Salt River Project will burn biomass Oct. 26 at its coal-fired power plant in Northern Arizona. If the utility can be a viable user of the forest waste, it can help reduce forest fires and keep rivers clean.
SRP is one of the largest power and water providers in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Spokesman Ron Klawitter said forest biomass is not typically a fuel of choice. It’s less efficient, more expensive to transport and tough on the plant’s equipment.
“We’re looking to use the biomass to promote forest restoration activities to preserve our watershed,” Klawitter said. “We’re really looking for a disposal mechanism that creates value not a better fuel source.”
Over the next 20 days SRP will mix coal with a small percentage of forest debris and run it through Coronado Generating Station in Saint Johns. In total it will use 39-hundred tons -- or about 300 acres -- of biomass.
The wood comes from forest thinning on state lands. If the biomass is viable, Klawitter said SRP would like to work with the Four Forest Restoration Initiative.
