Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Tom Emero, who is the managing partner of Beaver Wood Energy, the firm developing the Fair Haven Energy Center.
This is in response to the March 14 op-ed by Rebecca Ryan,in which she notes that several diseases and health issues have been linked to particulate matter (PM) pollution, and then implies that the combustion of woody biomass to generate electricity is the primary cause of PM pollution in the state and that the expanded use of biomass to generate electricity will greatly exacerbate the situation for Vermonters.
We understand Ms. Ryan’s concern for the health of the citizens of Vermont, but the assertions in her op-ed about biomass energy are simply not supported by the facts.
The VT-DEC reports that in a recent year a total of 4,580 tons of PM was emitted in Vermont as a result of the combustion of woody biomass. Of this total, 93 percent, or 4,263 tons, came from the burning of woody biomass such as cordwood and pellets in stoves, fireplaces, etc. for home heating needs, not biomass electric generation. The high percentage of the total PM emissions in the state from these sources reflects the fact that these combustion systems generally have no control over the emissions of particulate matter.
The next two largest contributors to particulate emissions are industrial and institutional users (314 tons, or 6.8 percent). These sources are larger boilers in colleges, schools and other similar industrial uses, which typically have some controls in place to limit PM emissions.
Finally, the combustion of woody biomass to generate electricity was responsible for the emissions of less than 0.1 percent (3 tons) of Vermont’s total PM emissions. This negligible contribution reflects the effectiveness of the sophisticated PM control devices in operation at our biomass generation facilities (McNeil and Ryegate). Any future biomass generating stations in Vermont will be required to use the best available control technology to control the emissions of PM. The effectiveness of these control devices have continued to improve since the McNeil and Ryegate facilities were built those many years ago, so we can expect the same or better negligible PM emissions from any future plants as from these existing units.
The emissions from any proposed biomass facility must demonstrate compliance with ambient air quality standards set to protect human health and the environment, which cannot be said for residential woodstoves/fireplaces, backyard furnaces, agricultural burning, etc. that produce the majority of PM emissions and thus have a much greater impact on the health of local populations.
If you look objectively at the facts about the emissions of PM from the various combustors of woody biomass, it is evident that its use to generate electricity is appropriately regulated and fully aligned with everyone’s goal of protecting Vermonters health and wellbeing.
