Amador County – The Amador County Air Pollution Control District issued an air pollution permit last Wednesday to allow TSS Consultants to operate the former coal-fired electrical power plant at Buena Vista using much cleaner wood wastes. Set to begin operations in July, the newly converted plant is expected to provide energy for about 16,000 homes across the Mother Lode though the burning of roughly 200,000 tons of biomass a year. Supporters and environmentalists say using the biomass wood waste is a major step towards solving environmental problems in our region. “This move will cut emissions by at least half of what they used to be,” said Jim Harris, Amador County’s air pollution control officer. The plant will provide a market for wood waste gathered through forest thinning and from various local properties. Harris said there’s a lot of biomass fuel in the forest, but he hopes vegetation from defensible space clearing that would otherwise go in landfills can also be used. It is also expected that the plant will generate jobs in Amador and Calaveras counties. The plant previously operated on lignite, a primitive form of coal used almost exclusively as a fuel for steam-electric power generation. TSS Consultants, a renewable energy and natural resource consulting firm specializing in industrial energy products, brokered a deal with plant owners the Oneto Group earlier this year to operate the plant. Amador District 3 Congressman Dan Lungren last August visited what was formerly known as the Cogen power plant, with a company from Tempe, Arizona, that was interested in reopening the plant to generate electricity. That deal fell through, but the company estimated the converted plant would bring as many as 20 jobs and about $1 Million in annual salary to Amador County. Lungren said at the time that the biomass plant was the next logical step in the power industry. “We’ve been trying to do that – wind, solar – all these alternative sources. It just makes sense now,” Lungren said. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Amador County Air Pollution Control District issued an air pollution permit last Wednesday to allow TSS Consultants to operate the former coal-fired electrical power plant at Buena Vista using much cleaner wood wastes. Set to begin operations in July, the newly converted plant is expected to provide energy for about 16,000 homes across the Mother Lode though the burning of roughly 200,000 tons of biomass a year. Supporters and environmentalists say using the biomass wood waste is a major step towards solving environmental problems in our region. “This move will cut emissions by at least half of what they used to be,” said Jim Harris, Amador County’s air pollution control officer. The plant will provide a market for wood waste gathered through forest thinning and from various local properties. Harris said there’s a lot of biomass fuel in the forest, but he hopes vegetation from defensible space clearing that would otherwise go in landfills can also be used. It is also expected that the plant will generate jobs in Amador and Calaveras counties. The plant previously operated on lignite, a primitive form of coal used almost exclusively as a fuel for steam-electric power generation. TSS Consultants, a renewable energy and natural resource consulting firm specializing in industrial energy products, brokered a deal with plant owners the Oneto Group earlier this year to operate the plant. Amador District 3 Congressman Dan Lungren last August visited what was formerly known as the Cogen power plant, with a company from Tempe, Arizona, that was interested in reopening the plant to generate electricity. That deal fell through, but the company estimated the converted plant would bring as many as 20 jobs and about $1 Million in annual salary to Amador County. Lungren said at the time that the biomass plant was the next logical step in the power industry. “We’ve been trying to do that – wind, solar – all these alternative sources. It just makes sense now,” Lungren said. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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