Below is what David Cohen wrote back in December at the Mountain View Telegraph. You’ll remember that the anti-biomass lobby downplayed the wildfire threat to the area and slurred him as a fear-monger.
“Mega-fires are torching America as never before, with towering infernos scorching more than 1.5 million acres this year, consuming homes block-by-block, and forcing hundreds of thousands [...]
KOAT 7 News:
A history of the Trigo Fire to date:
Tuesday, April 15: A fire on the west side of the Manzano Mountains southwest of Capilla Peak is reported just before 10 a.m. Dubbed the Trigo Fire, the blaze is reported to be over 200 acres. Air resources are grounded early Tuesday afternoon due to high [...]
This one really gives you some perspective regarding the harrowing destruction and pollution of the fire.
A number of people have posted photos of their experience with the Trigo fire at Eyewitness News 4. Here is one from mdietz:
Says mdietz: “Now that we are back to our computers we have been able to download the 200 pictures we have taken of both the first and the second evacuations. These three are [...]
From the AP:
The cost of the human-caused fire so far is $8.2 million. The fire has been burning oak brush and pinon, ponderosa pine and mixed conifer trees west of the small communities of Manzano, Torreon and Tajique. The fire began April 15th.
As we’ve argued many times on this blog, the emissions from a forest fire are far worse than anything that would come out of the Estancia biomass project. Watch below at this footage from the recent Trigo Forest Fire:
Picture from World of Energy Fact Sheets.
Another cool video about biomass in India and the positive social changes it’s bringing about:
From the MVT editorial this week:
While we hear news reports that the spring run-off will be high this year, what is missed is that the Manzanos and Sandias didn’t get the amount of snow pack this year that mountains in northern New Mexico did. Last November, more than 7,000 acres burned in the Ojo Peak fire. [...]
But don’t take our word for it. The Mountain View Telegraph is again reporting the bad news:
Dry conditions in the Mountainair Ranger District may soon lead to restrictions, said Arlene Perea, the district’s fire information officer. “Fire danger is up,” Perea said. “With no moisture in the next few weeks … we’re looking at restrictions.” [...]
…by Yael Naim for your weekend:
Have a great weekend!
…Biomass Magazine. Interesting and informative, with loads of information.
Elected Commissioner of Public Lands, Patrick Lyons, just published a powerful op-ed in New Mexico’s largest newspaper, the Albuquerque Journal, wherein he defends the Estancia Biomass Project and concludes that with this project: “Everybody wins.” His article—Many Benefits to Biomass Plant—is below:
I applaud Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Secretary Joanna Prukop for granting a tax credit to Western Water [...]
Guess what? This is what: “Biomass accounts for two thirds of all renewables used in France today.”
As our readers are aware, Western Water and Power just received some important tax credits to develop a biomass facility in Torrance County. Less well known is that Foresight Wind Energy for High Lonesome Wind Ranch had competed with them for those tax credits, but we’re happy to read in the Mountain View Telegraph that Foresight [...]
The US Department of Energy explains:
Biomass is any organic material made from plants or animals. Domestic biomass resources include agricultural and forestry residues, municipal solid wastes, industrial wastes, and terrestrial and aquatic crops grown solely for energy purposes.
Biomass can be converted to other usable forms of energy and is an attractive petroleum alternative for a [...]
In the face of lies, slurs and slander, the Estancia biomass project finally got the tax credits it deserved with NM Energy Secretary Joanna Prukop upholding Western Water and Power in every point of its appeal–and incredibly we haven’t yet celebrated at NMBIOMASS BLOG. Not right. So, to celebrate, here’s a montage from the 2008 NBA slam dunk contest, which was [...]
From the folks at Our Children, Our Future:
New Mexico has great potential to develop its biomass resources, from piñon and juniper to dairy and landfill waste to soybeans and grass.
Our Children, Our Future is “a diverse group of people living in New Mexico working to protect the health and wellbeing of our children. We support [...]
From the Journal:
A company proposing to build a biomass plant near Estancia has been granted a tax credit worth $2.74 million a year. In an order issued Thursday, Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Secretary Joanna Prukop upheld Western Water and Power in every point of its appeal of a September decision by her department’s staff [...]
