TIM ECHOLS: Why biomass energy matters for Georgia

Woody Biomass energy is something Georgia is blessed with. It allows us to use homegrown wood residuals that would otherwise be burned or landfilled to provide additional reliable power for Georgia. We may pay a little more, but the benefits for our electric system and our state are worth it.

Recently, the Georgia Public Service Commission approved three biomass contracts at paper and pulp mills in south Georgia. These contracts are somewhat more expensive than coal or gas but represent only a tiny fraction of our total generation, yet they’re very important to our state: Here’s why.

Georgia is a top forestry state — and a “major player known for sustainable forestry practices” according to Valeria Reed with the Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technology Office. Pine trees are planted, they grow for decades, and then they get harvested, and finally, replanted. Just like crops. The pine tree is a treasure trove of resources — in making lumber, paper, filters, cartons, turpentine, rosin, oils, wood tars, ethanol and even everyday products like toothpaste and shampoo. All of the tree can be used.

When that tall, straight tree is hauled away, the “logging slash” (limbs and tops of trees) remains on the ground. Without our PSC action, all harvested materials not taken from the field are burned or left to rot. They cause fugitive emissions from their decay and release methane, CO2 and particulates as they are burned in piles. The contracts we just approved allow this “logging slash,” along with tree bark and sawdust from mills, to be recovered and used for power — bolstering the power grid with new electricity. The cost associated with getting this material to mills is often prohibitive — without this program. Georgia landowners benefit by opening new markets for this previously unused harvesting debris.

Rural economic development is top of mind for many in our state — especially for our governor and rural legislators who are tasked with improving life outside of bustling metro Atlanta. If you drive through the more forested parts of our state, you quickly see that good jobs are often hard to find. When our commission approves a long-term contract for biomass energy, it ensures that entrepreneurs who own logging equipment have three decades of work to do. They become part of the energy ecosystem, bringing a local fuel, namely wood debris, to a plant owned by companies like Westrock, Georgia Pacific, Graphic Packaging, International Paper or RYAM. That energy goes right back onto the Georgia Power grid, too — providing needed reliability for everyone.

Cost is no doubt a factor, but it isn’t the only factor. With Vogtle, it was a bankruptcy of Westinghouse that drove up the low, projected cost at the beginning of the project. The Ukraine War caused natural gas prices to skyrocket for a moment and triggered a big surcharge on power bills. Who knows what pitfalls await us in the future? So for me, when I see an opportunity to acquire some additional megawatts from a fuel locally sourced, that at the same time benefits rural Georgia entrepreneurs trying to make a living — well, I grab it. We have done this with solar and battery storage — giving us a measure of energy independence when coupled with our nuclear reactors, and this new biomass energy.

Opponents of this measure are concerned with burning wood, but according to the Georgia Forestry Commission, we are growing 48% more timber-volume than we are harvesting. The trees we are planting now grow faster than the trees we planted 40 years ago due to improved genetics, too. And using every part of every tree helps ensure healthy and sustainable forests that eat CO2 all day and all night — benefiting our air quality. Georgia is also the home of Lanzajet “Freedom Pines,” which is the nation’s first alcohol to sustainable aviation fuel refinery.

We all have a lot to be proud of in Georgia, and our infrastructure is like a magnet drawing more economic prosperity to our state. Our ports, Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, the reliable grid anchored by a nuclear plant no one thought we could finish, car plants like Kia and Hyundai, winning sports teams, Fintech, our universities and even world class athletic facilities like Augusta National and the Benz. No wonder people want to move to Georgia, and they are going to keep coming.