Foresters Fight for Biomass Plants

There's been plenty of opposition to biomass plants that burn wood to create electricity. Now, supporters are getting organized and promising big benefits if the state allows the power plants to be built in Russell and Greenfield.

Massachusetts is the eighth most forested state in the country. The logging industry here in Western Mass says that's proof there are more than enough trees to fuel Biomass plants, without harming the environment.

"It will be creating more jobs, creating more money for the economy, it goes right up the line," says Kenneth Lynds, president of the Massachusetts Wood Producers Association.

He also says not to worry. We live in one of the most tree-covered states in the country. But we don't harvest the wood like other states do, and that creates an opportunity to grow the number of forestry jobs by logging more land.

"Every product that comes out will help offset the cost and provide profit," says James Kelly, chairman of the Massachusetts Association of Professional Foresters. "Loggers can continue and the opportunities for young loggers to come in and find the resource and know they can make money."

But plans to build biomass plants that burn logs to generate electricity have hit opposition in Russell and Greenfield. Residents are worried about air quality, because burning creates pollution.

But foresters say the study protesters point to, which was put out by the Deval Patrick Administration, wrongly compares state-of-the-art biomass facilities with coal-fired power plants.

"They misinterpreted it. They need to look at it, rethink it," Lynds says.

With job creation, foresters say biomass isn't just helping the economy. It's also helping the environment. When trees are cut down, Mother Nature will replenish the forest with new trees to capture enough carbon to balance out carbon released when trees are harvested. So in the long run, wood is better than coal.

"It is actually better for the carbon cycling than coal or oil or any of the fossil fuels," Kelly says.

The foresters hope that people will keep an open mind to biomass and consider the benefits for the state's forest industry if they're built.

SOURCE: CBS 3 Springfield - One Monarch Place, Suite 300 - Springfield, MA 01144-7012