Reported in the MVT:
Even though the Edgewood town logo has a windmill on it, wind turbines recently received an unenthusiastic reception.
Say what you want about the corny Ukulele, but we think it’s pretty cool use of biomass, especially when playing Mozart:
Hope you had a great weekend and that you have a great week ahead!
The Albuquerque Journal recently reported that the Forest Guardians is changing its name and broadening its mission. The Guardian press release says:
Forest Guardians and Sinapu, two regional conservation groups have joined forces to create a stronger organization to protect and restore the wild places, wildlife and wild rivers in the American West….
The group is now called the WildEarth [...]
To get your weekend started off right, here’s Chet Atkins, paying his respects to the great Zorba the Greek.
New Mexico is quickly becoming a center for creative thinking about alternative energy. Check out New World Biomass:
New World Biomass, LLC was established in the Spring of 2007 with the primary goal of bringing biomass and biomass technology to mainstream America. Headquartered in New Mexico, this company was formed by three individuals with different, yet [...]
MVT: Letters to the Editor
Victim of Fire Needs Your Help
PLEASE HELP!
On Dec. 10 at 2 a.m. our friend, Tom Honea of Prairie Wood Lane in Stanley, lost his home and everything in it to a fire. He has been a longtime friend of this community, living in Stanley for over 20 years. All the tools [...]
David S. Cohen has another cogent piece in the Mountain View Telegraph: Biomass Plant May Prevent Fire.
“Mega-fires are torching America as never before, with towering infernos scorching more than 1.5 million acres this year, consuming homes block-by-block, and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee,” the Chicago Tribune recently reported. “And as numerous large [...]
Quote of the Day:”Energy Independence Vital to U.S. Future.” To read on, click here.
When you look at the picture above from the ABQTribune, just remember that mainstream environmental organizations, several university research departments and many government agencies, including the NM Energy Department, are all on record asserting that biomass development helps stymie the wildfire threat, a threat that we at New Mexico Biomass Blog have long been warning about.
Hat tip: Mountainair Arts
The Albuquerque Journal: Couple Lose Almost Everything in Fire, but Still Have Hope. Fortunately, an evacuation order issued to area residents was lifted on Friday by Torrance County. However, not everyone is returning to what they left:
MOUNTAINAIR— Two terrified dogs roamed the blackened forest with their tails between their legs. Four cats mewed as they looked [...]
The Albuquerque Journal’s recent article “Biomass Study Not Impartial” unmasks the spin that the Forest Guardians have been promulgating to the public. Here’s the key passage:
An “independent” report aimed at proving that a planned biomass power plant south of Estancia fails to comply with state law and lacks enough biomass fuel to fulfill its contract was [...]
Answer:
The Governor of New Mexico
The Congresswoman who represents Torrance County
The Mayor of Estancia
The Estancia Valley Economic Development Association
The New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board
The New Mexico Land Commissioner
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission
New Mexico’s largest newspaper, the Albuquerque Journal
On the side bar, to your right, we’ve added links that highlight the many leading figures in our state who support biomass development in [...]
Paul Davis, Bud Latven, Bill Fogleman, and Bryan Bird (of the Forest Guardians) have again submitted an anti-biomass disinformation report; this time to the State Energy Secretary. They are not rangeland scientists, and it soon shows in their confused arguments (herein called “FG Fuel-Wood Estimate”). Dr. Brent Racher, a rangeland scientist with a BA, MS and PhD in Range [...]
Dr. Brent Racher, a rangeland scientist with many years of field experience in New Mexico, has submitted an affidavit to the Energy Secretary, wherein he shows there is far more than enough biomass fuel available for the Estancia biomass project.
For ease of reading, below are excerpts of this important affidavit, organized around common questions that one often hears in the media which are then followed by [...]
Brian Bingham, Director of Commercial Resource Management Division and the Renewable Energy Program at the State Land Office (”SLO”), submitted an affidavit challenging the dubious position that the State Energy Department has taken towards the Estanica Biomass Project. Here are the money quotes from the affidavit:
The SLO has determined that the thinning and removal of biomass material from [...]
As is by now well-known, the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department is, contrary to applicable law and policy, attempting to deny the Estancia biomass project’s application for a Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit.
