Discuss Co-op Power's involvement with the use of biomass for heating and CH&Power plants for municipal and commercial buildings in Franklin County. This mtg was originally planned for Feb. 22 but was postponed due to snow. 

Bruce Spencer, one of the organizers writes:

The Franklin Regional Council of Governments recently proposed that we need to consume less energy, especially imported energy, and yet gave very few suggestions on how we can do this except to drive less and reduce ones consumption of electricity, all good suggestions. But no mention was made of supporting and urging Erving Paper (largest consumer of electricity in Franklin County) to use biomass for a combined heat and power plant or for Greenfield Community College to use biomass similar to Mt. Wachusetts Community College and eliminating the budget busting cost of imported energy. No mention was made of how a state program in Vermont has resulted in dozens of schools being heated with local wood chips.

Using our underutilized but limited supply of biomass makes not only economic sense but security sense. Our rural county is blessed with an abundance of forest which allows us an option that other more populated places do not have. Forest ownership is predominantly private and forest products coming from these lands are usually exported, much like a third world country. Forest and community have become disconnected and conversion of land to other uses benefits from this disconnect. Collectively our thousands of landowners are crucial to helping our county become sustainable and a strong reason for continued ownership.

Information is available on the amount of sustainable biomass available in Franklin County. Lets get together to develop a strategy to bring about the use of this biomass and begin the walk along the road to sustainability.

February 22 at 3pm at the CDC, 324 Wells Street, Greenfield