The US Senate passed a broad, bipartisan energy bill today, it includes language written by Maine senators Angus King and Susan Collins that aims to keep biomass power generators in the renewable energy marketplace.
The measure would require federal agencies to recognize biomass generators as sources of renewable, carbon-neutral electricity. Bob Cleaves of the Maine-based Biomass Power Association says the designation also requires that wood fuels for qualifying biomass plants must be harvested in a sustainable way, a bar he says won't be hard to reach.
"If congress is going to recognize that it's carbon neutral to take biomass if it's done sustainably it's kind of like giving us credit for an exam we took a year ago and got an 'A' on," Cleaves says.
Biomass plants are struggling to compete partly because of sustained low prices for oil and natural gas. Two of Maine's six biomass plants have closed this year and state lawmakers last week passed a bill to provide some temporary assistance.
Cleaves says if the federal legislation also wins passage in the House, it won't have an immediate effect on the industry in Maine. But he says it will be helpful in the long-run, by giving state-level decision makers confidence that the technology benefits the environment. Environmentalists who opposed initial versions of the bill could not be reached for comment.