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September 9, 2016 CapitalPress.com 11 Coal plant to try full day of biomass Company to supply 8,000 tons of material By GEORGE PLAVEN EO Media Group BOARDMAN, Ore. — Cleaning up forest clutter might be good for more than just curtailing large wildires in Oregon. It might just be the answer Portland General Electric is looking for to convert the Boardman Coal Plant to 100 percent biomass. Later this year, PGE will use only woody debris to power the station for one full day as the utility continues to test alternative fuels at the 550-megawatt facility. A suc- cessful test burn was conduct- ed last year at Boardman using a 10-to-1 mix of coal and bio- mass, which has project lead- ers optimistic. But this will be the irst time the plant is fed exclusively biomass for 24 straight hours, which will go a long way toward determining whether the plan is feasible long-term. The future remains uncer- tain at Oregon’s only remain- ing coal-ired power plant. Rather than install expensive Portland General Electric’s coal-ired plant in Boardman, Ore.. new emission controls, PGE has decided to either convert the station to cleaner burning biomass, or shut it down by 2020. Wayne Lei, director of re- search and development for PGE, said biomass is an in- triguing though challenging concept for Boardman. First, to feed biomass into the plant’s pulverizers, it must undergo a process called torrefaction — similar to making charcoal, or roasting coffee beans. The result is a dry, crispy material that can be ground up and burned as fuel. “It’s about a half-step be- low making charcoal,” Lei said. At its peak generating ca- pacity, the Boardman Coal Plant blasts through roughly 300 tons of coal every hour. Since torreied biomass be- haves similarly to coal, that means it will take 8,000 tons to keep the facility humming for a full day. To get that kind of sup- ply, PGE has partnered with a EO Media Group File newly incorporated company called Oregon Torrefaction, which will use small-diameter and beetle-killed trees to create the inal product. The full day test burn will be conducted lat- er this year. Oregon Torrefaction regis- tered as a beneit corporation with the state July 1, incorpo- rating environmental quality into its bottom line. Its partners include the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Bonneville En- vironmental Foundation and Ochoco Lumber Co., based in Prineville, Ore. Bruce Daucsavage, presi- dent of Ochoco Lumber, said their goal is to prove torreied biomass can become a viable and sustainable commercial business in Oregon, providing rural jobs while also improv- ing forest health. “There’s so much inter- est in this,” Daucsavage said. “The technology is already proven.” With the decline of the tim- ber markets, Ochoco Lumber now owns the last remaining sawmill in John Day, Ore. The company was rejuvenated in 2012 by a 10-year stewardship contract with the Malheur Na- tional Forest, purchasing wood off federal restoration projects at fair market value. However, Daucsavage said a signiicant portion of what’s harvested from those projects can’t be used at the lumber mill. The trees are either too small or too damaged to make boards. They could be chipped, but those markets aren’t worth enough for Ochoco Lumber to turn a proit. On the other hand, if the clutter isn’t harvested, it will simply dry out and become nothing more than kindling for explosive wildires, like last year’s Canyon Creek Com- plex. Torrefaction could be the solution, Daucsavage said, especially if biomass can gain traction as a coal substitute. “It’s a really interesting green story,” he said. The majority of biomass for the PGE project will come off national forests, Daucsav- age said. Oregon Torrefaction is installing a large torreier at a chipping yard in the Port of Morrow, and from there the material will be trucked eight miles to the Boardman Coal Plant. It will take approximate- ly 800 truckloads to deliver all 8,000 tons of biomass. Daucsavage said they hope to start torrefaction in the next few days. “The idea is to in- vest dollars back into forest health and rural communi- ties,” Daucsavage said. Matt Krumenauer of Sa- lem is the CEO of Oregon Torrefaction. He said the proj- ect with PGE is a perfect op- portunity to see if the markets for biomass and utilities can match. “PGE was already plan- ning to cease coal operations,” Krumenauer said. “They’ve been the most progressive and most interested in seeing if this could be a viable al- ternative energy solution for them.” Potato truck takes to Hudson River during New York visit By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press John O’Connell/Capital Press A grain truck is loaded with wheat early in harvest in American Falls, Idaho, on July 27. A study recently released by USDA’s Economic Research Service says approximately 39 percent of farmland in the contiguous 48 states is rented, including more than half of the cropland. More farmland rented by established operators By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press A survey of U.S. farmland ownership shows much of it is farmed by people who don’t own