FS Says Biomass Should Drive 4FRI
Following its cancellation of the Phase 2 Request for Proposal (RFP) and bid selection in September, which caught everybody by surprise, the Forest Service “has gone back to work” on how to move forward with stewardship and treatment of the 520,000 acres that was included in Phase 2, which was part of the 4 Forests Restoration Initiative (4FRI) seeking to improve forest health conditions on 2.4 million acres across four Arizona national forests while enhancing wood products manufacturing and biomass processing infrastructure.
Novo Power’s biomass electricity plant could be the key to a successful 4FRI.
The agency hosted an industry roundtable of 4FRI stakeholders on October 12 in Heber, Ariz. that addressed restoration strategies and “lessons learned.”
Biomass disposal and bioelectricity were emphasized at the meeting as the key components in any path moving forward. The stakeholders group opened the door to another large-scale proposal or a combination of new agreements and contracts. They also emphasized the importance of accelerating the pace and scale of restoration treatments, while supporting sustainable forest restoration industries.
“The bottom line is that bioelectricity was the solution for all known bidders in the RFP in relation to the disposal of the low value biomass,” comments Brad Worsley, president of Novo Power, a producer of biomass electricity in Snowflake, Ariz. “We believe and seem to have support for the fact that there is no reason to move forward with any future RFP or GNA Stewardship Agreement that does not first assure that current bioelectricity in the state has been given the needed PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) extensions.”
Novo Power has PPAs with Arizona Public Services (APS) and Salt River Project (SRP), Arizona’s two largest electric utilities.
The stakeholders group also re-emphasized the need to reduce financial costs and risks to industry, investors and the government in potential uncertain environments over 20 years. This had been cited as the main reason for the agency’s cancellation of the Phase 2 process.
RELATED ARTICLES:
Latest news
Con-Vey Adds Sales Manager
Con-Vey, a leading provider of industrial automation and custom material handling equipment, has appointed industry veteran Jon Stults as its new sales manager. Stults, with nearly three decades of experience in the industry, will play a pivotal role in advancing Con-Vey’s sales strategies and processes…
Rotochopper Welcomes 120 To Minnesota Demo Day
Attendees and Rotochopper employees alike were excited for the return of Demo Day and the opportunity to gather while seeing Rotochopper’s newest equipment in action at Herman’s Landscape Supplies in Jordan, Minn. This was the 10th Demo Day event for Rotochopper, with 120 people from across North America participating…
Bruks Siwertell Launches New Mobile Chipper
Bruks Siwertell has expanded its product range with the introduction of the Bruks 1006.3 RT industrial mobile wood chipper. The truck-mounted chipper has a flexible design, and offers high-capacity chipping capabilities for a range of applications, like fuel chip production…
Find Us On Social
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Wood Bioenergy News Online hits the inboxes of subscribers in the wood-to-energy sectors.
Subscribe/Renew
Wood Bioenergy is published and delivered worldwide 6 times per year. Free to qualified readers in the U.S. Subscribers outside the U.S. are asked to pay a small fee.
Advertise
Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative.