A key source of California’s future energy will be wood waste converted at biomass plants
California continues to strive to transform our energy sector to provide safe, clean, and affordable services and infrastructure to every community. This goal is a cornerstone of the state’s energy policy and requires real solutions based on facts and science. To meet these objectives, stabilize the grid, and to fulfill our ambitious climate goals, the state must utilize biomass energy, which is a vital tool to create more reliable renewable energy and reverse the worsening effects of climate change.
California biomass facilities take more than 6 million tons of wood waste annually, which is enough to fill the Rose Bowl 25 times over. These facilities can convert this waste into renewable energy, so it is no wonder that departments like the California Air Resources Board and the Board of Forestry are calling for increased investment in this technology, which can cut the most harmful climate pollutants by up to 98 percent.
Biomass also offers us a reliable source of power to stabilize the grid and deal with the infamous “duck curve,” where power production from renewable energy sources can’t meet peak demand. We know that solar and wind can’t always be produced or stored in ways that meet Californian’s demand for energy or when wildfire power shut-offs occur. Biomass offers another tool that we can use to stabilize the grid as there is always waste to convert into clean, renewable power.
Biomass produces energy by converting waste through combustion or decomposition. However, there are widespread misconceptions about the industry. The biggest fallacy is that California’s virgin forests are being chopped down and turned into power. That simply is not true. All of the waste used in California biomass facilities is unusable or the byproduct of other processes in the forest, agricultural, or construction industries. This waste would otherwise be landfilled or open burned, which is why CARB and the Board of Forestry are calling for increased investment in these facilities.
Biomass energy has also been identified as a key tool in wildfire mitigation and remains a critical component of the state’s Wildfire Mitigation Plan. When then-Gov. Jerry Brown identified the issue of California’s dead and dying trees as a fire and climate change hazard, the governor ordered the Public Utilities Commission and the Energy Commission to work with biomass facilities on the challenge of utilizing wood waste. Now, Gov. Newsom’s new budget envisions a Forest Management Task Force that has created a plan incorporating biomass energy as an essential part of the solution.
Biomass energy is an important tool in simultaneously dealing with massive amounts of waste, stabilizing our grid and reducing pollution. This is important because California’s woody waste — dead trees, agricultural trimmings, nut shells, or leftover construction material — either gets sent to a landfill or gets put to the match and burned. Driving through the Central Valley, it is common to see plumes of smoke rising from large piles of burning agricultural waste. These methods of disposal release the most harmful short-lived climate pollutant — black carbon. In fact, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District estimates that open burning of agricultural waste has increased 400 percent over the past five years, which has serious impacts on disadvantaged communities like asthma and even increased risk of cancer. This is why our local communities have been supportive of new biomass facilities, as they are taking black carbon out of the air and converting it into renewable source energy.
As our state continues to battle wildfires, deal with power shut offs, and work to reduce air pollution, we need reliable, safe and renewable solutions like biomass energy that can reduce harmful emissions and stabilize our grid. Biomass is a clean energy option and I look forward to continuing to advocate and legislate to support this vital industry.