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Friday, 11:15am

This panel will aid participants in thinking through the particulars to address the various aspects of "scale" for developing appropriately-scaled energy projects.  Since each community energy project develops within a certain set of parameters, including ecological need, economic realities, and social support, community leaders need a checklist to consider when determining scale for their local facility.  The intent of the panel is to leave participants with a framework of factors to consider in defining an "appropriately-scaled" facility for their specific locale.

Speakers

• Brett KenCairn, Project Development and Management, Community Energy Systems LLC
  Strategies for Community-based Biomass Combined Heat-Power (CHP) Development — 1/4 MWe to 10MWe
• Todd Schulke, Forest Policy Analyst, Center for Biological Diversity
  Assessing appropriate scale biomass utilization at the landscape scale for Southwestern Ponderosa Pine forests

Moderator

Chad Davis, Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities Partnership, Sustainable Northwest

Recommended Readings

Coming soon.

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Brett KenCairn

Brett KenCairn has served a variety of efforts working to create multi-stakeholder strategies for land conservation and stewardship.  In 1989, Brett became the founding director of the Rogue Institute for Ecology, one of the first sustainable development organizations in the Pacific Northwest. The Institute was an early pioneer in launching forest products certification programs, ecosystem restoration training for displace forest workers, and helped catalyze a variety of multi-stakeholder collaborations including the Applegate Partnership.

Brett has worked extensively with Native communities, serving as founding director for Indigenous Community Enterprises (ICE).  ICE was established to work explicitly to find economic development opportunities in Native communities utilizing forest restoration by-products.  ICE established a $1.5 million manufacturing facility to process small diameter roundwood.  That enterprise is now a separate for-profit company called Southwest Traditional Log Homes.  Brett continues to work with Tribes throughout the Southwest.

Brett now serves as director of Community Energy, a for-profit company specializing in the development of small-scale biomass and other community-based power production systems.  He is also a partner in Restoration Technologies Group, a consortium of specialists working with communities to establish integrated forest products utilization partnerships.

Todd Schulke

Todd Schulke is a senior policy advisor for the Center for Biological Diversity.  He has been involved forest protection and restoration for 18 years. He sits on the Western Governor’s Forest Health Advisory Committee, Arizona Governor Napolitano’s Forest Health Committee, and the New Mexico Forest & Watershed Health Planning Committee. He is on the board of directors of the Center for Biological Diversity, American Lands Alliance, and New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and Gila WoodNet, a community-based forestry group dedicated to ecologically sound forest restoration prescriptions, implementation techniques, and utilization of restoration by-products. He lives with his wife and 2 young sons on the edge of a fire prone ponderosa pine forest on the Gila National Forest in southwestern New Mexico.

Chad Davis

Chad Davis coordinates the Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities Partnership at Sustainable Northwest, administering financial and technical assistance provided to partners through various grant programs, and is the Group Coordinator for HFHC's Forest Stewardship Council Group Chain of Custody certification.   Before coming to Sustainable Northwest, Chad was employed at Oregon State University in the College of Forestry as a Research Assistant.  His research work there focused on collaborating with forest contractors and investigating ways to increase harvesting efficiencies in forest restoration projects.   At OSU, Chad also had the opportunity to teach several classes on forest harvesting and help conduct various training seminars for forest contractors.   Chad has also worked in North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida in a host of forest management roles.  Chad holds a Bachelors degree in Environmental Policy and Sciences from Duke University and a Master's degree in Forestry from the University of Tennessee.