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Iberdrola begins construction on Oregon biomass power plant

Construction has begun on a 26.8-megawatt biomass power plant in Lakeview, Oregon, not far from the California border.

Renewable energy developer Iberdrola Renewables is building the Lakeview Biomass Cogeneration plant with expectations of completing the facility by the fall of 2012.

Renewable energy developer Iberdrola Renewables is building the Lakeview Biomass Cogeneration plant with expectations of completing the facility by the fall of 2012.

Once up and running, the plant would generate enough power to supply about 18,000 homes with electricity.

Ralph Currey, CEO of Iberdrola Renewables, said: “The Lakeview plant will provide base load renewable energy, jobs and improve Oregon’s forest health while reducing wildfire danger.”

The Lakeview plant will be about 90 miles east of Iberdrola’s existing Klamath Cogeneration Plant, and will also produce combined heat and power.

The new facility will be entirely air-cooled in order to reduce its water use by more than 80%.

Fuel for the plant will comprise logging and sawmill residues, supplied by the Collins Pine Company from its Fremont Sawmill, which is located next to the 55-acre biomass power site.

Collins will also purchase the equivalent of two megawatts of steam from the Lakeview plant, to run its lumber drying process.
Forest health

Eric Schooler, President & CEO at the Collins Companies, said supplying biomass to the power project would mean improving the health of surrounding forests, by removing material that would otherwise risk fire and disease.

“The Lakeview Cogeneration Plant rounds out the tools to efficiently and effectively improve the forest health in our surrounding forests,” he said. “To economically take on the forest restoration, markets are critical for small logs and biomass.”

Collins has been preparing for potential cogeneration markets since 2007, investing in a small log processing unit beside its existing mill, a move partly taken to help reduce the chance of catastrophic fires.

The construction of the Lakeview plant is also expected to support between 150 and 200 construction jobs over the next 18 months.

Jane O’Keeffe, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors at development agency Sustainable Northwest, said; “The new plant will create long-term family-wage jobs for Lakeview, while generating renewable energy from unwanted wood residuals. Iberdrola Renewables’ Lakeview biomass plant is a great example of how we can simultaneously improve the health of both our forests and our local economies through smart resource management.”

Portland-based Iberdrola Renewables is yet to agree a power purchase agreement, but with the Lakeview plant located 20 miles from California and close to major transmission facilities, the company is expecting “strong interest” from utilities south of the border.

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