beaver wood pownal 248 filing: no. 8l - pre-filed testimony of thomas emero sd

8/8/2019 Beaver Wood Pownal 248 Filing: No. 8L - Pre-Filed Testimony of Thomas Emero SD

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STATE OF VERMONTPUBLIC SERVICE BOARDPetition of Beaver Wood Energy Pownal, LLC )for a Certif icate of Public Good, pursuant to 30 )V.S.A. 248, to install and operate a Biomass )Energy Facility and an integrated wood pellet Dock t Noanufacturing fac ility located north of the old ) eGreen Mountain Race track in Pownal, Vermont, )to be known as theownal Biomass Project )

PRE-FILED TESTIMONY OFTHOMAS EMEROON BEHALF OFBEAVER WOOD ENERGY POWNAL, LLC

October 26, 2010

The purpose of the pre-fi led testimony of Mr. Ernero is to explain the PownalBiomass Project s plans for the disposal of ash and to outline the Projectsdecommiss ioning plan.

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(TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. In tro duc tio n .12. Ash Disp osa l .23. Decommissioning 3

CPetitioners Exhibit TE-1 Resum of Thomas Emero

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f STATE OF VERMONTPUBLIC SERVICE BOARD

Petition of Beaver Wood En ergy Pownal, LLC )for a Certificate of Public Good, pursuant to 30 )V.S .A . 248, to install and opera te a Biornass )Energy Facility and an integrated wood pellet ) Docket Nanufacturing facility located north of the old ) .Green Mountain Racetrack in Pownal, Vermon t, )to be known as the Pownal Biomass Project )

PREFILED TESTIMONY OFTHOMAS EMEROON BEHALF OFBEAVER WOO!) ENERGY POWNAL, LLC

1 1. IntroductionC 2 Ql. Please state your name, business add ress and employment.3 Al. My name is Thomas Emero, and Jam a principal of Beaver Wood Energy4 Pownal, LLC. My full resum is provided as Pe tit ione rs Ex hibi t TEl.5 Q2. Please describe your educational background and profess ional exper ience.6 A2. I graduated from Fairfield University with a BA in English in 1986. I then7 Attended South Western University School of Law and gradua ted from Vermont8 Law School in 1990 with both a Ju ris Doctor and Masters of Studies in9 Environmental Law.

10 Q3. What is the purpose of your testimony?11 A3. The purpose of my testimony is to explain how the Project intends to dispose of12 the ash generated from the biomass facility and to out lin e the Projects13 decommissioning study.


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Pownal Biomass Project , PSB Docket No.

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Prefiled Test imony of Thomas EmeroOctobe r 26, 2010Page 2 of 41 Q4. Have you tes tif ied previously before the Board?2 A4. No.3 2. Ash Disposal4 Q5. Please describe how the Projec t will dispose of the ash generated by the biomass5 facility.6 A5. We do not intend to disp ose of our wood ash but rathe r use it as organic fertilizer.7 Wood ash has been successfully recycled from biomass plan ts in New EnglandS for over 20 years just as ash from wood stoves has been used by gardeners and9 farmers for as long as wood has been burned. Wood ash from bion iass plants is

10 identical in nutrie nt and chemical qua lity to wood ash from residential wood11 stoves and is an excellent soil amendment ideal for balancing soil ph and12 en hanc ing nutrient levels. A ton of wood ash provides approximately the13 following nutrients; 666 pounds of lim e, 200 pounds of calcium, 75 pounds of14 potassium and 20 pounds of magn esium, all of which are nutrien ts that are15 typically needed in New England agricultural soils. In addition to being used by16 farmers as a soil amendment, wood ash is used in com pos t facilities and by17 topsoi l dealers in New Eng land . Wood ash from the McNeil biomass power plant18 in Burlington, Vermont has also been approved for use in ce rtifi ed organic19 agriculture. We have been in contact with, and are cu rren tly reviewing proposals20 from, two organizations which have significant experience running wood ash21 recy cl ing programs for biomas s pow er plants in New England. These companies22 are Resource Management, Inc., and New England Organics .


