Calif. bill gives biomass industry a boost
By Nathan Solis, Redding Record Searchlight
Biomass facilities across the state banked their future on Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing of Senate Bill 859 on Wednesday, which gives energy providers incentive to consider bioenergy and purchase electricity from those plants.
The bill will allow bioenergy plants to stay in business or at least that is the hope. Contract negotiations between power companies and bioenergy plants will work out the details of who will stay afloat. Current contracts with power companies with will term out by the end of this year, leaving many biomass plants scrambling to sign new deals.
SB859, along with Assembly Bill 1613 signed on Wednesday, provides direction on the spending of $900 million in cap-and-trade funding. SB 859 gives bioenergy the type of incentive solar and wind power enjoys.
