View of Russell Biomass power plant site from Main Street Bridge over Westfield River.
Charcoal is being manufactured at the foot of Mt. Shatterack in Russell at the Richmond Iron Company, as seen from across the Westfield River, just behind the old railroad station. This is the site of the proposed Russell Biomass power plant.
FAQ
- What is renewable energy?
- What is biomass?
- How is biomass a renewable energy source?
- Is it possible to cut power plant pollution and still have enough electricity?
- What causes global warming?
- What can I do to stop global warming?
- Why build such a large industrial facility in a small, rural community?
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Q: What is renewable energy?
A. See our Renewable Energy page.
Q: What is Biomass?
A: Simply defined, biomass is all trees and plant material, or vegetation, either raw or processed, wild or cultivated. Essentially, biomass is stored solar energy that man can convert to electricity, fuel, and heat. Through photosynthesis the energy from the sun is stored in the chemical bonds of the tree and plant material. Crops that make good energy resources have a high yield of dry material and use minimal land; the crop should also generate more energy than its production consumes. To many people, the most familiar forms of renewable energy are the wind and the sun. But biomass supplies almost 15 times as much energy in the United States as wind and solar power combined -- and has the potential to supply much more.
It is the oldest source of renewable energy known to humans, used since our ancestors learned the secret of fire.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection defines "wood fuel" (biomass) in 310 CMR 7.00 as: "Wood fuel means all wood intended to be used as fuel included but not limited to trees, cord wood, logs, lumber, saw dust, and wood from: manufacturing processes (but-offs, shavings, turning, sander dust, etc.), wood pellets, slabs, bark, chips, waste pallets, boxes, etc. This definition does not include materials which are chemically treated with any preservative, paint or oil."
Q: How is biomass a renewable energy source?
A: Biomass is a renewable energy source because the energy it contains comes from the sun. Through the process of photosynthesis, chlorophyll in plants captures the sun's energy by converting carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground into carbohydrates, complex compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. When these carbohydrates are burned, they turn back into carbon dioxide and water and release the sun's energy they contain. In this way, biomass functions as a sort of natural battery for storing solar energy. As long as biomass is produced sustainably - with only as much used as is grown - the battery will last indefinitely.
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists
Q: Is it possible to cut power plant pollution and still have enough electricity?
A: Yes. First, we must use more efficient appliances and equipment in our homes and offices to reduce our electricity needs. We can also gradually replace the decades-old, coal-burning power plants that generate much of our electricity and replace them with cleaner plants. To do this we must increase our use of renewable energy sources such as wind, sun and biomass. Some states are moving in this direction: California has required its largest utilities to obtain 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2017, and New York has pledged to compel power companies to provide 25 percent of the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2013. Massachusetts requires the state's private utilities to purchase a minimum of 4 percent of their electric energy from renewable energy sources by 2009.
Renewable Energy Trends
Figure H1 is a pie chart showing that renewable energy is 6 percent of the nation's energy supply in 2004, of which 47 percent is biomass, 45 percent conventional hydroelectric, 6 percent geothermal, 2 percent wind and 1 percent solar.
Source: Energy Information Administration
Q: What causes Global Warming?
A: Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollution collects in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm up. Coal-burning power plants are the largest U.S. source of carbon dioxide pollution; they produce 2.5 billion tons every year. Automobiles, the second largest source, create nearly 1.5 billion tons of CO2 annually.
Here's the good news: technologies exist today to make cars that run cleaner and burn less gas, modernize power plants and generate electricity from nonpolluting sources, and cut our electricity use through energy efficiency. The challenge is to be sure these solutions are put to use.
Climate change is real. There will always be uncertainty in understanding a system as complex as the world's climate. However there is now strong evidence that significant global warming is occurring. The evidence comes from direct measurements of rising surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures and from phenomena such as increases in average global sea levels, retreating glaciers, and changes to many physical and biological systems. It is likely that most of the warming in recent decades can be attributed to human activities. This warming has already led to changes in the Earth's climate.
Source: From the Joint Statement on Climate Change - National Science Academy
Q. What can I do to stop global warming?
A. See our What You Can Do page.
Q: Why build such a large industrial facility in a small, rural community?
A: The 100-year-old industrial site, the former home of Westfield River Paper Company, on Station Road across the Westfield River from the Russell waste water treatment plant is an ideal site. The renewable energy power plant will be built on 20 of 70 acres owned by Westfield Paper Lands. Most of the remaining 50 acres will remain undeveloped. The availability of plentiful water supplies from the adjacent Westfield River for cooling and access to the Western Massachusetts Electric power grid via a pre-existing transmission right-of-way makes the site an excellent fit. See the map below.