Oregon Energy Plan Calls for Shift in Biomass Investment Approach

by Luke Geiver (Biomass Magazine) Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber believes energy is the issue of our time, and to address the issue, he has released a 10-year Energy Action Plan. The 48-page plan, put together with the help of hundreds of state-based representatives, groups and the Oregon Forest Biomass Working Group, took more than six months. The final version includes a recommendation section on bioenergy and biomass-based thermal energy development.
...To continue development in the biomass utilization sector, the plan calls for a shift in incentive investments away from fuel source collection to investment in institutional boiler, cogeneration and cellulosic biofuel production facilities. Doing so, the plan states, will support key industries including the food processing, forest products, dairy and production agriculture sectors. The plan also aims at integrating local energy sources into residential, commercial and industrial buildings to drive down energy spending by the government, school districts and others.
Further support from the Clean Fuels Program, a program instituted in 2009 that calls for a 10 percent ethanol blend in gasoline and a 5 percent blend of biodiesel in diesel, will help the state’s push to support advanced biofuel production facilities. READ MORE and MORE (Oregon.gov)