Biomass plant grant formally announced

The U.S. Forest Service formally announced it would give a $250,000 grant to the Nevada Forest Service to help collect biomass for a Northern Nevada Correctional Center wood-fired power plant.

The Nevada Department of Corrections said in the Nevada Appeal last month that the grant would help the plant be successful.

"We, the Forest Service, fully understand the challenges of delivering affordable biomass due to the rising fuels costs incurred to collect and haul the biomass," Ed Monnig, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Supervisor, said in a statement. "NDF's proposal was an innovative and collaborative interagency solution to decrease overall biomass supply costs."

Pete Anderson, Nevada's State Forester and Fire Warden, also praised the grant that could help bring up to 6,000 tons of biomass from fuels treatments on the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park, Bureau of Land Management, state, tribal and private lands.

"This grant provides a cost-effective way to remove biomass from small-scale forestry operations that are having difficulty disposing of biomass," he said in a statement. "It's essentially a double benefit - biomass can be more effectively moved off site to ultimately help fuel the Northern Nevada Correctional Center's power plant."