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Welcome to the
California Biomass Energy Alliance Website
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Welcome to the Web Site of
the California Biomass Energy Alliance (CBEA), an association representing
36 biomass-fueled power plants in California. CBEA members are the plant
owners and operators whose fuels come from the forestry, agricultural, and
urban wood waste sectors. Collectively, the 25 member companies represent
approximately 700MW of generating capacity.
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Our industry in California provides
numerous major environmental benefits to the state including improvements
in air quality through the elimination of open burning of agricultural and forest wastes; reduction of forest wildfire risks as a
result of removal of slash, deadfall, understory and nonmerchantable
trees; and substantial relief of the landfill disposal burden.The industry
represents over
$2.5 billion in industrial investment, largely in rural areas, and
provides needed jobs in those areas at the plants and in the fuel supply
infrastructure.
Global
warming greenhouse gases: The
biomass power plants are unique in the electrical generation industry
because the contribution of the plants in terms of greenhouse gas
emissions is significantly less than zero. That is, the biomass industry
has a major net negative emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). This is
because of the avoidance of GHG emissions from the alternate fates
of the biomass wastes by virtue of the collection of these wastes for
use as fuel in the boilers of the biomass plants.
Absent
the biomass power plants, if left to their various alternate fates, the
biomass materials would emit substantially higher levels of GHG (CO2,
methane, and N2O) as a result of their biodegradation in landfills or in
the forests, or from their open-burning in agricultural fields or in the
forests. Burning in the forests includes both prescribed burns and
wildfires.
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We have a great story to
tell about an industry that has gone fairly unnoticed, yet is an important
player in our state’s environmental and economic future. We invite you
to browse our site and learn more about CBEA and the world of biomass
power. We especially suggest you review the brief white papers on the
"Topical Info"
link above left.
Proponents of the biomass
industry include local environmental groups, elected officials, private
landowners, and public agencies dealing with land and resource management,
air quality, forest regulation, fire suppression, solid waste, and more.
But more Californians need to understand where their electricity comes
from and the external non-electric benefits associated with green power
from biomass. Green power is about much more than generating electricity,
and the benefits are precious. |
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