Document text
1 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: A place to sleep ... Is BSA right to allow gay scout leaders? ... Ticket Availability ... Our View: A place to sleep ... Is BSA right to allow gay scout leaders? ... Ticket Availability ... SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY SOU: Biomass could make university carbon neutral Switch from natural gas would increase truck trips, particulates, but is overall preferable, study says Comment By John Darling For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 13, 2014 at 7:23 PM Updated Nov 16, 2014 at 2:12 PM By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 13, 2014 at 7:23 PM Updated Nov 16, 2014 at 2:12 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Letters to the Editor, July 23 • SOU eyes burning biomass instead of gas • SOU among top green power using schools • SOU sees biomass horizons • Biomass plants wary of losing green status » Social News They've concluded biomass generation of heat and electricity would be clearly preferable to natural gas, a panel of Southern Oregon University  and industry experts  made clear a t a public hearing Wednesday at the university in Ashland.  SOU faces the need to replacement two aging gas-fired boilers in coming years. The  panel outlined how the abundance of forest slash (branches from logging) would outpace the unpredictable but always more costly gas — and would stay within the air quality standards of the narrow Rogue Valley, where air can be trapped by inversion layers. The system would cost $12 million, offset by $2 million to $4 million in state and federal grants and would mean five truckloads of biomass would be brought in daily and unloaded to a biomass plant near the stadium, said Marcus Kaufmann, a biomass resource specialist with the Oregon Department of Forestry. It would amount to an estimated 21,000 tons a year. (This paragraph has been corrected to reflect the actual estimate of the yearly amount of biomass needed to fuel the proposed plant.) A big plus of biomass is that it would help  SOU  clear one of  the main hurdles in trying to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality, since burning gas represents 80 to 90 percent of the carbon the school uses, said Drew Gilliland, SOU Director for Facilities, Management and Planning. “We’re looking at biomass,” he said, “because we could achieve carbon neutrality with that alone.”  If not burned for energy, the slash is “just laying there” in the forest and will pump carbon into the atmosphere as it decays anyway, he adds. Thus, the university is not adding to net carbon for the planet.  While there is endless and increasing demand for natural gas, Kaufmann notes, that’s not the case for forest slash.  “There’s five times the fuel in the region than SOU could use...It’s making use of an unused resource. We could take on a couple more projects like this, but we’re not likely to see that.”  In addition, he says, any demand created by SOU will not impact higher value trees; slash will always be waste and use of it won’t affect family forests either. Burning biomass helps clean up forests, freeing the 10 percent of forest land occupied by slash, he says, thus allowing reforestation to proceed sooner.  Solar accounts for 4 percent of SOU’s energy now and there’s a small amount of roof left on Stevenson Union and the Music Building to add more, said Gilliland. He showed a short video explaining the advantages of biomass.  Bill Carlson of Carlson Small Power Consultants conducted the earlier study for the project and noted co-generation (heat and power) was a much more efficient model than just power. His study notes it will cut out present fossil fuel use and boost the school’s carbon commitment. The project is modest, he adds, noting that big projects draw community opposition.  Ashland resident John Fisher-Smith said biomass would add many particulates to the airshed and “our beloved Rogue Valley does not breathe well as polluted air is frequently trapped for weeks at a time, particularly in cold weather when we are enveloped in dense fog.”  If slash were burned on-site, its carbon would likely not end up in our airshed, he said, adding that five diesel trucks a day to SOU would wear roads and add to air pollution. He called for an Environmental Impact Statement on the project.  Power generated during low demand of warm months would be sold back to the grid, thus increasing the school’s sustainability, said Gilliland. The project options will be decided by the end of the year. The target date for coming online with the system would be the 2019-2020 year. John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Email him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 13, 2014 at 7:23 PM Updated Nov 16, 2014 at 2:12 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501