Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Wood to warmth

Plans for a wood chip-fueled electric power co-generation plant in Springfield that could generate enough electricity to provide power for all of Windsor County continue to move forward, with construction expected to begin this summer.
http://www.vermonttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/RH/20130311/BUSINESS06/703119971

16 comments :

  1. Amazing... just a few years ago these tree-hugging liberals were all about saving the trees, now they want to burn them. This tree burning to create electricity has got disaster written all over it.

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    1. Aww still holding onto the 30 year old dream that the machine tool industry will return

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    2. Nope, is long gone, never to return. Retired in 1988 from the tool industry and enjoying the sun.

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    3. Interesting, I probably would have said a few years ago these conservatives would have been pushing for industrial development and bringing in new industry, but then industry got proposed in their backyard and suddenly they become tree hugger environmentalists. Since the fuel source is limited to trees from property enrolled in the current use program and therefore subject to best forestry practices, am having hard time understanding the objections. Sounds a lot like the condo owners objecting to wind farms on the ridges to me.

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    4. Springfield has Conservatives?

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    5. This is a major win for Springfield if NoSAG doesn't screw it up. Massive increase in grandlist, increase in water usage, and direct and indirect jobs. Plus puts some money in forest owners pockets for timber that would otherwise be waste.

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    6. Perhaps with the additional 2 mil in tax revenue, some of the towns infrastructure can be repaired along with residential taxes being reduced or at least stabilized for a time. But if the biomass doesn't go through I don't want to hear one person complain about their property taxes

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    7. chuck gregory3/12/13, 3:59 PM

      Back in the 1870's, Vermont was 20% forested and 80% open. Then coal came in as a heating fuel, and the woodlands started returning. If it's true that it takes 20 years for a woodlot to regenerate, then we can only afford to harvest 5% of New England forests each year to keep them a sustained source of materials and biomass. Since we already know how much wood this plant is going to use per year, we should be able to determine how many acres of woodland it needs at a minimum to have a sustainable perennial yield.

      So, determine the acreage needed to produce the burnable biomass, multiply that by 20 (if the 5% is correct), and see if the resulting number can be absorbed by the acreage of woodland being used. In the long run, it's not nice to pickpocket Mother Nature.

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    8. Vermont wasn't forested to generate heat, it was forested for livestock, if it was for heat I don't believe barbed wire fences and stone walls would have been needed. I don't think a forester said "Hey this looks like a nice place for a wall"

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    9. Vermont was originally de-forested for ship masts.... then with the naked mountains, sheep were brought in.

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  2. How many local jobs is this going to create?

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  3. Per the writeup.. "will have about 28 employees staffing the plant, which also will provide an estimated 120 jobs in the local forestry, logging and trucking firms."

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  4. Finally, A positive article about the biomass project. Its about time. I think this is nothing but a big plus for Springfield. Keep the positive coming.

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    Replies
    1. What part of the article was positive?

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  5. where are the chips going to come from and what about the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid and the Emerald Ash Borer? What precautions are put in place to prevent these insects from being transported here?

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