Alpine Biomass Collaborative

Steve Brink

California Forestry Association

Vice President – Public Resources

1215 K St. #1830

Sacramento, CA 95814

steveb@calforests.org

916-208-2425

Topics I’ll Cover

• Forest Biomass Feedstock

• Mechanical Thinning Acres to create the Feedstock

• The Advantage of a Biomass Powerplant over Open-Field Pile Burning

• Types and Sizes of Biomass Powerplants

• Cost Stump to Powerplant for the Feedstock

• Total Cost (Construct, Own and Operate the Powerplant; Cost of Feedstock)

FOREST BIOMASS - FEEDSTOCK

Strategic Landscape Scale Shaded Fuel Breaks – Produces about 13 bone dry tons/acre (One Chip Van Load)

Feedstock Supply To Operate A Powerplant

• 13 Bone Dry Tons of forest biomass/acre of mechanical thinning

• 13 Bone Dry Tons of chipped forest biomass = 1 Chip Van Load

• 8,000 Bone Dry Tons = Enough Feedstock to power a 1 megawatt biomass powerplant

Open-Field Pile Burning

Comparison of Emissions Between Biomass Boilers and Open Field Burning

Pollutant Field Burning Biomass Boiler Reduction

(lb./Ton) (lb./Ton) (Percent)

Sulfur Oxides 1.7 0.04 97.6%

Nitrogen Oxides 4.6 0.70 84.8%

Carbon Monoxide 70.3 0.40 99.4%

Particulates 4.4 0.26 94.1%

Hydrocarbons 6.3 0.00 100.0%

Total 87.3 1.40 98.4%

Types of Biomass Powerplants(“Generally” $4-5 million/megawatt)

• SB 1122 (< 5 megawatt) biomass powerplants

• UC Merced 0.75 megawatt (MW) Biomass Gasifier

• (6,000 Bone Dry Tons/Year = 2 Chip Van Loads/Day = 460 acres mechanical thinning/yr)

• North Fork 2 MW

Biomass Powerplant

Funded to be built and

Operational by

April 2021

(Phoenix Energy)

($15 MILLION)

UC Merced

Types of Biomass Powerplants

• Co-generation plants (7 to 31 Megawatts) that are co-located with a Sawmill or Veneer Mill using the mill residues for feedstock to heat the boiler and generate steam

Sierra Pacific Industries – Lincoln; 18 megawatt biomass powerplantProduces steam to spin the generator and then pipes the steam to run the dry kilns before being run back through the condenser and start the process again

Types of Biomass Powerplants

• Stand-Alone Biomass Powerplants (12-54 Megawatts)oMecca, Honey Lake Power, Wheelabrator, Burney Forest Power, Loyalton,

Rio Bravo-Rocklin and Fresno, Ultrapower, El Nido, Chowchilla

Burney Forest Power, 31 megawatt

Consumes 240,000 Bone Dry Tons/Year

(= 18,460 Chip Van Loads)(= 18,460 acres of mechanical thinning/year)

Feedstock Cost

• Cut, Skid, Pile - $30/Bone Dry Ton (BDT)

• Chip and Load - $20-25/Bone Dry Ton

• Haul - $110/hour (13 Bone Dry Tons/Load)

• Haul Markleeville to Honey Lake Power – 155 miles – 2 hr 45 min each way

• 6 hours per load including unloading = $660/13 BDT/load= $50/BDT

• Haul Markleeville to Rio Bravo-Rocklin – 119 miles – 3 hrs each way

• Total Cost - $100/bone dry ton (10 cents/kW-hr) to acquire feedstock

Feller/Buncher cutting and bunching the trees

Grapple Skidder

500 Horsepower Chipper –chipping and blowing into a Chip Van

Loading Logs and Chip Van in Same Landing

Cost to Own, Operate, Maintain & Provide Feedstock to a 20 Megawatt Powerplant

• $4-5 million/megawatt Capital Cost

• Interconnect fee to the Electric Grid

• 6 cents/kW-Hr – own, operate and maintain a 10-54 MW Powerplant)

• 10 cents/kW-Hr – feedstock

• Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are proprietary but nobody is getting 16 cents except the 5 MW and smaller bio gasifiers will get 19 cents (SB1122 up to 50 MW total)

• The State Legislature Required 175 Megawatts of PPAs by sealed Auction

• BioRam Powerplants – Rio Bravo Rocklin and Fresno, Loyalton, Honey Lake Power, Burney Forest Power, Wheelabrator, Ultrapower (Sonora)

• Rio Bravo-Fresno has reverted to 8.9 cents/kW-hr and become an Ag Waste plant as they were prior to BioRam

SB 1122 (< 5 Megawatt) Biomass Powerplants(signed into Law September 27, 2012)

• Power purchase price based on PUC sealed Auction process that currently has set the rate at 19.9 cents/kW-hr

• There are no SB1122 Powerplants that have been built and are operational.

• North Fork (2 MW) is closest. They had access to a free site location and obtained grants to pay for all phases of planning, preparation, surveys, engineering and plant design, and the CAPITAL COST of the Equipment. Total Cost = $15 Million

• PG&E Interconnection fee is usually the toughest component of the total cost. The interconnection fee can be MILLIONS of Dollars depending on the situation.

Summary

• Forest Biomass Feedstock

• Mechanical Thinning Acres to create the Feedstock

• The Advantage of a Biomass Powerplant over Open-Field Pile Burning

• Types and Sizes of Biomass Powerplants

• Cost Stump to Powerplant for the Feedstock

• Total Cost (Construct, Own and Operate the Powerplant; Cost of Feedstock)