The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is participating with the State of Oregon and others to develop biomass energy cluster projects through a U.S. Forest Service grant. These pilot projects will provide heat and power to schools, hospitals, commercial buildings and mills. They will also help create jobs in rural areas throughout Oregon.
Today, Governor Kitzhaber announced that Oregon was selected as the first state in the nation to pursue a wood energy cluster pilot project with a grant from the U.S. Forest Service. The project is a collaborative effort between Oregon Department of Energy, Sustainable Northwest, the Bureau of Land Management, Oregon Department of Forestry, Business Oregon, and other stakeholders. The pilot project will evaluate market opportunities to create “clusters” of facilities that use woody biomass like wood chips or pellets. The clusters will concentrate the demand for biomass in selected communities to support forest health treatment, save money and create jobs. Once promising projects are identified, funds will be provided for project development activities including feasibility studies, design, and preparation for financing and construction.
The Governor’s recently released draft Energy Action Plan emphasizes the importance of energy to Oregon’s economy. Saving our communities money and focusing the energy dollars they do spend on local sources are important actions that support Governor Kitzhaber’s energy goals. Yesterday, the Governor’s Oregon Forest Biomass Working Group released a draft Forest Biomass Strategy that lays out a practical approach to developing the state’s forest biomass industry, including an initiative focused on heating and cooling with woody biomass.
“The BLM has a biomass facility that is successfully providing energy to the Wildwood Recreation Site near Mt. Hood. We look forward to further supporting Oregon’s biomass energy goals as well as the BLM’s goals for healthy forests and communities.” said Mike Mottice, Acting State Director. “We’ll hopefully see more statewide biomass thermal projects in the near term,” Mottice added.
For more information about the BLM’s biomass program, visit the BLM’s Oregon/Washington website at: http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/forests/programs.php
