Ag and Rural Caucus April Policy Briefing
| Policy Briefing 6:30 pm Thursday 18 April Wood Pellet Production in Longview Jessica Marcus, Head of Public Affairs, DRAX https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85907982157?pwd=MU4vV3E3VGZ5VU02dnhvZjg2b3hKZz09 Paste link into browser. |
| Life is Complicated “Our city is honored to welcome [“X”] to be a part of the community here in Southwest Washington,” said MaryAlice Wallis, Mayor of Longview. “I believe that [“X”] fits what Longview’s founder Robert A. Long envisioned 100 years ago by supporting economic growth and adding nearly 40 new jobs, and attracting innovative businesses that accelerate our carbon reduction and renewable energy goals. Our community looks forward to celebrating our alliance with [“X”] for years to come.” So, what is “X”? It is not DRAX and wood pellet production. It is Enbridge/Divert, a company that converts food waste to renewable natural gas: “Natural gas, mostly made up of methane, still comes with some concerns around public health and can contribute to climate change if it leaks, but the anaerobic digestion process eliminates the health concerns that come with the methane extraction process, namely fracking.” Both processes convert waste products into products that displace fossil fuels. A difference is that Divert is endorsed by state law and welcomed by the community. The other, DRAX, is tied up in controversy. Longview’s consideration of wood pellet production touches philosophy (is a standing tree just a fossil fuel in becoming?); science (what is the consequence for climate change of cycling wood waste into fuel?); engineering (how do you scale production capacity to match resource supply?); finance (can you make money doing it?); industrial policy (how do you create jobs and incomes in resource-rich but poor regions?); regional policy (how do you help local economies without undue compromise of environmental values?). This is just a teaser. Come Thursday with your own questions. Play with some conclusions, tentative of course.. Don 16 April 2024 |
| Stewardship – What does it mean on the ground? Southwest Washington may feel it gets picked on. Just like eastern Washington. Both enjoy exceptional natural resources. SW Washington has forests – almost all privately owned – and ports on the Lower Columbia with unmatched access to the Asian markets. Eastern Washington has wind, sun, and cheap real estate. The question in common is how to reconcile exploitation of our renewable resources without sacrificing our natural resources. One difference is that SW Washington weighs jobs against natural resource values. Eastern Washington has not yet made the connection between renewable energy investment and local economic benefits. Still, stewardship of natural resources is the question. What does stewardship really look like when economic livelihoods are at stake? Thursday, we take up the proposal to substitute wood pellets for coal as fuel to generate electrical power. The location is Longview. The company is DRAX. The customers are off-shore. The issues are credibility that only waste wood – not standing timber – will be used. An issue is whether even if waste wood is used exclusively, does burning wood pellets qualify as carbon neutral? An issue is how to manage SW Washington’s forests responsibly to create jobs for wage-earners and their families. An issue is local judgment in weighing nature and jobs versus dictates from Olympia or Seattle. Our guest is Jessica Marcus who graciously has offered to present the case for the project. We will learn about the Longview project, of course, but the issues go beyond Longview and affect us all. Don 12 April 2024 |
| Policy Briefing: Wood Pellet Processing – Sustainable? Southwest Washington is debating an economic development project, again. This time it is a wood pellet production facility. Before that was NW Innovation Works which was to convert fracked natural gas to produce methanol and ship it to China for plastics. The governor vetoed it. Actually, it was Ecology who denied the permits. Before that it was Millennium Bulk Terminals trying to ship coal out of Longview. It, too, failed to get Ecology approval. Will this time go better for the workers and economies of Cowlitz County? Wood pellets as a fuel has its own challenges. Skeptics pose whether burning wood pellets is really carbon neutral as advertised. There are questions, too, about whether there is enough waste wood to supply the proposed plant without harvesting standing timber. DRAX is the proposer. DRAX is rooted in the UK’s coal industry but DRAX is also a leader in the phase out of coal. “In 2003, the UK’s biggest coal power station took its first steps away from the fossil fuel which defined electricity generation for more than a century. It was in that year that Drax Power Station began co-firing biomass as a renewable alternative to coal.” DRAX is an international pioneer in substituting biomass for coal. Cowlitz County is in good company, even if it is not really comfortable. Europe is tied up in knots about biomass. Listen to EU’s green energy spokesperson: “[Franz] Timmermans himself has said that without biomass the EU will be unable to achieve its clean energy goals. ‘We need biomass in the mix, but we need the right biomass . . .’” Sweden, Finland, and Estonia are less conflicted. They lobby that biomass combustion is “sustainable”. Jessica Marcus has generously offered to talk with us about her company’s proposal. There is no question that the DRAX proposal is controversial. This is an opportunity to talk with an advocate. Don 31 March 2024 |
Our Better Practices roundtable is on the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm.. Use the link above for 2024.
Our Policy Series is on the third Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm. Use the link above for 2024.
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