it, young farmers have trouble gaining access to it and 10 percent of it is expect- ed to change hands by 2019. “Farmland ownership, tenure, and transfer have im- portant implications for land accessibility, particularly for young and beginning farmers,” according to a report summary provided by the USDA’s Eco- nomic Research Service. “The advanced age of many farmers raises questions about how land will be transferred to the next generation of agricultural landowners.” The survey results get to the heart issues commonly discussed in agriculture cir- cles: Who are the next farm- ers, and how will they acquire land? The report was drawn from 2012 Census of Agricul- ture statistics. Among the key indings: • Approximately 39 per- cent of farmland in the con- tiguous 48 states is rented, in- cluding more than half of the cropland. • Most of the rented crop- land is used to grow commod- ities such as rice, corn, soy- beans, wheat and cotton. • An estimated 93 mil- lion acres — 10 percent of all the nation’s farmland — will change hands between 2015 and 2019. A majority of the transfers will be accom- plished through wills, trusts or gifts. About 21 million acres is anticipated to be sold between people who aren’t re- lated, while 13 million acres is expected to be sold from relative to another. • The Midwest and Plains regions had the lowest per- centages of owner-operated land, at 54 percent and 57 per- cent, respectively. The North- east and West had the highest rates of land ownership. In California, 55 percent of the farmland was owner-oper- ated; in Idaho, 69 percent; and in Washington, 62 percent. Oregon was not surveyed, as the researchers selected var- ious states to represent each region. • An estimated 45 percent of U.S. farmland is in small family farms, and nearly half of that land is found in oper- ations that own all the land they farm. • Not surprisingly, retired farmers make up 38 percent of non-operator landlords, and farmers approaching re- tirement are much more likely to be landlords. About 27 percent of the land farmed by producers un- der age 34 is rented. “Given that the vast major- ity of farm-sector asset value is in real estate, the decision to rent or own farmland has a signiicant bearing on the ability of farmers to invest in production capital, meet debt obligations, and adapt to mar- ket and environmental condi- tions,” the ERS researchers concluded. NEW YORK — The Idaho Potato Commission can thank the New York City Police De- partment for drawing atten- tion to a grandiose publicity stunt orchestrated Aug. 24 in the Big Apple. The department issued a tongue-in-cheek all-points bulletin over the police radio advising oficers to “be on the lookout for a big potato loat- ing down the Hudson River.” From that moment, IPC of- icials’ phones began ringing incessantly with the coveted national media inquiries they hoped to generate by loating their Idaho icon — the Great Big Idaho Potato Truck — past the Statue of Liberty on a barge pulled by a tugboat. The 6-ton replica Russet Burbank on a lat-bed truck has toured the country for the past ive years to raise aware- ness of Idaho potatoes and drawing attention to IPC char- itable donations in commu- nities along its route. IPC is already planning a sixth tour. IPC Commissioner Ran- dy Hardy, of Oakley, said the truck was on the water for several hours, photographed by onlookers from tour bus- Mark Von Holden/AP Images for Idaho Potato Commission The Great Big Idaho Potato Truck visits the Big Apple in New York. The Great Big Idaho Potato Truck passes the Statue of Liberty in New York. es and ferry boats during its cruise. “I think there will be a lot of media play on it from here on,” Hardy said shortly after the potato truck docked. IPC President and CEO Frank Muir said the giant, loating spud was the top story on the news feed in New York City taxi cabs. “There were TV crews ilming it from helicopters. We’ve been picked up by all of the major media here, in- cluding the most popular ra- dio station, as well as the TV station here,” Muir said. Muir said IPC began plan- ning the event and securing the necessary permits about a year ago, moving to the water because of restrictions against semi-trucks on certain Man- hattan streets. In conjunction with the spectacle on the Hudson, IPC also gave a New York City soup kitchen a voucher for 12,000 pounds of Idaho pota- toes — roughly equivalent to the serving size of the replica spud. Muir and his cohorts volunteered at the kitchen Aug. 25 to help serve baked Idaho potatoes. John-Harvard Reid, asso- ciate director of Holy Apostle Soup Kitchen, said his kitchen serves 1,000 homeless guests every Monday through Fri- day and hasn’t missed a meal in 34 years, including during Hurricane Sandy. “Getting a baked potato is like something you re- member from home,” Reid said. “A lot of times when you’re homeless, you don’t get those comfort meals that make you feel like you’re home again.” In other IPC news, sports reporter Heather Cox took photographs and footage of IPC mascot Spuddy Buddy at the Summer Olympics in Brazil, with an emphasis on volleyball coverage. Cox has posted images from the Olympics on social media.