Without any support under the New Mexico statue establishing the renewable energy tax credit (NMSA 1978, 7-2A-19), and without any support from the Energy Department’s [...]
Thus reports the Mountain View Telegraph:
Bryan Bird, director for public lands for Forest Guardians, an environmental group that has opposed the construction of the [Estancia biomass] plant, said there are differences between the WWPP assessment of available biomass materials and a study done by “an independent group (of) citizen-scientists” that was also submitted to the [...]
1. It’s A Clean Energy Source. — Biomass energy is widely embraced in the United States and Europe as a clean alternative energy source, and is widely recognized by mainstream environmental organizations, such as the Sierra Club and the Union of Concerned Scientists, as a critical component in an overall renewable energy portfolio. It’s a [...]
Worth reading: An article in this week’s US News & World Report entitled “Power Revolution.” You can see from the graph above what an important role biomass plays in our national renewable energy portfolio, contributing more than geothermal, solar and wind combined. If it weren’t for biomass, the United States would enjoy virtually no renewable energy, and our country [...]
“Natural light floods the sales floor, earth mounds surround the building and almost nothing is wasted. It may sound more like a bronze-age village than a modern supermarket, but there is no doubt that the Sainsbury’s in Greenwich is truly a technological marvel.” — Cities of Science, London, about Britain’s Sainsbury’s in Greenwich. Pretty cool.
From the San Diego Union-Tribune article entitled “Did you see a single blade of grass left?”
To fully appreciate just how big, just how destructive, the Witch Creek fire was in its first night, when one of its tentacles passed to the north of Ramona, stand in the middle of Pamo Valley and turn 360 degrees.
The [...]
Yahoo News:
Some rare types of trees, butterflies and other wildlife could lose their struggle for survival after this month’s southern California fires, which ravaged one of the most unique, biodiverse areas in the world, scientists say.
Spewing alarming levels of toxins into the atmosphere, the blazes — reportedly sparked by arson and a downed power line [...]
Vaxjo, Sweden (population 78,500) recently won the European Union’s inaugural sustainable energy award for a community, making it perhaps the greenest city in the world. And guess what? They rely heavily on biomass power. Post Carbon Cities has the story, entitled “In Europe’s greenest city, even its power plant smells like a sauna.”
The article says that it is the city’s [...]
Sadly, this photo now represents a typical sight in New Mexico and the broader Southwest. Many of our piñon forests now look like eerie graveyards. Following recent drought years, our overgrown piñon have been unable to produce enough sap to close the holes made by the beetle infestations. Within a mere few months, they are killed by these hungry invaders, [...]
Last week Chirglichin, a group of musicians from Tuva, a small Russian province north of Western Mongolia, brought their beautiful and haunting music to New Mexico, where they performed in Albuquerque as well as in several pueblos (Santa Ana, San Felipe and Santa Domingo). Many thanks to our friend Michael Crofoot, an indefatigable supporter of biomass, for making such [...]
We’re depressed to see the position Jim Baca has taken towards the Estancia biomass project, a position with which we obviously disagree:
It is all really a ploy to clear land for more grazing for the Land Commissioners friends.
On what evidence is this statement based? Judging from Jim’s post, as well as other comments he’s made about the Estancia biomass project, it seems his [...]
The Associated Press:
Even as many of the wildfires in flame-ravaged Southern California died down and residents returned home, lingering dust and soot-laden air made it difficult for many to breathe even a sigh of relief Saturday….
Satellite pictures showed thick smoke continuing to hang over the entire region, affecting schools, events and the health of residents [...]
Given that the Forest Guardians advocate for “more use of prescribed fire closer to home,” keep the following ABQJournal article in mind next time you hear the Guardians demonize the Estancia biomass project over air quality issues. Not only are the emissions from the Estancia biomass project significantly better than state and federal air quality standards, they are also much, much better [...]
The Associated Press:
A handful of fire engines and 16 more firefighters from New Mexico were dispatched Thursday to help with the wildfires burning in Southern California. “Today, we continue our response to help a neighbor in need,” Gov. Bill Richardson said. The 16 firefighters deployed Thursday will join more than 40 firefighters from around the [...]
