Wood Bioenergy » biomass plant

Klamath Falls Biomass Plant Gets Much Needed Approval

Web Editor — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 19:40:04 +0000

Northwest Energy Systems is planning two Oregon biomass plants, and it’s proposed $150 million Klamath Falls plant won a key approval in early July, putting it closer to breaking ground later this year. The Bellevue, Wash. based company said that the state Department of Energy declared its site certificate application for the 40-megawatt plant complete, and the project’s air quality permit has already been approved by the state Department of Environmental Quality.

The completed site certificate application has prompted the Department of Energy to ask for comments from various public officials and regulatory agencies. The department also began a 30-day public comment period on July 13 and a public meeting is scheduled for July 27 at the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls to discuss the project.

The next step in the process is for the Department of Energy to send their findings and recommendations to the state’s Energy Facilities Siting Council, who would ultimately make a final decision on the project. The company has hopes that construction will begin sometime late this year.

The other proposed plant will also be a $150 million, 40-megawatt facility located near Warm Springs in central Oregon. Both projects, each of which would provide enough electricity to power 35,000 homes, are scheduled to be operating by the end of 2013.

Atlantic Power Obtains $133M for Biomass Project

Web Editor — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:30:07 +0000

Atlantic Power Corp. has secured $82 million of construction capital and a $51 million bridge loan to develop a 53.5 MW biomass plant in a suburban pocket, 70 miles south of Atlanta.

Atlantic Power got non-recourse, project-level financing for Piedmont Green Power, the Boston-based company’s first biomass plant. About 95 percent of the bridge loan is covered by a stimulus grant from the U.S. Treasury, which will release the funds 60 days after commercial operations ramp up. The plant is slated to be operational in fourth quarter 2012.

MUFG Power and Utilities and Investec are the lead arrangers and joint bookrunners for the financing. Atlantic Power is making a $75 million equity contribution.

Piedmont Green Power was developed and will be managed by Rollcast Energy Inc., a biomass developer that’s 60 % owned by Atlantic Power. More than 300 construction jobs will be needed, with the finished plant providing 27 full-time jobs. The project will utilize about 500,000 tons of woody biomass annually, including logging residue, mill residue and urban wood waste.

Atlantic Power’s financing has a five-year term and 18-year amortization schedule. Using a swap strategy, the loan has an average 5.2 percent fixed-rate interest during construction and the first three years of the term. The project is projected to provide Atlantic Power with cash contributions averaging $8 million to $10 million for each full year of operation. The project has a 20-year power purchase agreement, with capacity payments representing the majority of the revenues. In addition, the revenue and fuel supply contracts contain adjustment mechanisms to mitigate potential biomass fuel price volatility.

We Energies Applies for Biomass Plant in Wisconsin

Web Editor — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:48:17 +0000

We Energies has applied to Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission to build a $255 million, 50-megawatt biomass power plant near Wausau. According to We Energies, this project could create up to 150 permanent jobs.

Construction is projected to begin in 2011, creating about 400 temporary construction jobs.

Laidlaw Applies For Plant Permit

Web Editor — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:09:25 +0000

Laidlaw Berlin BioPower LLC has filed a permit application to construct and operate a proposed 70 MW biomass plant at the former site of the Fraser Papers mill in Berlin, NH. The company was recently notified there is enough transmission capacity in the area to handle the Laidlaw plant’s output, and the Berlin facility would be able to connect to the transmission system with minimal upgrades of less than $1 million. The facility projects to consume 700,000 tons of wood chips annually and employ 40.

Northwest Renewable to Build Wood Biomass Plant

Web Editor — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:41:42 +0000

Vancouver-based company Northwest Renewables, LLC plans to build a $72.5 million wood biomass electricity plant at Longview’s Mint Farm Industrial Park (Washington). Since 2006 the company had been planning to construct an ethanol plant, but has opted for biomass instead.

It is estimated that the project will employ around 400 workers for construction and around 70 workers permenently, for logging and processing. The plant will use a variety of wood-waste to make steam, which will drive a turbine and generate power. The company plans to break ground next year.

While the company’s orginal ethanol plans fell through, Northwest Renewables still plans to later add a cellulosic ethanol plant at the same site.