Progress Energy and a partner plan to build a biomass power plant (FL)

[jpak]

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/07/26/Business/Electricity_from_wood.shtml

Biomass Gas & Electric Co., an Atlanta-based alternative energy producer, confirmed Wednesday that it will partner with Progress Energy Florida to build one of the state's first, and possibly the largest, power plant that will convert wood waste into electricity.

The process takes untreated wood waste, untreated sawmill residue, municipal solid waste (including animal waste) and energy crops - collectively called biomass - and superheats the material. What's left is a synthetic natural gas that can be used as a direct substitute for fossil fuels used to produce energy.

BG&E officials said the Florida plant will generate about 75 megawatts of electricity a day, or enough to power about 75,000 homes, by 2011.

St. Petersburg-based Progress Energy has 14 power plants that produce about 9,000 megawatts of electricity for nearly 1.7-million customers. Most of those plants are fueled by oil, coal, gas and nuclear power.

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[LSK]

1. how much wood waste is there???

Would this encourage more chopping down trees? We need MORE trees.

:shrug: