Particulate Matter (PM 2.5) from Biomass Plant Stack Will be Less Than One Home Wood Stove.

Because of its superior combustion conditions the Russell Biomass Project will be approximately 100 times cleaner than an EPA-certified woodstove in terms of the emissions per pound of wood burned or million BTUs of heat input.

Click Wood Stove Comparsion report to read complete analysis by Tech Environmental.

The American Lung Association, in its policy recommendations to the Environmental Protection Agency, states that "in most areas of the country, wood combustion is the largest source of particulate air pollutions (PM) generated at the residential level. Indeed, in some localities fireplaces and woodstoves have been identified as the source of 80% or more of all ambient particles smaller than 2.5 microns."

Click ALA Woodstove Positio for the ALA's complete postion statement.

The Results Are In:
Our Environmental and Health Studies Hold Up

The Westfield Evening News put it this way: "The facts and data have been crunched and the reviews are in - the proposed $150 million, 50 megawatt biomass power plant in Russell is 'environmentally safe.'" That report followed an Oct. 4 public presentation in which Alternative Resources, Inc., the Concord-based environmental consulting firm hired by the Town of Russell to conduct an independent review of all impact studies prepared by Russell Biomass, released its findings. ARI found that Russell Biomass will have no adverse health or environmental impacts.

In other words, ARI, a company hired by the town to investigate and address concerns raised by project opponents (and selected with no input from Russell Biomass), confirmed that fears about our plant causing health or environmental harm are scientifically unfounded.

Click ARI Report for a complete copy of this report.

Air Impacts

River Impacts

Westfield River

Traffic Impacts

Truck Traffic

Issues

Citizens' Concerns

The Plant

IMPACTS

There's no point in pretending that Russell Biomass, or any other power plant, can generate electricity free of impacts. The key questions, once you've moved beyond the question of how renewable energy stacks up against fossil fuels and nuclear, are: What are the potential impacts of our renewable energy plant? And how and to what extent can these impacts be mitigated?

Through the processes of preparing to build and applying for permits for Russell Biomass, we have funded careful, scientific study into every area of potential impact. Our studies have been carefully scrutinized by regulators from multiple state agencies and were reviewed by a neutral, third-party environmental firm selected independently by the Town of Russell without any Russell Biomass involvement. Our state-of-the-art plant, which will employ the best available environmental control technology, will cause no adverse health or environmental impacts. In fact, the Russell Biomass generating plant will be the tightest permitted and safest biomass plant in New England history.