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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Revenue forecast means Oregonians will see $473 million in kicker rebates Arthur I. Cyr: Camp David summit will not help Mideast stability 10 things to know for Thursday (No heading) Jackson County declares drought disaster Crime, Courts and Emergency Services (No heading) Drunk driver gets 13 months for hitting pedestrian Jackson County honors fallen police Feds allege Georgia, Maryland residents defrauded Oregon taxpayers of more than $2 million Three men charged in Prospect area burglaries Politics and Elections Arthur I. 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Cyr: Camp David summit will not help Mideast stability Our View: City should let SkyPark project move ahead George Will: In childhood, risk is inherent Letters to the Editor, May 14 Editorials Our View: City should let SkyPark project move ahead Our View: E-cigarette bill is half right, half wrong Our View: Abundant water no excuse for waste Our View: Mental health funding should be a priority Other Views: Court ruling means PERS reform is dead Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, May 14 Letters to the Editor, May 13 Letters to the Editor, May 12 Letters to the Editor, May 11 Letters to the Editor, May 10 Columns Arthur I. Cyr: Camp David summit will not help Mideast stability George Will: In childhood, risk is inherent Dana Milbank: Power to the populists Kathleen Parker: Defining deity down: Changing others' religion Guest Opinion: Ample water? Think again Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Ample water? 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Our View: City should let SkyPark project move ahead ... Jackson County declares drought disaster ... Revenue forecast means Oregonians will see $473 million in kicker rebates ... Our View: City should let SkyPark project move ahead ... Jackson County declares drought disaster ... ASHLAND SOU considers biomass cogeneration facility It would replace worn-out boilers and generate power Comment By Sam Wheeler for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Sam Wheeler for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 12, 2014 at 12:01 AM By Sam Wheeler for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 12, 2014 at 12:01 AM --> If you go What: Southern Oregon University forum on the possibility of replacing two of its existing four natural gas fired steam boilers with a biomass cogeneration facility When: 6 p.... » Read more X If you go What: Southern Oregon University forum on the possibility of replacing two of its existing four natural gas fired steam boilers with a biomass cogeneration facility When: 6 p.m. today, Nov. 12 Where: Stevenson Union on University Way on the SOU campus For more information: Visit www.SOUcogeneration.org. » Social News Biomass or natural gas?  Southern Oregon University is tossing around the idea of heating the campus by way of a biomass cogeneration facility to replace a pair of worn out, gas-fired boilers, but it wants community input before moving forward. A forum to discuss what options are on the table and whether SOU should wean itself off its dependency on natural gas starts at 6 p.m. today in the Rogue River Room of the Stevenson Union on the SOU campus. “We are a member of this community and this is a major initiative for the university that will impact the community and we want to hear from the community moving forward one way or the other,” said Ryan Brown, SOU’s head of community and media relations. “It’s really an opportunity for the community to let us know what they think about the specific project, what they think about biomass. If there are concerns it’s a chance to raise those concerns.” SOU funded pair of studies in 2012 and 2013 with a $250,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture-sponsored grant to compare the benefits and efficiencies of natural gas to biomass, and the results point to the latter, said Drew Gilliland, director of facilities, management and planning at SOU. On top of being able to produce steam to heat the campus by way of biomass cogeneration, the university would be able to produce enough electricity to offset its annual usage, a big step in helping SOU reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, Gilliland said. If SOU did begin to produce its own electricity, the school would continue purchasing electricity from the city of Ashland, but sell back enough into the grid to offset its usage, Gilliland said. “We need to be at the forefront of being environmentally conscious and one of the ways you can do that is by generating electricity locally instead of transporting it across lines where you lose a lot,” he said. “Here in the heart of timber country, why not biomass?” According to a wood products availability study the university commissioned, there is ample fuel within 30 miles of Ashland to keep the proposed 1.2 megawatt power unit running. Biomass fuel, says a university website ( www.soucogeneration.org) , "typically comes from forestry byproducts, such as tree tops, limbs, and small non-merchantable logs left over from timber harvesting and from forest restoration; wood mill residues; and clean urban wood waste." The fuel is burned to create steam to heat campus buildings and turn a turbine to generate electricity. The burning in efficient boiler systems produces far less air pollution than burning slash piles, prescribed burning or catastrophic wildfires, according to the university, and far fewer emissions than typical residential wood stoves per ton of fuel. A Biomass One plant in White City uses an air-quality system to reduce the smoke particulates it emits from burning wood waste and emits only one particulate for every 500 particulates that would be emitted from open burning of wood waste, according to the company. The cost of building a biomass cogeneration facility would be in the ballpark of $12 million, Brown said, but the university expects it could offset as much as $5 million by way of federal and state grants. The estimated cost of two new gas-fired boilers is about $8.5 million, he said. A new biomass facility most likely would be located along Wightman Street near McNeal Pavilion and would require fuel delivery from large trucks, Gilliland said. Trucks would travel west on Ashland Street to Siskiyou Boulevard, where they would head northwest for less than a block before making a right to the north on Wightman. The existing heat plant is south of Hannon Library. At the earliest, the plant could be up and running by 2017, he said. “Before we do any of this we have to get a buy-in from the community,” Gilliland said. “We want to hear what people think.” Reach freelance reporter Sam Wheeler at  [email protected] . By Sam Wheeler for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Sam Wheeler for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 12, 2014 at 12:01 AM » 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. calendar Connect with MailTribune.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 Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked 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 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. 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