fuels (with tipping fees) can eliminate fuel costs and generate net revenues. Fuel procurement should be one of the highest priorities and a full-time job. 4 • At the Williams Lake plant, with uncertainty in the forestry industry, unknown impacts of Asian market upheaval, high provincial stumpage fees, and closure of some coastal sawmills and pulp mills, the biggest threat to an enviable operating record appears to be fuel availability. • The Ridge Generating Station is an urban waste recycling facility, working within the local waste management infrastructure to provide a low-cost recycling service to waste generators, and to obtain a free or negative-cost fuel mix (urban wood wastes, scrap tires, and landfill gas) for energy production. • The Snohomish Cogeneration plant design anticipated the trend toward declining quantities of sawmill residues, and the increasing use of urban wood wastes in the region. Siting the plant at a paper mill provided an excellent fit for steam use, as well as expertise in wood waste handling and combustion. Fuel Yard and Fuel Feed System The area of a biomass power plant that can almost be counted on to be mentioned in response to the question "Have you had any significant problems or lessons learned?" is the fuel yard and fuel feed system. Most plants in this report spent significant time and money during the first year or two of operation, solving problems such as fuel pile odors. and heating, excessive equipment wear, fuel hangups and bottlenecks in the feed system, tramp metal separation problems, wide fluctuations in fuel moisture to the boiler, etc., or making changes in the fuel yard to respond to market opportunities. Examples noted in this report include: • At Bay Front Northern States Power (NSP) engineers installed and improved (over time) a system that allows feeding of 100% biomass, 100% coal, or any combination of the two. Because wood fuel quality varies more than coal quality, proper tuning of the automatic combustion controls is more important when firing wood. Operators must pay close attention and periodically adjust feeders. • With the addition of a debarker, high-speed V-drum chipper, chip screen, and overhead bins, the Shasta plant was able to offer to custom chip logs, keeping the 35% of the log not suitable for chips. In times of low chip prices, Shasta still purchases the whole log. Shasta successfully marketed the program to some of the largest landowners in California. • At Shasta, the operators learned to blend all the fuels into a homogeneous mixture that allowed the boilers to fire at a consistent rate and maintain maximum load under all conditions, without violating environmental standards, excessively corroding heat transfer surfaces, or slagging beyond the point where the boilers required cleaning more than twice per year. • At Stratton, the original owners spent about $1.8 million during the first year of operation to improve the operation of the fuel yard. • Tacoma personnel stress the need to take extra care at the beginning of the project with design of the fuel feed system. Selecting a proven fuel feed system is important. • The only area of the Williams Lake plant that was modified after startup was the fuel handling system. Minor modifications were made to improve performance, such as adding the ability to reverse the dragchains on the dumper hoppers, to make it easier to unplug fuel jams; and adding three more rolls to each disk screen (12 rolls were provided originally), to reduce the carryover of fine particles that tended to plug up the hog. • The Multitrade plant's minor problems included fuel feeding problems in the early days of operation (quickly corrected); erosion and corrosion in the fuel splitter boxes and conveyor belt shrouds (corrected by relining with plastic); and occasional heating and odor problems in the fuel pile until they learned not to let any part of the pile age more than 1 year. • The Greenidge Station found that the technology for preparing biomass fuel for cofiring in a PC boiler needs further economic evaluation, research, and development. Grinders do not normally produce a product that has good flow characteristics. The wood fibers are sticky, stringy, and elongated when produced from a grinding operation. The fuel product needs to processed by equipment that produces a chip. Design for Fuel Flexibility Many biomass plants change fuels significantly over the years, as opportunities arise or old fuel sources dry up. These changes are often not predictable. The best strategy to deal with this problem is to have a plant design and permits that allow as much fuel flexibility as possible. For example: • Bay Front was a coal-fired stoker plant that converted to wood firing and cofiring capability in 1979. Experience showed that ash fouling and slagging problems were much more severe when cofiring wood and coal than when