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Pownal Biomass Projec t, P58 Docket No.

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Prefiled Testimony of Thomas EnieroOctober 26, 2010( Page3of41 3. DecommIssioning2 Q6. Please give the Board an overview of the Projec ts decommission ing plan.3 A6. Based on the history of other biom ass pro jec ts , lam of the opin ion that no4 decommissioning plan is necessary. The use fu l life of the Project is expected to5 be at least 30 years and past experience stro ng ly suggests the at the end of its6 useful life the physical plant will retain enough value to make decommissioning7 unnecessary. All of the biomass plants built in New England sin ce the 1980s of8 which I am aware , are all either still running or, in regards to a couple of very old9 and uneconomically small (less than 20 MW) plants that are currently not

10 runn ing, are for sale for significant value. Power plan ts, like much of the11 manufacturing once present in this country, has significant va lue overseas in12 developing coun tries and there is an existing industry that dismantles U.S. retired13 manufacturing facilities and moves them to developing countries. Even old and14 non-operating plants retain significant economic value, value that exceeds the15 va lue from scrappmg the fac ilities. However, even assuming the worst case16 scenario , which is tha t at the end of its life the Pro ject is uneconomic to run and17 there is no oversees market fo r the physical plant , the following would hold true.18 First, there are several buildings which wou ld likely have con tin uing operational19 value- These are the office building, storage building and pelle t building which20 could easily be used for other purposes. Even t he c onc rete fuel storage silos21 could easily be used for storage. The remaining components of the fuel yard and22 electrical switch yard have high resale value and could easily be sold off.


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Pownal Biomass Pro ject, PSE Docket No.

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Pr ef iled Testim ony of Thomas Em eroOctober 26, 2010( Page4of41 Additional structures include the boiler building and stack. There are a number of2 very high va lue components in these bu ild ings which could be sold. Most all of3 the remaining components and struc tures of the pow er and pellet plant have a4 high scrap value meaning that even after the higher value components are5 removed, such as large electric motors and pumps, there is considerable value in6 tearing them down fo r the recyclable sc rap metal. In addition , there are many7 components which have tremendous salvage value including the turb ine generatorS which could be worth millions . As a resu lt, there is plen ty of value in the Project9 to ensure the physical plant does not become an abandoned eyesore pay at the end

10 of its useful life. So, unlike large old factory buildings which are presentII everywhere in New England, som e of which were abandoned , these facilities12 should be thought of not so much as buildings, but rather a series of very13 expensive machines, many of which have a simple metal shell over them to14 protect them from the elements. No on e wou ld abandon them as the re is too15 much value there.16 Q7. Does th is conclude your test imony?17 A7. Yes.

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( STATE OF VERMONTPUBLIC SERVICE BOARD

Petition of BeaverWood Energy Pownal, LLC )for a Certificate of Public Good, pursuant to 30 )V.S.A. 248, to install and operate a Biomass )Energy Facility and an integrated wood pellet ) Dock t Nomanufacturing facility located north of the old ) eGreen Mountain Racetrack in Pownal, Vermont, )to be known as the Pownal Biomass Project )

PREFILED TESTIMONY OFTHOMAS EMERO

Exhibit BWEP TE -1( Resum

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Cheverus High School , Portland , Maine, 1986 Magna Cum laude( BUSINESS: Owner: Garland Str eet Laundry, Inc., and Emero Enterprise s, LLC

PERSONAL: Member of the Maine and Massachuse tts Bar. Married, fathe r of two children.Interests inc lude real estate development, co nstru ct ion and remodeling, politics , literature,mov ies, go lf, skiing, boating, Licen sed Massachusett s Contractor.

REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

beaver wood pownal 248 filing: no. 8l - pre-filed testimony of thomas emero sd

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