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Maine’s Colby College Woody Biomass Plant Goes Online
With temperatures dropping below zero, Colby’s new biomass plant goes into normal operations this week. The plant—a key part of the college’s plan to be carbon neutral by 2015—burns forestry byproducts, including wood chips, bark and treetops, which would otherwise have been left on the forest floor. During this period of peak usage, the College is expected to save $250,000 monthly at current market prices.
Top Articles
USFS and USGS create tree inventory for the United States
Did global forests hold more or less carbon in the past? And could they store more in the future? Does it matter where those trees are growing? Scientists really don’t know. However, this new, detailed view of forest structure and and carbon storage may help.
ZeaChem begins operations at biorefinery in Boardman, OR
Construction of this core project was completed on schedule, with no lost time or reportable accidents, and significantly under budget. The core facility created 50 construction jobs and will employ 25 full-time operations staff in the region. The facility will produce the intermediate chemicals acetic acid and ethyl acetate.
Woody biomass is heating buildings across Vermont
Vermont is focusing on refining an age-old source of renewable energy: wood. Steven Bick’s Case Study outlines the astonishing savings Vermont schools, public buildings, and private companies have incurred by using woody biomass for heat in comparison to oil, propane, electricity, and natural gas.
