Clean Power Development (CPD) is proposing a wood burning power plant for Winchester (across Route 119 from the town’s Sewer Plant). They plan to go before the Board of Selectman on Wednesday, August 11 to give a presentation. Two years ago, Manager, Bill Gabler, came before the selectman with a preliminary proposal.
We recommend that everyone attend to judge for themselves!
A recent magazine article in Wood Bioenergy (3 rd Quarter 2010), writes that a study was conducted by the State of Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. A quote from this article states, “…the study also accurately stated that biomass burning releases more CO2 than oil, coal or natural gas per unit of energy , anti-biomass groups and sadly many mainstream news outlets have latched on to that one small fact in the report to loudly proclaim: ‘Biomass – It’s Worse Than Coal! ’…”
The article continues on to explain the benefits of the CO2 on the environment, “...The Manomet report says that burning biomass results in an initial ‘carbon debt’ from CO2 releases, but over time, as the replanted forest continues to grow, a ‘carbon dividend’ is created that can actually lower greenhouse gases once the initial carbon debt is repaid over time through forest growth – something fossil fuels can never do…” The article does not state how long a period of time this would take, but that it is possible compared to the other energy sources that would fail to accomplish this task.
A study that EOEEA conducted states that if the land were clear-cut to harvest timber for the biomass (which is NOT a common practice( in MA), it would take 100 years for the forest to renew the nutrients lost. Their major concern is the soil & water damage, “… Biomass harvesting will likely cause increased movement of harvesting equipment across the stand. This greater traffic may cause compaction of soils, which can lead to overland flow of water and the movement of sediment and nutrients into streams. Careful layout and construction of roads, and use of slash to protect roadbeds are important practices to reduce compaction… “
We ask that you research both sides and come to the meeting prepared with knowledge and your questions.
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22 comments:
There are people in town that have done a lot of research BEYOND Clean Power's first glowing presentation of the reality of Clean Power's intent. Clean Power and their foreign backers are arrogant entrepreneurs that have only one intent.... to get rich quick and leave. They say they will burn only wood. Their permit on file is for wood waste as well which means telephone poles, chemically treated wood, etc.( carcinogenic) They say they will provide Winchester with electricity. They cannot do that by law.They are currently in a legal battle with PSNH. It has to go to the grid. They say it will provide jobs for Winchester. It will not as the jobs require specific qualifications. They say it is CLEAN...... WRONG. They have since reduced their megawatt level so as to escape state site regulations and inspection and the emission limits allowable ALL are dangerous. The emission releases which are every hour will cause a plume to cover three miles which is RIGHT over downtown and our school!!!! And what about our forests?????? Clean Power stated it is not economical to take wood from more than fifty miles away. So what then???? And what about our local foresters??? Clean Power will destroy the forests and take their money and run. Which brings in another point. If you go on line, they now have foreign investors with the bucks to pay off and break all the rules. These guys ADMITTED they seek out poor towns like Winchester and Berlin under the guise of being benevolent. WRONG. They seek out towns they think they can hood wink and lie to with a pretty picture. Need I say more??? THERE IS NOTHING GREEN ABOUT THESE PLANTS. Mass is about to ban them and have in several communities. Wake up folks. Our selectmen have NOT done their homework as usual!!!! These folks were brought in by John Stetsor and Margaret. Margaret and Gabler are buddies. They have been buying their way in since. And why do you think the town is after Gary Chase's property?? Clean Power needs access from the site to the power station on the Old Westport Road so they can build power lines..... LARGE power lines..... through all the properties between the 119 site and the power station. The town also wants an access road to 119. Also Clean Power has buddies who want to put another DIRTY plant or two on Howard Street. So even if you show up on Wednesday you will again hear lies and a rosy picture. Learn the REAL facts about Clean Power and bio mass. Don't let them in!!!! DES has stated to concerned citizens that two concerns, one town board and one citizen group can stop these entrepreneurs. Show up get involved and stop Clean Power from coming to Winchester.
Take it from us just over the line in Greenfield, MA and neighboring towns: biomass is a BIOMESS! It might work on a very small scale, but most of these proposed plants are from the industry or entrepreneurs looking for a quick buck (and government subsidies) when they flip the incinerators. Biomass incineration is also bad news for your forests (See: http://maforests.org/Biomess.pdf) and your health (see: http://maforests.org/MassMed.pdf).
Beware!
No idea about the power plant, but I was at the first presentation and the presenter came across ed as a conman. On the surface it looked like a good deal for Winchester. Lots of unanswered questions.
Another proposal that we don't need or want in Winchester. Why do we attract all the crappy businesses yet other surrounding towns get the Wal-Marts and high tech businesses? Could it be the people we have in office like birds of a feather can only get those with no benefits to our town to come here?
My pappy always said to me if it looks like, feels like and smells like it, leave it alone. We don't need a business to come in here and cut down all our trees and make a bigger mess of this town than what it already is.
The important thing is that VERY soon we will have no choice about Clean Power. DES says if we organize and request a site approval by the state we can keep them out. If we do nothing they get to do whatever they wamt. Also Clean Power has expressed that they will not go where they are not wanted so SHOW UP and let them know they are not wanted and to take their foreign investment money elsewhere and contaminate some other town.
The reason why we don't get the good business like the Walmarts and high tech businesses is because the leadership of this town are afraid of them. If business comes in they lose their power and can't hide behind their deceptive ways. They won't be able to pull the wool over the eyes of business and businesses attorneys like they and their attorneys think they are doing now. It wouldn't be surprising to learn someday that Bart Mayer and the gang are really protecting their hides too and don't really give a hoot about Winchester other than the money they are willing to turn over for bad advice.
This issue will surly bring the Clamshell Alliance hairy armpit, granola eating, left wingers out from under their rocks. Where the Hell were you when the oil burning 2 stroke motorcycles came to town to race. The carbon oil burning motocross bikes produce more carbon in one race day then this plant will produce in a month. I guess that is OK with you people.
I have visited wood burning plants in Penn and it only admits a puff of steam every once in while. These people will give the town enough tax dollars so we can just, maybe be able to rebuild our high school.
Your fears of the sky is falling is maybe premature, lets wait and see what they have to say first before we cry Chicken Little.
Perhaps the fact that a huge showing of the Beaman Clan attended the meeting to support the timber industry is indication number one as to where this project will lead.
Plus, do some research folks...who owns / owned the land that they are proposing to build on?
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out.
Our illustrious business owner & new Pickle Festival Chairman, John Pasquarelli, asked - "So, what kind of improvements to our town can you propose?"
Was that a bribe, John?
Cheers to our next selectmen John Pasquarelli. I wished he would come back and blog for us. We need a good laugh. John will fits right in with the selectmen we have now.
Looks like the last year for the pickle fest, or maybe we can vote in $10,ooo. for next year.
Hi folks,
Don't fall for this scam! We, in Greenfield, continue to fight this beast. Madera Energy wanted to use our waste water to cool the towers and we fought it and defeated it through a referendum. Go to greenfieldbiomass.info for all kinds of expert reports and check out the ones about the waste water. Whe asked about the 1 BILLION LBS of CO2 per year that would be released over Greenfield, the developer told us that our "air quality would not change because he could purchase offsets". They will tell you anything to get there money.
You know Devo you have made me re-think this project. I think your right1
There is way more going on behind the scenes than most folks think. The folks who stand to make the money from land deals, etc, etc. were all there as well. Money talks and the Big Boys ain't walkin...... For those who were at the public discussion, hope you checked out the scene afterwards and saw what happened. Thanks Julia for presenting alternatives to the Selectmen just having to knuckle under to pressure. Thanks Northfield and Greenfield people for your concern. You have the right as you fall within the "plume" radius and they will use your roads and your forests,etc. And do you really think they care about Winchester once they make their money......especially the foreign backers???? Think again
Just a word of caution. Presently CPD and a company called Laidlaw BioPower are trying to build biomass plants in Berlin. However, there is an limited capacity on the grid in the area. Only one of these entities will be able to build. There has been much infighting between the two companies with anonymous posters spreading untrue information on various local blogs. These same posters may post here pretending to be Winchester residents. CPD has proposed a 29 MW plant and Laidlaw a 70MW plant. I'm just warning you to beware of all posts and only trust the ones that you know are from Winchester and the surrounding towns. Thanks
Trust has gone out the window in this town. Honest information is not heard and things get more and more distorted. And if you think there was nothing going on behind the scenes after seeing the "after glow" meeting after the selectmen's meeting, hope you saw the helicopter flying over the power lines already this AM. They are moving fast.
Even if Margaret doesn't sign any legal document at closing with the Beamans and the wood generated power plant purchase of their property, a lawyer could conceivably argue that she had hand in pushing through this sale. She was given credit many times last night by CPD for handling the agreement and they expressed how pleased they would be to have her office in charge of the permitting process.
First of all - The last post refering to the helicopter . . . CPD had absolutely nothing to do with that.
Now to try and address a few of the items of misunderstanding or mis-statements on this board.
It has never been our intent to get rich and leave. As I said at the meeting, we are going to build and operate the plant for years to come. We are both builders and operators and there are absolutely no plans to sell the project to anyone.