firing either fuel alone. NSP now operates in either 100% coal or 100% wood firing mode. • In 1989, the ability to burn natural gas was added to McNeil Station. Summer pricing for Canadian gas was more attractive than wood prices at that time. Six fossil fuel burners were installed, allowing full load capability (50 MW) on gas and 15 MW capability on No. 2 oil. Gas prices rose during the mid-1990s, and McNeil burned almost no natural gas from 1997 to 1998. • At the Shasta plant, a large hammermill was added to the fuel processing system to allow the use of a broader range of fuels. This reduced fuel costs by allowing the plant to process opportunity fuels such as railroad ties, brush, and prunings. • The Tacoma plant was constrained by a limited fuel supply and permit, and worked hard to develop more options to use opportunity fuels (tipping fee fuels, some of which are not biomass)-waste oil, asphalt shingles, petroleum coke, etc. • Colmac found that modifying its permit to allow the use of petroleum coke was worthwhile. At times, waste fossil fuels can be more economical than biomass. • The Ridge fuel yard can handle essentially any type or size of wood waste; its only restriction is that it will not accept palm trees. The simple and reliable traveling grate stoker boiler can burn these mixed wood wastes, including yard wastes, and can burn crude tire-derived fuel (TDF) and landfill gas. The emission control system with a lime spray dryer and baghouse can remove almost any significant pollutant encountered in these wastes. Location As realtors say, "Location, location, location!" Biomass residues and wastes are local fuels, with very low energy densities compared to fossil fuels. Transport costs become very significant after about 20 mil, and usually prohibitive beyond 100 or 200 mil. The ability to have the waste generators deliver the fuel to the plant site at their own expense requires a location very close to the sources of waste. There are also other considerations, such as the proximity to residential neighborhoods. For example: 6 • The primary lesson Lear: ied from the McNeil plant experience in Burlington, Vermont, is careful attention to the siting of a biomass-fueled plant. Siting the plant in a residential neighborhood of a small city has caused a number of problems and extra expenses over the years: a permit requirement to use trains for fuel supply, high taxes, high labor rates, local political involvement, and neighborhood complaints about odors and noise. • The Colmac plant shows that urban wood waste can be a comparatively expensive fuel (-$1.50/MBtu) if the plant is located far outside the urban area. The transportation cost is significant. An urban biomass plant can derive income from its fuel with a location and tipping fees that attract wood waste generators with loads to dump. Reliability and Dependability Several plant managers with the best long-term operating records stressed the necessity for placing a high value on reliability and dependability. This is true during plant design and equipment selection, and during operation. For example: • Outside of planned outages, the Kettle Falls plant has an availability factor of about 98% over a continuous 1-year period. The superintendent has high praise for the people on the staff. Thep ant is always exceptionally clean and neat. • The Shasta general manager advises: "Always place a high value on reliability and dependability, for these will allow you to be considered a `player' and thus a participant in the development of special programs with the utility." • At Williams Lake, which has an outstanding performance record, the chief engineer stressed that staying on top of maintenance programs at all times is essential. Partnerships The most successful projects have developed formal or informal partnerships with their key customers and suppliers. The relationship with the utility company that buys the power is usually the most important. This may change as generators simply bid their power into a power pool. Cogeneration plants by definition must have close relationships with their steam users. Sometimes there are a few large fuel suppliers (such as sawmills) with whom special relationships are crucial. Examples in this report that illustrate the importance of strong partnerships include: • In the words of the Shasta general manager: "But these new approaches must go forward on a very different basis than our past biomass developments. They must go forward in partnership with utilities. While the utility may want to participate in such systems, they will not and cannot do so unless the cost to ratepayers is very close to that of other generating options." • Like several other biomass power plants, the Grayling Station is operated as a cycling plant. It has run at about a 70%-80% CF during peak demand periods, and at about a 40%-50% CF during off-peak periods. The McNeil, Multitrade, and Ridge plants are other examples of cycling plants. • The arrangement between the Camas Mill and its electric utility (PacifiCorp) is mutually beneficial. The utility-financed turbine/generator provides the mill with an additional source of cash flow, without significantly changing the mill's steam generation and delivery system. The utility has added about 50 MW of reliable generating capacity to its system for a relatively small investment, and has strengthened its relationship with a major customer. 