Pending approval of a written contract, the county board voted Tuesday, September 14, 2010 to dedicate a good portion of its Timber Fund to a study on the feasibility of biomass energy production in Cook County.
George Wilkes of the Cook County Local Energy Project believes biomassgenerated energy makes sense for Cook County. He told the county board that it would be carbon neutral and environmentally, socially, and morally responsible, it would reduce reliance on foreign oil with its volatile prices, and it would create an industry that would boost the local economy.
The grant would complement another study to be undertaken by the University of Minnesota and Dovetail Partners, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit specializing in information on eco-friendly practices and sustainable forestry. The university/ Dovetail study was awarded $150,000 from the Legislative/Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) to guide the development of sustainable community-scale forest bioenergy programs in northeastern Minnesota and to provide examples from the region that would assist communities considering similar projects throughout the state. It will target both Cook County and Ely.
TheLCCMR study will look at sources and amounts of biomass available in the region, including waste wood, right-ofway clearing, material generated through the FireWise program and through wildfire mitigation, residuals from businesses like Hedstrom Lumber Company and commercial timber harvesting, biomass from pre-commercial harvests, and other resources that may be identified, such as municipal solid waste. The analysis will include evaluation of the environmental effects of biomass harvesting and collection methods.
The county’s grant to the Cook County Local Energy Project will pay for Dovetail Partners to analyze the existing and potential energy market in Cook County, including household, business, and industrial users. Dovetail Partners will also identify various technologies that could be used successfully and will investigate ownership options, business models, and financing alternatives.
Wilkes believes a project like this would not be initiated by the private sector at this point, but Commissioner Bob Fenwick stated that of all the project proposals that have come their way, this is one that he believes should be paid by private industry. “No private entity has come forward saying, ‘This makes sense,’” Fenwick said.
A biomass-powered facility to heat and power public buildings in Grand Marais is one of the uses of the county’s 1% sales and use tax that has been approved by the state legislature. Fenwick said he wished a private entity would step forward and do the feasibility study.
If it leads to somebody developing a business in Cook County, Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said, the study would be worth it. “We gotta get there,” he said.
Commissioner Bruce Martinson said some of his constituents would like to see biomass available for their own consumption and hope a municipal plant wouldn’t use it all up.
Commissioner Jim Johnson supported the use of biomass. He said it could be used to heat the new community center and pool, another project slated for the 1% county sales and use tax.
Both studies will build upon information that has already been gathered on utilizing the Northland’s biomass. According to Dovetail’s grant proposal, “An improved understanding of the impacts, potential benefits, and trade-offs associated with woody biomass harvesting, processing, and energy production will help the community make a wellinformed decision about moving forward with biomass energy.” CCLEP has learned that grants for a biomass facility would likely require a study of this magnitude.
The county will be dedicating $113,500 of the $186,000 in its Timber Fund for this project. Themotion to fund the study passed by a vote of four to one, with Bob Fenwick casting the nay vote.
The studies will begin next summer.
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