The comment that our permit is on file for wood waste is absolutely incorrect. We have not even begun to fill out the air permit.
We are not in a "legal battle" with PSNH. We have filed a complaint with the state Public Utilities Commission that PSNH has refused to talk with us about buying power from the Berlin plant. That is improper on a number of levels and violates their charter as a public utility.
Regarding jobs. The poster says that Winchester residents won't qualify because the jobs require special qualifications. Sorry, that is incorrect. As I indicated at last nights meeting, some of the jobs do require special qualifications, such as engineer, welder, electrician, but I'm sure that there are Winchester residents with those qualifications. Beyond those, there are a number of jobs that are open to all, such as office assistant, loader operator, maintenance workers, etc.
As to the allegation that we will destroy the forest, that is absolutely a baseless charge. Plants of exactly this size have been operating in New Hampshire for 25 years without any adverse impacts on the forest. In fact, foresters have reported that the market for low grade wood has enhanced forestry management, by allowing loggers to dispose of the weed trees.
The comment that we now have foreigh investors with enough money to pay people off is so incorrect that it does not justify a response other than categorically denying any such intention.
MA has not banned plants such as these and has no intention of doing so.
Margaret and Gabler are buddies . . . ? I don't even know how to begin to respond to that. I have spoken with Margaret, I think it may be about 6 times in my life. 3 that I can recall in her office regarding town regulations and getting a copy of the town zoning ordinance. Once in the parking lot that was mostly a social conversation and once at a selectmans meeting. An aquaintance, yes,but not a buddy.
Gary Chase's property? We have nothing to do with that and I don't even know who Mr. Chase is or where he lives. Sorry, way off base there.
That's enough for now. We'll see if this actually gets posted. If it does, please rest assured that I am always open to giving you the honest facts and will make myself available at any location, any time to discuss this project and every facet of it.
Bill Gabler 224-4053
bill@cleanpowerdevelopment.us
Why would you not think we'd post your comments? You've evidently been talking to someone at town hall to make a statement like that.
Will you be paying property taxes on this plant and land Bill or will CPD register as a utility?
Just how many jobs will this endeavor create for Winchester residents that are not loggers?
Won't this plant promote more clear cutting of our forests and the destruction of green space seeing as how it will encourage loggers to not only truck in the tree tops they once left behind but also to cut down softwood trees and dead wood they would not have bothered with before leaving the land open to the elements?
How does the average citizen in the town of Winchester benefit from this plant being built here, Bill?
.. more questions to come ( If he answers these )
The reason behind the statement concerning whether or not my statements would get posted stemmed not from anything I heard from anybody in Winchester, but rather a previous experience with a similarly controlled blog.
We will be paying property taxes. We will be considered a utility, but that has nothing to do with our tax status. We will be paying both local and state property taxes, though the amount of those taxes is unknown at this time.
Jobs - as we have not yet designed the project, I don't have an exact number yet. I can say that our Berlin project will employ 23. So, based on that I'd project the Winchester project will likely employ 20-23 workers in the power plant.
The pellet mill that we are planning adjacent to the power plant would likely employ an additional 25 or so.
The fuel will be supplied by approximately 100 foresters, loggers and truckers who will be employed to bring us fuel. Annually we will anticipate paying in the range of $6-$8 million for that fuel, which will then have compounding impact as it is respent in the community.
As to whether or not this plant will promote more clear cutting . . . the clear answer is that we have nothing to do with the actual logging operation, or what decisions land owners make with regards to their timber.
We will, however, incentivise those landowners who manage their forest.
We will also require that all loggers comply with long term, sustainable silvaculture. That process requires leaving a minimum of 1/3 of the tops/limbs/debris on the ground for long term soil viability. There are also requirements regarding leaving a number of dead snags, near dead trees and other such items for wildlife habitat.
Perhaps it is important to note that there is currently no market in the region for this low grade biomass. As a result, the weed trees and much of the debris is currently left in the forest, which actually leads to long term degredation of the forest. By providing a market for this wood, we allow the forester to "weed the garden" and improve the overall value.
Additionally, leaving all the debris actually hinders growth of new trees, much like the layers of mulch in a flower bed inhibit growth. So, by removing some of the debris, it actually promotes regrowth.
The question of how the average citizen benefits is difficult to answer succinctly. Perhaps a quick list of some of the aspects:
- Tax base for our project, as well as the other affiliated businesses looking to colocate with us
- Jobs
20-23 in the power plant
25+/- in the pellet mill
~100 foresters, loggers, truckers
perhaps dozens more in greenhouses, and other C/I facilities
- Community benefits, such as supporting various groups and activities
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