George Wilkes of the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) and Paul Nelson of CCLEP and Firewise went to the county board on November 15, 2011 asking for its blessing on the direction of Phase II of a study to determine the feasibility of utilizing biomass to heat buildings throughout Cook County. According to Wilkes, the message from Phase I, funded by the county, was that “biomass seems to make pretty good economic and environmental sense,” and the people promoting the idea would be determined to see it used “without polluting the air or cutting down too many trees.”
The second phase, to be conducted by Dovetail Partners and the University of Minnesota through a grant from the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, will study biomass use for multiple buildings in close proximity such as those at Lutsen Resort and for public buildings in Grand Marais along with North Shore Laundromat and the proposed new community center, with and without the business core of downtown Grand Marais.
The study will also look at the sustainability of fuel supplies and potential emissions from large-scale household use of supplemental wood stoves and standalone wood furnaces.
The people involved in the study are recommending “the ones that are most viable environmentally and financially,” said Nelson.
Out of 25 possible types and sizes of biomass systems, the ones chosen for study rated highest in being financially viable, contributing to energy independence and fostering local production of energy, replacing fossil fuels, being easy to implement, creating job potential, reducing wildfire hazard and utilizing local biomass waste such as that generated through the Firewise program, reducing the county’s carbon footprint and generating low levels of carbon dioxide, greenhouse gas, and particulate emissions, and contributing to the health of the forest.
Wilkes said a lot of input from the community will be sought during this phase of the study.
“Eighty percent of the buildings in downtown St. Paul are heated with hog fuel,” Nelson said. Hog fuel is an unrefined biomass fuel that can make use of scraps such as branches and twigs. Nelson said 17 trucks gather enough biomass from a 17-mile radius around St. Paul’s core.
“It’s very easy to sign onto this,” said County Board Chair Jim Johnson. “I would encourage you to keep going down the path.”
Is there enough biomass in Cook County to support this? Commissioner Fritz Sobanja wondered.
“We’re going to make a very small impact on the forest,” Nelson answered. He said the U.S. Forest Service is only harvesting 25 percent of the amount it could harvest each year while maintaining the health of the forest.
Commissioner Bruce Martinson indicated he would like to see a pellet plant in Cook County that could provide fuel for homes and places like Birch Grove Community Center that have pellet burners. Small-scale pellet plants are not economically feasible, Wilkes said, and some have gone out of business. A plant would need to generate 10 times more pellets than Cook County could use in order to be financially successful, and trucking biomass long-distance is not economical. The possibility of micro pellet plants is being investigated, however, he said.
Using nonlocal pellets is pretty economical for Cook County homes right now, Wilkes said, and it is cheaper than burning cordwood. The cheapest pellets in this area are coming from Ladysmith, Wisconsin.
Nelson said he hopes the county board continues to keep biomass on its list of projects approved for funding by the county’s 1 Percent Recreation and Infrastructure Tax. It could be used as “seed money” to leverage other funds.
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