Loophole foreshadowing: Florida PSC approves Gainesville biomass plant
Posted May 28, 2010 in Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming
I know nothing about this plant, but in the context of my two most recent blogs on the biomass loophole and its relationship with the definition of renewable biomass, I note with alarm two parts of this helpful blog on the approval of a biopower plant in FL.
First there's this:
But opponent Paula Stahmer told The Florida Tribune the vote would hurt GRU customers and encourage landowners to replace natural forests with rows of pine trees to provide fuel for the plant.
That type of conversion of a natural forest to a plantation is exactly part of what the existing definition of renewable biomass would prevent and why Congress shouldn't gut it.
Then there's this:
Gainesville residents Dian Deevey and Paula Stahmer asked the PSC this week to delay action because they said a new federal greenhouse gas emissions rule would apply to the plant, raising the cost of electricity. But the commission voted to reject the request after PSC's legal staff said federal officials assured them that the plant wouldn't be subject to the new rule if it receives its federal air permit by Jan. 2, 2011.
Rushing ahead to build something just so you can avoid regulations isn't the sign of a clear conscience. Obviously the loophole would actually encourage projects like this even if the GHG balance is bad. But Florida regulators should do the carbon accounting themselves and not hang their hat on the promise of bad federal policy.
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Comments
Russ Finley — May 29 2010 12:32 PM
In the movie Idiocracy, lobbyists of the future put in place government mandated the use of Gatorade for crop irrigation.
How our government can keep screwing up like this is almost funny, in a gallows humor sort of way. To date, we have only made global warming worse.
Meg — May 29 2010 11:35 PM
Let's call it what it is: an incinerator that burns trees for electricity.
Saying it's a "biopower plant" is greenwashing a really bad idea.
Paula Stahmer — May 30 2010 03:08 PM
Dear Mr. Greene,
The PSC staff were in error in advising the PSC that the new EPA Rule would not apply to the biomass plant under consideration. My own written motion quoted directly from the new Rule which explicitly states that plants such as the Gainesville one will be subject to CO2 regulation as of July 2011 even if they already have a PSD permit. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Alternatively, you can access a copy of my motion, and Petitioners' lame response, at the PSC site. The relevant docket number is 090451-EM. My motion was filed around May 24.
PHS