7 • The Okeelanta Cogeneration Plant provides many environmental benefits, and should serve as a reliable energy source for the sugar mill and the electric utility. Unfortunately, the owners and the utility could not amicably resolve their differences over a "standard offer" contract. The ensuing lawsuits, bankruptcy, shutdown, and layoffs significantly affected the project. Cofiring Once the availability of low-cost biomass fuel is established, the primary issue addressed in most retrofitted cofiring projects is how to feed the fuel (and in what form to feed it) to the coal-fired boiler. There are of course many other issues, such as effects on boiler operations, plant capacity, emissions, and ash quality. Some of these are highlighted by lessons learned at four plants in this report: • Bay Front could use standard wood sizing and feeding equipment because its coal- fired boilers were stokers. Cofiring was possible at any ratio of wood to coal from 0% to 100%. However, slagging and fouling was very severe because of the interaction between the alkali in the wood and the sulfur in the coal. • The bubbling FBCs at Tacoma can fire 0%-100% wood, 0%-50% coal, and 0%-50% RDF (permit limitation). The actual fuel mix on a heat input basis from 1993 to 1997 was 54%-68% waste wood, 12%-32% coal, and 12%-20% RDF. Opportunity fuels that command a tipping fee or can be obtained free became a high priority in 1997. • The cofiring experience at Greenidge Station demonstrates that a separate fuel feed system can effectively feed wood wastes to a PC unit. The economics at this site are favorable; the difference between coal and wood prices is $0.45-$0.79/MBtu. The plant has continued to cofire wood and invest in system improvements since the testing began more than 4 years ago. • The Lahti cofiring project at a PC- and natural gas-fired district heating and electric generation plant in Finland uses a CFB gasifier to convert wood wastes and RDF to low-Btu gas that is burned in the boiler. The operation has been technically successful for 1 year, and gives utilities in the United States another option to consider when examining the feasibility of cofiring biomass and waste fuels in coal-fired boilers. Benefits The 20 biomass projects in this report provide many concrete illustrations of environmental and economic benefits. The Kettle Falls, Williams Lake, and Multitrade plants provide air quality benefits in rural settings where sawmills used to pollute the air with teepee burners. The Ridge, Tacoma, and Lahti plants serve urban areas by burning urban waste fuels cleanly; Lahti provides district heat as well. The Okeelanta, Tracy, and San Joaquin plants burn agricultural residues cleanly, which formerly were burned with no emission controls. The Shasta, McNeil, and Grayling plants serve the forest management operations in their areas by cleanly burning unmerchantable wood, brush, and limbs. For example: • The Bay Front plant was being considered for phaseout as larger, more efficient units came on line in the NSP system. Adding the ability to use biomass fuel kept the plant operating, saved jobs, and improved waste management. • Long-term residents in the Kettle Falls area reported major reductions in haze after the plant went into operation. The plant improved air quality by eliminating numerous wigwam burners formerly used to dispose of mill wastes. 8 In the forests near the Shasta plant: "The result is a healthier, faster growing forest that has a dramatically lowered potential to be destroyed by fire. There are now adequate moisture, nutrients and sunlight for the remaining trees and net growth often triples. The remaining trees regain their traditional resistance to insect and disease attack." The Grayling and Ridge projects were planned and the plants were designed with waste management roles in mind-one in a rural setting and the other in an urban setting. Efforts were made to fit constructively into the local economic and environmental landscapes, with clearly positive results. Subsidy Programs Do Not Last As a final note, the Shasta general manager's list of lessons learned includes this one: "Beware of entering a regulatory system in which the utility commission or legislature has determined that it is acceptable for ratepayers to pay the full cost of your technology. Such things do not last." 9