Georgia Recieves Biomass Cogen Project Approval

The Georgia Public Service Commission voted 4-1 to approve a proposal to add almost 80 MW of body biomass power generation to its portfolio. The bulk of the power added through the agreement comes from a 70 MW plant that’s being built by Altamaha Green Energy LLC in Wayne County in southeast Georgia. The plant, built on a former Rayonier pulp mill site, will fill a 30-year power purchasing agreement (PPA) with Georgia Power. The proposal also included two 10-year PPAs with International Paper that will draw power from existing cogen operations at IP plants in Port Wentwortth and the Flint River plant in Macon County, Ga. Upgrades to both facilities will power generation by 3.6 MW and 4.3 MW, respectively, that will be made available to the grid.

The project gained approval despite interest groups claiming air quality issues and overall costs, as the biomass power costs more than traditional power production, such as coal and natural gas. Project supporters claim that despite lower BTU values than fossil fuels, biomass is truly sustainable. The project will provide a key market for the forest industry to utilize small diameter timber and woody biomass material, although the new plant is projected to burn mostly wood pellets.

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Origin Materials Plans Biomass-Based Facility

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and Origin Materials, a carbon-negative materials company committed to the global transition to sustainable materials, announced that the company plans an investment of at least $750 million to develop a biomass manufacturing facility in Ascension Parish that will result in…

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Resolute Purchases Nearby Cogen Facility

Resolute announced an agreement for the purchase of a cogeneration facility in Senneterre, Quebec. The purchase of the 34.5 MW cogeneration facility, adjacent to Resolute’s Senneterre sawmill, builds on its significant investments in the region, including the ongoing project toward a new planer and…

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FSC Halts Certification Of Russian Products

In early March the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) suspended trading certificates in Russia and Belarus and announced it would “block wood sourcing” from the two countries as long as the armed conflict in Ukraine continued. According to the FSC announcement, “Wood and forest products from Russia and Belarus…

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Drax Gets Satellite Pellet Plant Going

Drax Group is ramping up to full production at Leola—the first of three new satellite pellet plants it plans for Arkansas. Leola, in Grant County, is part of a $40 million investment by Drax in the state, creating approximately 30 new jobs across all the three sites planned for Arkansas as well as many more…

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