Biomass power IS coming to town (Tallahassee, FL 35 MW plant)

[jpak]

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070121/OPINION05/701210302/1006/OPINION

Mark Twain is known for saying, “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” I had the same thought last week as I read the Jan. 16 Democrat editorial “Try Again” lamenting the loss of bioÂmass power for Tallahassee and stating that the Tallahassee City Commission had rejected locating this “green” energy option in the city.

To be clear, the reported death of a bioÐmass power plant in our region in the editorial has been greatly exaggerated.

The city's agreement to buy all of the bioÐmass power produced by BioÐmass Gas & Electric Company (BG&E) is, in fact, alive and well and was actually approved - not rejected - by the commission on Oct. 11. In addition, on Jan. 10, the City Commission confirmed its commitment to the BG&E deal and voted 4-1 in favor of approving an agreement that would provide Florida State University revenue if the plant is built on FSU-owned property and the university agrees to become a part of the city's plan to reduce power consumption.

Consideration of additional alternative energy projects has been ongoing for the past several years as part of the city's Integrated Resource Plan, which includes diversification of the city's energy sources and aggressive demand-side initiatives to promote conservation and alternative forms of energy.

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