Appeal dropped against Longview Fibre’s biomass expansion
Three Puget Sound-area conservation groups have dropped theirchallenge to construction of a biomass energy expansion at LongviewFibre Paper and Packaging, the largest of its kind in thestate.
The road is now clear to build the plant, which would employ 15to 20 contract workers and generate 54 megawatts for sale on theopen market. The project will make the Longview plant moreprofitable and also could help the Cowlitz PUD meet state renewableenergy mandates, company and utility officials said Friday.
On. Jan. 4, no Biomass Burn, the World Temperate RainforestNetwork and the Olympic Environmental Council filed notice with thestate’s Pollution Control Hearings Board to dismiss their appeal,ending a six-month standoff, according to the state Department ofEcology.
Ecology had approved the company’s permit application last June,and no Biomass Burn appealed almost immediately. The group arguedthat burning wood waste – a practice that has gone on for decadesunder the term “hog fuel’ – emits harmful particulates and highlevels of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
Duff Badgley, a spokesman for leading opponent and Seattle-basedNo Biomass Burn, did not return a call seeking comment about whythe group dropped its appeal.
Last spring, Longview Fibre officials submitted a plan toincrease the efficiency of a boiler and recovery furnace andinstall additional steam turbines. The company also plans to shutdown two aging boilers, an old recovery furnace and an olddissolving tank to increase efficiency.
“It’s reassuring to know that our (permit application) was donecorrectly, and the work by the Department of Ecology has beenconfirmed. since construction has already been underway, ourproject can continue on schedule,” Longview Fibre spokeswoman SarahTaydas said.
The company expects to complete the overall project in phasessometime in 2015, Taydas said.
Longview Fibre’s project will also help Cowlitz PUD meet therenewable energy standards of voter-approved Initiative 972, PUDspokesman Dave Andrew said. By 2016, 9 percent of the PUD’s outputmust come from renewables, which could include biomass purchasesfrom Longview Fibre, he said.
The company already produces about 32 megawatts of biomassenergy at its Longview plant by burning waste wood, such as treetops and saw dust, to power the boilers. The company startedselling renewable energy credits in October to utilities in theregion, Taydas said.
The power sales would add value to a company placed on the salesblock a year ago by its owner, Toronto-based Brookfield AssetManagement, according to a January 2010 Reuters report. The Britishpress agency reported that Longview Fibre was worth between $500million and $700 million.
Longview Fibre started preliminary work on the project lastJune, including engineering, construction work on pollution controlequipment and modifications to a power boiler, Taydas said.
Company officials have declined to release the cost of theproject. a previously rejected plan to build a new boiler andgenerate 65 megawatts of power would have cost $100 million,according to the company.
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