WildEarth Guardians

Sunday, August 5, 2007
Biomass Fuel and N.M. a Bad Idea

Some opponents question whether there should be a biomass plant in New Mexico
Contact: Jack King Albuquerque Journal

Former State Land Commissioner Jim Baca, who ran unsuccessfully against Pat Lyons for the post in 2006, said he is against a plant like the one proposed south of Estancia "because they're taking organic matter that takes 100 years to grow.

"Maybe if (the plant) had another crop that was more renewable, or if it was producing fuel, like ethanol. But it's not a good idea in the arid west to be burning our trees."

Jack Maddox, co-owner of Western Water and Power, makes a case for the project.

"The real issue is that biomass is cleaner than either coal or natural gas," he said.

"Even if you ignore the benefits of disposing of vegetation that otherwise would be burned or decay in the open air, biomass is about 80 percent cleaner than coal."

But Bryan Bird, director of public lands for WildEarth Guardians, asked: "Is forest biomass, the burning of forests for electricity, appropriate for a very dry, hot, environment, such as the Southwest, New Mexico in particular?

"It's very water intensive and it needs a lot of trees to burn."

He also said the Western Water and Power plant "is scaled up way too large."

Maddox said there is enough biomass fuel available for his plant without going into national forests or into environmentally sensitive places like drainage areas.

Bird and other opponents argue solar and wind energy are cleaner.

Maddox counters: "Given the same tax breaks, solar energy is about four times more expensive than biomass. Wind is actually about one to two cents cheaper per kilowatt, but it's not constant and you always have to have a backup.

Maddox said the plant would use about 400 acre-feet of water a year, but he hopes to co-locate with a greenhouse to share water and disperse heat.

"With a 100-acre greenhouse we could reduce our water use as much as 50 percent," he said.

"We won't be using additional water to what's already being used in the area. We've signed a contract to purchase water from a local farmer."

Copyright 2007 Albuquerque Journal - Reprinted with permission