¦PERMITTING permit and on our power purchase agreement with the Public Service Commission— each was an individual action that we had to address and defend separately. They recently implemented some new statutes in Florida where all challenges will be combined into a single-hearing, a single-challenge review. It’s an expedited action, and that will help tremendously in moving the process forward quickly.” Getting Florida Biomass Energy permitted was an overall positive experience
for the company, other than the project challenge, and Jensen attributes that to the attitude of the state of Florida. “They are pro-business,” he says. “The staff and folks in Florida were very supportive, and overall we had a good experience from a permitting standpoint, and that’s working with multiple agencies.” With all permits in hand, Florida Biomass Energy is now nearly ready to break ground. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll be able to obtain financing soon,”
‛People were more willing to accept our project, and they were more willing to help us move our project forward because they saw us as trying to do something positive, rather than trying to skate by with the minimum standards.’ ―Rick Jenson, CEO, Florida Biomass Energy LLC
Jensen says. “We went into full financing mode in the end of 2010, and we hope to obtain it and be able to break ground in the second quarter of 2011.” If that happens, the company plans to take advantage of the federal 1603 Program. “So far, we’re moving in that direction, and that’s our goal,” he says.
Permitting in the Beaver State While Oregon is a biomass-friendly state, it takes quite a bit of time to gain all of the necessary permits for a project; the key permits being air, water and zoning/land use, according to Robert Broberg, president of Biogreen Sustainable Energy Co. Biogreen is developing a 25-megawatt, wood-fired biomass power plant in the city of La Pine in central Oregon. Overall, it took the company about 20 months to acquire its permits at a cost of about $2 million. Broberg points out that this is the company’s first plant, and as with any first run at something, costs usually run higher than second or third attempts. The company estimates the total project will cost between $68 million and $75 million. For the most part, Broberg says the process went pretty well. “We engaged the public early and built a solid rapport with them, and this was key to moving the project through,” he says. “We also were fortunate to have very good consultants and attorneys working on the air, water and land-use critical path items.” Development in Oregon hasn’t been without its setbacks, however. “One problem that arose was a LUBA (Land Use Board of Appeals) appeal, which had
40 BIOMASS POWER & THERMAL | APRIL 2011