Apologies and Next Steps
From:
Alan Muller
Date:
2007 Jul 02 17:19 UTC
Short link
Note the following report, at [below, I hope]
What it seems to amount to is that the Commonwealth of Mass. has paid the
promoters of this power plant project to do "public outreach" to manipulate
residents into supporting it.
I've just pulled out a few interesting quotes. I did some highlighting in red
but don't know whether that will show up as posted.
My main points, as usual, are (1) there is no integrity to be assumed in
"public outreach" activities; (2) a key objective of them is to get people to
waste their energy arguing with those causing the problem, rather than putting
that energy into an effective "outreach" effort of their own; and (3) to get
people to think about the implications for democracy of government-funded
propaganda campaigns on behalf of special interests....it takes a lot of smarts
and careful planning to successfully oppose a professional disinformation
campaign that has government support. It's not impossible, but it's not easy.
Alan Muller
Green Delaware
RUSSELL BIOMASS POWER PLANT
Pre-Construction Development Activities
Final Report for Loan No. GP-05-13
Funded by the Predevelopment Financing Initiative of
The Renewable Energy Trust Clean Energy Program
ABSTRACT
This report describes pre-construction project development activities for a 50
MW biomass-fired electric generation plant in Russell, Massachusetts. These
activities were funded in part by a loan to the developer, Russell Biomass LLC,
from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative through the Predevelopment
Financing Initiative of the Renewable Energy Trust Clean Energy Program. The
activities described in this report include public outreach, preliminary plant
and site engineering, initiation of the permitting and transmission line
interconnection process, obtaining expressions of interest from biomass fuel
suppliers and prospective power purchasers, and preparation of a development
funding solicitation memorandum. All activities were completed successfully,
and the project has advanced to the next stage of development, securing the
remaining permits and approvals.
Key words: biomass, biomass power plant, biomass boiler, biomass fuel supply,
public outreach, permitting, transmission line interconnection, power purchase
solicitation, development financing.
SUMMARY
This report describes pre-construction project development activities of
Russell Biomass LLC in the development of a 50 MW biomass-fired electric
generation plant on 18 acres of a 70-acre site that is owned by the developers
and is located in the town of Russell in Western Massachusetts. The first stage
of development, a feasibility study that helped assure that no technical or
permitting fatal flaws existed, was started in May 2004 and completed
successfully in January 2005.
In the fall of 2004 Russell Biomass applied for a loan to provide partial
financing for the second phase of development, February-June 2005, to finalize
plant design and cost parameters, secure a Special Permit from the Town of
Russell, obtain expressions of interest for biomass fuel supply and power
purchase, and obtain financing for the remaining 18 months of project
development. MTC provided a loan of $150,000 to support these activities, and
the developers were required to provide a cash match of at least 25%.
The project was successful in meeting the objectives. It appears to be
technically and economically viable, and the developers expect to receive a
commitment for development funding by October 2005. The MTC loan played a key
role in moving the project forward. The developers have initiated work on the
third stage of development, securing the remaining permits and approvals. The
project is on track to complete pre-construction development activities in the
first quarter of 2007, and following a 2-year construction period, to start
commercial operation by the second quarter of 2009.
The following tasks were included in the project and are described in this
report:
Task 1: Carry out public outreach program
Task 2: Preliminary plant engineering
Task 3: Site engineering
Task 4: Initiate permit applications
Task 5: Transmission line design
Task 6: Fuel supply commitments
Task 7: Power sale options
Task 8: Project financial viability and development financing
Task 9: Project reporting
Task 1 Russell Biomass initiated a public outreach program in order to ensure
broad public support and maximize the likelihood that the Town of Russell would
grant a Special Permit for the project. The program involved conducting a
survey of all Russell voters to determine what residents thought of the project
and developing communications to respond to resident concerns about the project
and highlight project benefits.
Task 4 The permitting task was focused on obtaining a Special Permit for the
project from the Town of Russell and on documenting the permitting issues
associated with the use of Clean Recycled Wood (CRW) from C&D sources. Russell
Biomass prepared and submitted the Special Permit application and participated
in three public hearings held by the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning
Board. The boards approved the Special Permit at the final hearing, although
the developers were forced to drop plans to use CRW because of strong
objections to this fuel from project opponents.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Russell Biomass LLC is developing a base load, 50 MW net biomass-fired (wood
fueled) electric generation plant on 18 acres of a 70-acre site. The site is
owned by the developers and is located in the town of Russell in Western
Massachusetts.
About 500,000 tons of biomass fuel, which is comprised of whole tree chips from
land clearing and tree trimming and ground stumps and pallets, will be consumed
annually.
[Note from Muller: This equals roughly 23,000 truckloads/year, as 22
tons/truckload. Assuming continuous operation, this corresponds to about 62
round/trips per day, and of course this does not including hauling the ash
out.]
The developers have strong experience and skills suited to a biomass power
plant development. The team includes a developer, Peter Bos, who previously
developed a 45 MW, 450,000 tpy wood fueled biomass plant in Maine; William
Hull, a forester who owns the site, runs a sawmill in Connecticut, and has
previous biomass power plant development experience; Robert Berti and James
Dammann, foresters who have been procuring wood fuel for biomass plants for 20
years; and James Ramsey, a registered professional engineer and businessman.
The ARS Group LLC (ARS) owned by Peter Bos was the lead developer on the
successful 45 MW, 450,000 tons/year Stratton wood fired electric generation
plant built in 1989.
[What's the relationshop between John Bos and Peter Bos?]