The AP: “Crews found two burned bodies in a gutted house, authorities said Thursday, and flames drew perilously close to thousands of homes in Southern California’s firestorm despite a break in the harsh winds and a massive aerial assault.”
Talk about air pollution. Those wisps are enormous plumes blowing out into the Pacific. (NASA has added red to mark out the fire areas).
So do you think biomass is the only type of alternative energy hitting regulatory obstacles these days?
Well, get wind of this. Last week the Boston Globe reported that the Cape Cod Commission denied Cape Wind Associates permission to run transmission lines to their offshore wind farm due to a “procedural denial, based on a lack of information,” [...]
Yesterday, the Albuquerque Journal published a letter from the state Commissioner of Public Lands, Pat Lyons, in which he defended the Estancia biomass project and raised serious concerns about the rationality and legal basis for the Energy Department’s controversial denial of tax-credits for the project. Here’s the letter:
State Open to New Energy Ideas
RE: “Biomass Rejection Looks [...]
For a different perspective from the Forest Guardians, here is a must-watch video from the Union of Concerned Scientists, a very important video given that the East Mountains are in grave danger of a catastrophic wildfire:
How’s that for pollution and air quality? More news at the Washington Post.
Bryan Bird in a recent press release:
“The Forest Service needs to get serious about fire as a cost efficient and ecologically superior management tool.”
The press release goes on to say:
Fire naturally and cost-effectively reduces fuels, small trees and brush that grow under mature trees, but with housing rapidly encroaching on once natural areas, fire is [...]
Not only is the Albuquerque Journal coming out strongly in favor of the Estancia biomass project. So too is Congresswoman Heather Wilson who, two days before the Albuquerque Journal’s editorial, wrote a letter to Governor Richardson “urging him to work with Western Water and Power Production, LLC, the operator of the future Torrance County Biomass Power Plant, and approve their [...]
So says the ABQJournal:
If a tree falls near a planned Estancia biomass plant, the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department wants to know about it. Even if it won’t fall for two decades.
That’s the apparent message in the department’s rejection of Western Water and Power’s application for $2 million in annual renewable-energy tax credits [...]
From the Associated Press article “Curry To Testify On Greenhouse Gas Pollution“:
Coal-fired power plants are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in New Mexico, followed by oil and gas operations and transportation, the state Environment Department has said.
It’s important to note that coal-fired plants are the prime alternative to the baseload resource of biomass.
Russell Biomass, a green energy company in Massachusetts, has the info:
Every year, one million tons of green energy rots on the vast Adirondack forest floor in New York State. Now, the State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is studying ways to convert that material to a woody biomass fuel. The plan is being supported by [...]
Now for some basic economics. Tax help for biomass development in New Mexico has, for now, been denied on the following grounds:
Contracts for harvesting biomass material contained in the application are incomplete, according to public information officer Jodi McGinnis Porter….McGinnis Porter used a hypothetical example to explain the state’s problem with the application. “For example you have [...]
Take a look below at these two separate responses made by Jodi Porter on two different occasions to two different journalists.
Jack King of the ABQJournal reports her saying the following:
Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources spokeswoman Jodi Porter said the department makes all applicants follow the same requirements.
In a different conversation, another journalist, Laura Nesbitt, of the Mountain View [...]
From the ABQJournal today:
A company trying to build a biomass power plant south of Estancia says the state made a mistake when it recently denied it renewable-energy tax credits worth about $2 million a year.
Western Water and Power filed an appeal this week with Joanna Prukop, the secretary of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources, [...]
From the ABQJournal today:
Now that environmentally friendly, energy-efficient homes and commercial buildings have hit mainstream, a national leader in all things E is suggesting builders and developers take their efforts a step further: Build green neighborhoods.
The call from the United States Green Building Council and others officially went out in July, and even as [...]
“Either no one told them we were coming or they don’t give a hoot.” – from a caption to a cartoon in The Independent, offering a satire regarding local insouciance towards the terrible conditions that are promising a devastating wildfire in the East Mountains.
In case you missed it, last week the editors of The Independent (page 6) gave the same warning as the Mountain View Telegraph: the East Mountains are in danger of a catastrophic wildfire due to “huge amounts of dead and dry kindling.” As we’ve stated a gazillion times–and as the New Mexico Energy Department categorically asserts–biomass projects help protect [...]
