The California Senate unanimously passed the Forest Organic Residue, Energy and Safety Transformation (FOREST) and Wildfire Prevention Act, paving the way for a new state programme aimed at maintaining and expanding biomass power generation, On August 26, Biomass Magazine reported.
The legislation, known as AB 706, was first introduced in February and has undergone several amendments. The California Assembly approved an earlier version of the bill in June. The amended version passed by the Senate will now return to the Assembly for consideration.
The proposed legislation would establish the FOREST programme to maintain and expand biomass power generation in California, bring idle biomass power facilities back into operation and support existing facilities by creating additional power generation capacity.
Under the programme, electricity generated from solid fuel biomass would qualify for reimbursement at an incentive rate set by a state agency, provided the facility uses solid fuel biomass or forest biomass waste as feedstock. The eligible forest biomass waste must come from sustainable forestry management activities and cannot originate from land subject to clearcut silvicultural practices.
At least 60% of the feedstock used by participating facilities would also have to come from Tier 1 and Tier 2 high hazard zones.
The programme would cover eligible electricity generated from January 1, 2027. The electricity must be produced within California and sold to a retail seller in the state. Eligible buyers would include community choice aggregators, locally owned public electric utilities, electric corporations and rural electric cooperatives.
Eligible facilities would have to be located in Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Del Norte, El Dorado, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo or Yuba counties.
Facilities located outside these counties could also qualify if they meet emission limits that are equal to or more stringent than the applicable best available retrofit control technology standards, as determined by the local air pollution control district or air quality management district.
The California Biomass Energy Alliance is among several organisations that have endorsed the legislation.