The developers have assembled a highly qualified team of seven engineering and
consulting firms, all of which are currently working on the project:
Tighe & Bond, Inc. Permitting, site engineering, transmission line
Tech Environmental, Inc. Air, noise permitting
Waldron Engineering, Inc. Power plant engineering
Energy Management Group Power marketing
Financial Management Group LLC Financing, power marketing
John Bos & Associates/Chestnut Productions LLC Public outreach
[Note: A quick search found no site or other activities for the above]
In mid-2004 William Hull formed a development team to investigate the
feasibility of developing a biomass power plant on the Russell site. The
developers met with Russell selectmen in June and December 2004 to describe the
project concept and hear about key issues from the town, and once with the
assessors to discuss property taxes. The Town of Russell has been supportive of
the biomass power plant project from the outset. The small town (population
1500) lost approximately 125 jobs and substantial tax revenues when Westfield
River Paper Company abandoned the site in 1995. The proposed power plant,
providing 50 construction jobs for 2 years, 23 new permanent operating jobs,
and a 20% increase in the town’s property tax revenues, would be a significant
economic development boost for the community.
In addition to supportive Town officials, the developers knew that broad public
support for the project was necessary in order to secure a Special Permit from
the Town, a key approval for the project. The permit application was planned
for March 2005, and in January Russell Biomass engaged consultants John Bos &
Associates and Chestnut Productions to develop a public outreach program to
gain public support for the project. The public outreach effort involved two
tasks:
• Conduct a survey of all Russell voters to learn what Russell residents
thought about the proposed power plant
• Develop effective public communications and education to respond to resident
concerns about the project and highlight project benefits
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS AND EDUCATION
Following the survey and immediately prior to the first Special Permit hearing
in April 2005, Russell Biomass published a 4-page newspaper supplement in the
Country Journal, the local weekly newspaper serving Russell and other
communities, entitled “Why a Biomass Power Plant for Russell?” The supplement,
developed by the outreach consultants, included a description and frequently
asked questions about the project, voter survey results, a brief explanation of
biomass energy, and a timeline of industrial activity at the Russell project
site (which reminded residents that the site had a 100+-year history of
industrial operations prior to the closing of the Westfield River Paper Company
in 1995).
The three Special Permit hearings (April, May and June) afforded the developers
an excellent opportunity to respond to citizen concerns and communicate the
benefits of the project. At least 3 of the five developers and two Tighe & Bond
managers attended each meeting. Considerable effort was spent between meetings
preparing responses to questions, mainly related to project impacts (e.g.,
truck traffic, visual) from the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Board.
The hearings were challenging due to the intensity of citizen concerns
regarding traffic and other project impacts. Just prior to the second and third
hearings, the developers were warned that well-organized opposition groups
would attempt to delay or stop the project with damaging (perhaps exaggerated)
information on project impacts. Preparing for these interventions at the last
minute was a severe challenge. The public outreach consultants were helpful in
crafting responses to the anticipated challenge.
As part of its effort to inform Russell citizens about the planned development,
10 days prior to the third hearing Russell Biomass arranged for approximately
30 residents to visit the 17 MW Pinetree biomass power plant in Westminster,
MA. The Russell group was given a guided tour of the Pinetree facility and
attended a technical presentation by the ...
in the end the Town approved the permit, affirming the positive response from
the voter survey. The public outreach effort was essential to this successful
outcome.
Fortunately the developers had some advance notice of this opposition, which
afforded the opportunity to evaluate whether the power plant would be
economically viable if the relatively inexpensive CRW were not available to the
project. Having determined that the plant would be viable without it, during
the hearing the developers agreed not to use CRW until the Town approved it at
some later date and did not agree to a delay in the process. Both boards voted
to approve the Special Permit at the conclusion of the hearing.
While Russell Biomass was ultimately forced to give up the CRW option, during
the course of the project the developers were able to develop a better
understanding of the permitting issues associated with the use of this material
as a power plant fuel. The developers and engineering consultants met twice
with DEP to discuss CRW issues, and Tech Environmental conducted a literature
search and file reviews of air permits at the New Hampshire Department of
Environmental Services and Maine Department of Environmental Protection, to
document metals content in CRW and in the air emissions and ash resulting from
CRW combustion.
Nearly all of the lead and other metals in CRW wind up in the combustion ash;
the small quantities of metals that go up the stack are expected to result in
ambient concentrations that are within current environmental standards.
Chlorine contained in CRW may result in uncontrolled emissions of HCl that
exceed the standards, necessitating the inclusion of a limestone injection
system in the boiler to neutralize the HCl.
[Muller: Do you really believe these guys don't plan, ultimately, to burn C &
D?]
It would be to the project’s financial advantage for DEP to determine that the
ash could be land applied, rather than requiring disposal as a hazardous waste.
[Transmission line stuff]
Northeast Utilities had a transmission line in the proposed Russell Biomass
corridor until the early 1980s, when the line was decommissioned and ultimately
removed. So the developers made the case to EFSB that the corridor is
“existing” and EFSB would not have jurisdiction since the line is less than 10
miles in length. Unfortunately, because the corridor has been inactive for more
than 20 years, few indications of the previous use remain, and after observing
the route EFSB determined the corridor to be “new”, not existing. While it
would be desirable for the new line to be 115 KV, the project is considering a
voltage less than 69 KV in order to avoid EFSB jurisdiction.
If EFSB review is not required, the developers will vigorously attempt to avoid
DTE jurisdiction as well.
Fuel will include [ie, not be limited to?] whole tree chips from land clearing,
road side tree trimming and power line maintenance, and ground stumps and
pallets.
[Fuel supply table]
I don't know if the table below will appear in the posting, but note that item
6 is "paper cubes" (51,500 tons from MA and more from CT, NY).
Papers, with ink, glue, and whatall on it, has its own emissions issues. Paper
should be recycled, not burnt.
am
Green Delaware
.