This week the Independent stopped local residents outside Mountainair Grocery in Mountainair and posed the question: What do you think about the biomass plant? Below are the samples that the Independent found representative of the community:
Monie Dew, Mountainair: “I don’t know enough about it.”
Tina Shatto, Mountainair: “From what I read, it will bring a lot of [...]
In their latest press release–in which once again they declare victory over the Estancia biomass project–the Forest Guardians make the following complaint:
Western Water and Power LLC is co-owned by a Wall Street company, Allco Renewable Energy Group Limited LLC (www.allcorenewableenergy.com), that is part of the U.S.-based Allco group of companies including, Allco Finance Group Limited [...]
As David Cohen pointed out recently, the Forest Guardians furtively change the goalposts whenever their original position is found to be less than persuasive. Witness the comment below sent to the Albuquerque Journal last Sunday (in response to a letter by John Weckerle). This letter is written by Jon Spar, a board member for the Forest Guardians, and [...]
And no one does it better than Paco de Lucia. Here’s a thoughtful bulerias to begin your weekend; we hope you have a great one. Thanks for stopping by!
Today, the Mountain View Telegraph published an editorial that warns of “large, catastrophic wildfire in the East Mountains” due to existing ailing conditions within the forest. The Estancia Biomass project was developed in part to address exactly these kinds of problems.
The latest hazard, according to U.S. Forest Service officials, is standing dead trees— or snags, as [...]
Last week, political lobbyist Bryan Bird published a nasty personal attack against David Cohen, who’s one of our state’s leading defenders of alternative energy development. Here is Cohen’s spot-on reply (published at the Mountain View Telegraph):
Personal Attacks A Last Resort
In his sinister little book, “The Art of Always Being Right,” the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer offered this wicked advice [...]
Mountainair Arts reminds us:
Have you been thinking about your car’s effect on the environment? Here is an opportunity to get information you need to start learning about how to change your vehicles to sustainable fuel.
ALTERNATIVE FUEL CONVERSION WORKSHOP
Saturday, October 13, 2007
9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
UNM Continuing Education
1634 University Blvd. NE, Albuquerque
Charles Anderson, President of Golden Fuels Systems will present and [...]
This panda sneeze is too funny:
Have a great weekend to all our readers!
Linda Rundell, state director of the Bureau of Land Managment, today published an important article in the ABQJournal: “Stop this Invader from Cheating N.M. Environment.”
Our state is being invaded by a nefarious multitalented exotic plant called cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) that seriously outcompetes native grassland species. If unchecked, it spreads rapidly and degrades our environment, affecting [...]
The following letter was published in the ABQJournal today:
Forest Guardians Must Get Their Biomass Facts Right
IN AN OPINION piece, “Biomass Poses ‘Treacherous’ Path,” Bryan Bird of Forest Guardians proposes that forests perform a function of carbon sequestration.
It would appear that some correction of this misconception is in order. Carbon sequestration involves a process of removing [...]
The Albuquerque Journal:
The state Environmental Improvement Board on Monday unanimously approved an air quality permit for the state’s first large biomass power plant.
The New Mexico Environment Department has changed its position, having mislead Western Water and Power and biomass supporters. Now, out of the blue, they’re requesting that the Environment Improvement Board remand the issue over the air quality permit back to Environment Secretary Ron Curry, a man who apparently claims he can deny the permit without regard for the law. [...]
How ironic that biomass opponents claim that they’ve been denied the opportunity to comment on the Estancia project when the truth is entirely the other way around, as John Weckerle observes:
[H]ad the Secretary truly felt that additional information was needed to address the issue of the PSD criteria, he could have requested it before making a decision on whether [...]
Again, John Weckerle makes a persuasive case in a recent letter to the Environmental Improvement Board:
I have reviewed the September 6, 2007 memorandum from Tracey Hughes regarding the Environmental Improvement Board’s “authority to remand” and recommending that the Board do so with respect to the air quality permit for the Estancia biomass facility. I disagree with [...]
Based on the first of a series of articles at the Mountain View Telegraph, you will find below replies to questions and assertions about the Estancia biomass project.
