Changes in California Renewable Energy Programs #1: Renewable Auction Mechanism
There are a number of changes either approved or proposed for some of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) renewable energy programs that may be beneficial for biomass to electricity...
View ArticleChanges in California Renewable Energy Programs #2: Net Energy Metering
SB489 – Modification of Net Energy Metering (NEM) This bill which would open up NEM tariffs to include renewables other than wind, solar, biogas, and fuel cell generation. NEM allows a...
View ArticleChanges in California Renewable Energy Programs #3: Feed-in Tariff
Potential changes to Feed-in Tariffs (Public Utilities Code: 399.20)Feed-in tariffs in California allow a small renewable electricity generator (including those fueled by biomass) to sell electricity...
View ArticleListening and Learning
Last week I was fortunate enough to attend two excellent meetings that focused on different aspects of forest products and biomass utilization. The first was the Restoring the West Conference held at...
View ArticleWoody Biomass Utilization Grant 2012 - Workshops Announced
The annual Forest Service Woody Biomass Utilization grant program has been creating some confusion for people. Grants.gov has had information online for the program since November 2011 even though it...
View ArticleSmallwood 2012 Conference (May 1-3 2012) Forest Restoration and Biomass...
The Smallwood Conference, with a theme of Forest Restoration for a New Economy, is at the start of May and has a great agenda lined up. The agenda topics for the Flagstaff AZ conference include:•...
View ArticlePyrolysis Session, New Fact Sheet and Smallwood Conference Summary
Last week I was in Flagstaff, Arizona, for the Smallwood 2012 conference. I was on the planning committee and it was great to see over 200 people in attendance. The conference started with some good...
View ArticleBuena Vista Power Plant and Biomass to Electricity Factsheet
Last week I traveled to Buena Vista—a small town about an hour southeast of Sacramento—to visit Buena Vista Biomass Power. This plant is an older lignite power plant that has...
View ArticleFifth Sudden Oak Death Science Symposium
Will tanoak die out – is it worth saving? Tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus) is a California native hardwood tree common in the forest of Northern California and susceptible to Sudden Oak Death...
View Article2012 Woody Biomass Grants Announced
The U.S. Forest Service announced on July 26th the funding of $4 million in grants to be used for wood-to-energy projects. These grants will go towards helping 20 businesses create jobs and local...
View ArticleIntroduction to Woody Biomass factsheet
Wildfire risk reaches its annual peak as we pass through the heat of our summer and fall months. Fire prevention and suppression are expected to cost California nearly $1 billion this year. These...
View ArticleGareth Mayhead Moves On
Gareth Mayhead, former Academic Coordinator of Woody Biomass and Forest Products at UC Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station has moved back across the pond to be the Commercialization Manager at...
View ArticlePeter Tittmann joins research and outreach team at the Forest Products Lab
Dr. Peter Tittmann joins the Woody Biomass Utilization group at UC Berkeley. Peter is replacing Gareth Mayhead, who left the group this past fall to return to new opportunities in his homeland of...
View ArticleCommunity-scale bioenergy conference addresses challenges and opportunities...
The Thirty-mile room at the Mclellan Wildfire Training Center in Sacramento filled to capacity on December 14th, 2012 for the Community-scale Bioenergy Conference presented by the Woody Biomass...
View ArticleIt's Open Season at Marin Energy Authority
Open Season The Marin Energy Authority's Open Season procurement process is underway until March 1 2013. They are accepting applications for renewable electricity (compliant with the CEC's Renewables...
View ArticleUSFS announces 2013 Woody Biomass Utilization Grant Program
The Request for Proposals for the 2013 WBUG program is in the Federal Register. It looks like the solicitation is similar to last years with a focus on later stage projects designed to convert wood...
View ArticleWebinar: 2013 USFS Woody Biomass Utilization Grant program
What: The UC Berkeley Center for Forestry will host a webinar focused on providing information to interested parties about the recently announced USFS Hazardous Fuels Woody Biomass Utilization Grant...
View Article2013 WBUG webinar provides applicants with important program information
Webinar presentations The webinar held on February 28th gave attendees some excellent background on the USFS Woody Biomass Utilization grants program and provided an opportunity for applicants to as...
View ArticleSouthern California Edison releases two new feasibility reports related to...
Southern California Edison has released two additional reports focusing on feedstock and capital costs for a 12 MW biomass power plant co-located with a small saw mill near Shaver Lake in the southern...
View ArticleGroup provides comments on California Energy Commission and Public Utilities...
Both the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Energy Commission (CEC) are engaged in proceedings related forest based bioenergy.The Woody Biomass Utilization Group has been active in...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....