Feeling the burn: Developer plans biomass power plant

[ Originally published on: Thursday, January 15, 2009 ]

GREENFIELD -- A Cambridge renewable energy developer is proposing building a 47 megawatt biomass-fired power plant on land that abuts the Industrial Park that could potentially bring in hundreds of jobs during the development, construction and opening of the plant.

Matthew Wolfe, principal of Madera Energy Inc., in Cambridge, said the proposed power plant would produce electricity and potentially steam and hot water from 'clean' wood materials.

According to Wolfe, he has assisted in development of a number of renewable projects in Connecticut, Florida, New York and New Hampshire. He was the lead developer for a similar facility that is still in the development stage in Pittsfield and has worked previously for Tamarack Energy, based out of Boston. He started Madera about a year ago, and is the sole employee, but said the company has numerous consultants.

'This is my focus & to making the project in Greenfield, Mass., a success,' he said.

The proposed Greenfield project is dubbed Pioneer Renewable Energy LLC, a company formed by Madera.

Wolfe, 34, is proposing the construction of the facility, which he estimates would cost $250 million, at 37 Butternut St., which is land owned by Mackin Construction Co. that abuts the Industrial Park. Mackin currently has an operating gravel pit in that area. Biomass power is the conversion of organic material (trees, plants and other sources) into electricity.

The Mount Tom power generating station, which is in Holyoke, generates about 100 megawatts of electricity.

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'I think it is a win-win for Greenfield,' said Sandra Shields, the director of public works. 'It is proven technology and would be a real boost.'

She said, in addition to the jobs that would be created at the facility, a whole other work force would be needed for cutting, transporting and supplying the wood to the plant.

'Obviously, we have a lot of wooded area in Franklin County & it fits in well with the local environment.'

She said there is a similar plant in Burlington, Vt., and that a cohort of community members, including Nancy Hazard of Greening Greenfield and Town Councilor William Martin, are going to visit on Saturday.

Marlene Marrocco, the town's economic development director, said, 'I think it is a fabulous project & I've been working with Matt for at least six months and he has a great idea and great vision.'

'I think if Matt stays on course, I think this project can come to fruition and everyone wins.'

'I don't see disadvantages coming from this project,' said Mayor Christine Forgey.

'When I look at the resources to generate electricity and heat for us in Greenfield, biomass stands as being a fabulous resource for us,' said Hazard, chairwoman of the committee's Greening Greenfield campaign.

Hazard said in the Pioneer Valley, 'we virtually have no wind resources & and our hydropower is pretty much maxed out.'

She said that people can install solar panels to generate heat, hot water and electricity, but 'that won't meet the kind of need we have in Greenfield.'

'According to the energy audit we just did, Greenfield uses about 18 megawatts of electricity,' she said. 'Matt is talking about a 50-megawatt plant.'

She said there are environmental benefits to using biomass-produced energy, saying that climate change emissions from wood is almost zero since when the wood grows it takes carbon dioxide out of the air and, when is burned, it gives it back. She said there are also economic advantages.

'If you look at different fuels and how much money goes out of the community, each fuel had a different ratio.'

She said, for biomass, 100 percent stays in the region, but with gasoline, 2 to 5 cents stays in the community, which equals 3.5 percent; all the rest goes out.

He said he has a purchase option with Mackin, which means he has the option to buy the 65 acres some time in the future, while he works to secure permits for the land.

'I have to pay them on the annual basis to keep that option,' he said, and wouldn't release how much he's paying on Wednesday because he wanted to have further discussions with the Mackins.

He said that he has hired SVE Associates of Greenfield to help with the civil engineering, wetlands and local permitting. He estimates the construction would generate 250-300 jobs and once the facility was finished. He said at the plant there would be about 25 'well-paid, consistent jobs' and about 150 jobs created for procurement and transportation of fuel for people in Greenfield and surrounding towns.

He said the facility would also increase the tax base and other revenue for the town.

'I would estimate that between taxes we pay and other fees through the DPW, it would total about a half million to $1 million per year,' he said. 'So in terms of economic impact, all the way through the process, I would consider it to be significant, particularly in a town, like most towns in Massachusetts, that is having significant budget trouble.'

There are two phases to the project. Right now, he said he is five months into what he anticipates to be an 18-month or more development phase, during which he will get the permits he needs, fully design the project, get contracts to sell the power that would be generated and contracts for construction. After that, he said he plans to get financing. Construction would last 30 months.

'We are looking at 2013 when we will be fully operational,' he said.

He said the proposed plant would produce 47 megawatts at any given time and would generate 400,000 megawatt-hours per year. He said that's the equivalent of electricity needed for 45,000 homes per year.

He said that on a given acre of forest land, half of the material has commercial value and the other half doesn't.

'The idea is to take sustainable harvested biomass material & that has no commercial value and bring it to the facility in Greenfield and make electricity out of it.'

He said the electricity is sold into the wholesale market and the steam and hot water used in the process could potentially provide heat and energy as a byproduct for present and future businesses.

So why Greenfield?

Wolfe said he wanted to locate in Massachusetts for several reasons, including that the state has 'very high energy prices' and that the state requires utility companies to buy a certain percentage of power from renewable sources. He said he also chose Greenfield because of the amount of biomass available nearby and because it has enough land for the facility.

'Within a 55-mile radius of Greenfield, the new growth of biomass material exceeds harvest and mortality by more than 3 millions tons,' Wolfe said.

The proposed facility would use 500,000 tons of biomass each year. He said, 'there is a ton of material out there and people aren't going into the forests because of us & what comes to us is simply a byproduct from commercial forest operations, forest conservation activities, municipal trimmings, utility trimmings and other activities in the forest.'

He said the low-grade material that ultimately goes to a biomass facility would normally be left standing or cut in the forest if it had no place to go.

'Many times, it is cut and left in the forest,' he said.

Another reason Greenfield was attractive was truck access. He said that the power plant would have about 60 trucks entering and leaving each day and that he looked for a site that would have minimal impact. Butternut Street, like the adjacent Interstate 91 Industrial Park off Adams Road, is a stone's throw from the Route 2 bypass connector to the interstate system.

The parcel also has three high-voltage transmission lines passing through, so they wouldn't have to go more than 20 feet to connect into the power transmission grid.

The facility would also need a lot of water, Wolfe said, and one thing that the company is exploring is using some of the treated water the town sends back from the waste treatment plant into the Deerfield River.

'We are talking to the town about recycling water and using it for our purposes,' he said, which would be more environmentally friendly, and that the Department of Public Works, through water and sewer rates, would receive a significant amount of revenue.

He estimated that the town would receive $300,000 each year through water and sewer rates.

He said the proposed plant would qualify as a manufacturing facility, so it would be exempt from personal property taxes and the company would only have to pay real estate taxes.

'Our idea is that this facility, because we will have economically priced energy, will act as a magnet for future development,' he said.

He said that it could be beneficial for local businesses to be able to say they use renewable energy to run their facilities.

He said the proposed plant is 'a very attractive location for future development' because of its location near Interstate 91 and Route 2.

 

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