Question: “The Union of Concerned Scientists may assert that biomass in general belongs on the list of clean energy sources, but I wonder whether Western’s biomass emissions are a clean energy source.”
Reply: Emissions from [...]
From the Forest Encyclopedia Network:
The use of sustainable forest biomass for bioenergy and bio-based products will benefit forests, wildlife, and humanity.
Okay, okay this doesn’t have much to do with biomass (other than the fact that most porches–well, the good ones anyway–are made from wood), but this sounds like a terrific union to us:
Professional Porch Sitters (PPS) is an informal organization with a large and growing grassroots membership. To become a member you simply need to say [...]
From the AP:
Firefighters on Sunday braced for a second day of windy weather that has stoked a huge wildfire and forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 homes. The blaze near the mountain town of Ketchum in central Idaho surged on Saturday, when wind also grounded firefighting aircraft, but on Sunday officials said no buildings [...]
Bloomberg:
The death toll in Greece’s forest fires reached at least 59 as European Union nations sent fire- fighting planes and a blaze damaged the site of the ancient Olympic games. High temperatures and strong winds contributed to the spread of more than 220 blazes across the country since Aug. 24. “We have every reason to [...]
Here’s Andres Segovia’s masterful performance of Asturias (made possible from a little bit of biomass and a good deal of genius):
Have a great weekend–to all our readers!
From the editors of the Mountain View Telegraph:
While a state-issued air quality permit for the proposed biomass power plant south of Estancia is still not assured, what happened over two days in Moriarty earlier this week may have been a step toward clearing the air…. When the Telegraph learned of a pre-hearing conference in Santa [...]
From the Mountain View Telegraph:
Taking up most of the two days of hearings, Cohen called four expert witnesses, who each addressed different critical points.
Gary D. McCutchen, who worked for the EPA for 26 years and said he was responsible for implementing the PSD program nationwide in 1986, said the PSD program was deliberately set up [...]
The Mountain View Telegraph reports:
At issue was whether the plant is subject to Prevention of Significant Deterioration regulations because of its use of natural gas to start its boiler. Curry cited natural gas emissions in his denial. Tracy Hughes, Environment Department general counsel, said Tuesday the department will support issuing the air quality permit if [...]
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) helpfully provides an informative intro to biomass energy. What are the sources of biomass? Explains the NREL:
We have used biomass energy or “bioenergy”—the energy from plants and plant-derived materials—since people began burning wood to cook food and keep warm. Wood is still the largest biomass energy resource today, but other sources [...]
From the Las Vegas Review-Journal today:
State forestry chief says season will be manageable without more blazes
CARSON CITY — Fires have burned nearly 900,000 acres in Nevada so far this year, and the costs to battle the blazes are expected to total at least $7.6 million through October, the Board of Examiners was told Tuesday.
The 870,000 [...]
Once again, John Weckerle of Edgewood offers sensible arguments for Estancia biomass. The following is an excerpt of a letter that he recently sent to the Environmental Improvement Board, in which he forensically takes apart the objections of biomass opponents.
There have been a number of objections raised to this project, and in considering such objections, one must consider both [...]
Yet more good news today for supporters of alternative energy:
The proposed biomass power plant south of Estanica appears to be back on track. State Environment Department general counsel Tracy Hughes said Tuesday the department will support granting an air quality permit for the plant, provided that a set of conditions are added to the permit. Hughes [...]
Wonderful news from the AP:
N.M. Factory Would Make a Fuel From Manure
An alternative energy company is planning two biogas plants in eastern New Mexico— one each in Curry and Roosevelt counties. The details on the Roosevelt County production plant haven’t been released, but officials said Tuesday the $36 million one in Curry County is expected [...]
From the New Mexican:
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Dozens of ranch properties were put on alert as the relentless 214,725-acre Zaca wildfire, third largest in modern California history, raged untamed Monday in Los Padres National Forest backcountry. A fleet of aircraft, including a DC-10 that can swoop in with 12,000 gallons of fire retardant, made sorties [...]
In his State of the State, Governor Richardson said:
We have invested heavily in clean energies like wind, solar and biomass, while requiring utilities to produce more of their energy through renewable sources.
