Say no to massive wood pellet factories

Jennifer - this is part of the numbers game played by the Greenies. Biomass pellets are made from agricultural waste, slash on the forest floor, dead trees, and undergrowth. That is what we are told. Pellets are burned to produce steam for turbines that drive electric generation. That is considered green energy and is marketed as such to utilities and providers like PCE. The incineration produces huge clouds of smoke, including CO2, but since it is biomass, not to worry. Millions of acres in the US are planted with corn, not for the kernels but for the stalk. The plants are also burned in incinerators as above. The corn fields require fertilization for growth. Now comes the best part; the main ingredient in fertilizer production is methane aka natural gas. Now you see how the Greenies are fooled, fail to drill down, and understand the entire cycle of feel good, phony green energy.

I'm uninformed about pellet production. If the mfg of pellets uses logging the areas burned by fire (good forrest management that the Feds do a terrible job with), go for it. If it is live trees, then forget it. Forrest management does NOT only mean taking live trees, but does mean clearing the duff, shrubs, etc. out from under areas where fire can be devastating (eg. under hi tension power lines!). prioritize spending.

Have you considered that this might help pay for clearing our forests to reduce wild land fires. While it produces CO2, it's less than a burning forest produces. It's also renewable because tress re-grow.

So, Ms. Normoyle, are you saying it is much better to ignore wildfire management and allow wildfires to burn up these trees and houses and many other things standing in their way rather than make use of these trees? Speaking of toxic pollution, how much toxic pollution do you think the ongoing Los Angeles area fires are emitting? I’d reckon much less than what pellet factories and storage facilities would generate, perhaps in their lifecycle. Please tell the Golden State Finance Authority, our governor, and our legislators to “just say yes” to GSNR and Drax. If not, you can be guaranteed there will be greater wildfires due to shortsightedness. Oh yes, don't forget the new jobs this will bring to our state.

Thank you for elevating this issue! It is so important for reducing air pollution, keeping carbon locked into the soil, and maintaining habitat. The clear cutting the pellet factories cause is not fire mitigation. It is destruction. It is corporate greed.