10 Facts about Biomass

1. Millions of tons of organic waste, such as wood and plant residues, are produced in California each year.

2. Biomass electricity is produced by combusting or decomposing organic matter.

3. Combustion: Wheelabrator Shasta Energy Company’s wood-fired 49 megawatt power plant produces enough electricity to power about 49,000 typical homes. Every year, it processes 750,00 tons of lumber mill waste and forest residues from Shasta County in California and surrounding areas.

4. Gasification: Community Power Corporation (CPC) is designing the biomass at SOC, an efficient 50kw gasification unit. (The first unit will pilot in Mount Shasta).

5. Decomposition: Royal Farms No. 1 in Tulare, California collects biogas from hog manure. The biogas fuels a 70 kilowatt (kW) engine-generator and a 100 kW engine-generator, meeting the farm’s monthly electricity and heat energy demand.

6. In Los Angeles County, methane gas from the Puente Hills Landfill produces electricity and is compressed to fuel a fleet of 11 garbage trucks. (Today’s trash trucks are fueled by yesterday’s trash).

7. Using biomass to produce electricity reduces our reliance on fossil fuels and eliminates the need to place it in landfills.

8. Clearing biomass from wooded areas helps prevent forest fires.

9. Using by-product methane gases to produce electricity eliminates odor and reduces air pollution in surrounding areas.

10. Learn more: Visit the Renewable Energy Alliance.