Warming up to biomass

Biomass usage may also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change guru Al Gore likes this and says it’s time to take biomass out of the “lock box.” (Photo courtesy Paramount)

Finding alternatives to fossil fuel dependence may seem daunting, but the town of Mammoth Lakes is surrounded by a relatively untapped biological reservoir for renewable energy. Biomass, or forest thinnings and wood waste removed from national parks, may provide potential for energy diversity and security in Mammoth Lakes.
Entities representing the local and federal government in town, along with parties in the private sector, have begun researching and discussing possibilities for biomass energy generation. Given the abundance of available biomass—Harper estimated at a recent Council meeting that there’s a 20-30 year supply in just the Lakes Basin and Red’s Meadow alone—interested parties in Mammoth Lakes are searching for ways to fund a feasibility study to determine the town’s biomass potential.
The feasibility study will show whether the town can maintain a consistent supply of biomass product. Without a sustainable yield, investing in biomass would not be a smart move in the long run, said Brent Harper, Mammoth Lakes Fire Chief and one of the main people spearheading the project. The study will also determine the most economical and efficient method for producing biomass and the scale of production the town can handle.
Organizers see biomass energy bringing multiple benefits to the Mammoth Lakes area. Depending on the results of the feasibility study, the town could become more energy self-sustaining in future years, using the energy to heat government buildings in town, water, and sidewalks. Biomass usage may also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The town would potentially use waste generated from annual forest thinnings to produce biomass pellets. Since periodic, low intensity wildfires are now less frequent in national forests, the natural regeneration of vegetative growth is stunted. Forests become clogged with dense thickets, which cause a risk for catastrophic fires. Currently, forest management removes this vegetative waste to promote forest health.
“Rather than burning the waste or hauling it to the dump, we want to find out if there is something we can do with it that is more efficient and useful,” Fire Chief Harper said.
The manufacturing of pellets is not fuel intensive and when burned, they produce “clean” energy, or less-polluting emissions than coal or oil. The feasibility study may also determine how practical it would be for the town to produce its own pellets, and how much of an investment it would be to establish its own manufacturing plant. Greg Cook, president of G.C. Forest Products, Inc. in Mammoth Lakes, said a locally-manufactured energy product, such as biomass pellets, could be purchased at a more affordable cost than outside sources of energy.
“The closer you are to your raw material, the cheaper it gets,” Cook said. “You wouldn’t have to transport the product far at all.”
Another asset to the idea of biomass is its potential as a renewable energy source. If sustainable harvesting practices were used to monitor healthy forest growth, then local vegetation could yield an indefinite amount of biomass product.
Biomass energy is generated when bone-dry vegetation is dumped into hoppers at a biomass power plant. The biomass is then fed into a furnace where it is burned and the heat is used to boil water. The energy from the steam is used to activate turbines and generators.
Fire Chief Harper said Mammoth Lakes’ biomass dependence is still just an idea. The feasibility study will lay out how realistic the idea actually is. A committee of interested parties will gather at the beginning of January to discuss grant possibilities for funding the study, and afterwards, the town will play the waiting game.