PORT ANGELES — The Nippon Paper Industries USA Ltd. paper mill is one of the first four companies selected to partner with the state Department of Natural Resources in renewable energy projects using biomass from state forestlands.
The mill will use wood waste for the cogeneration of heat and electricity to run the paper mill as well as sell excess energy, Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark said.
“The relationship with DNR will help us secure volume, quality of supply of biomass to our plant in Port Angeles and help preserve the 220 jobs there now,” said Harold Norlund, Nippon Paper Industries USA manager, said in a statement released by DNR.
The three other companies are:
* Parametrix will launch a pilot to convert woody biomass into liquid fuels at SDS Lumber in Bingen (Klickitat County) using fast pyrolysis technology.
* Borgford BioEnergy, LLC in Valley and Springdale (Stevens County) will utilize wood waste to generate electricity, bio-oil, syngas, and bio-char.
* Atlas Products in Omak (Okanogan County) will use forest biomass to produce wood pellets for heating.
“These four partners will put their technologies to work using forest products they purchase from state trust lands to produce clean, sustainable energy and rural jobs,” said Goldmark. “These projects have a huge potential to help encourage rural economic development and improve the health of fire-prone forests. This will hopefully be the beginning of a new green industry on state lands.”
The pilot projects will use woody biomass known as slash that the companies purchase in part from state trust lands managed by DNR. The biomass can come from timber harvests or be removed during forest health treatments such as thinning overcrowded and fire-prone tree stands, Goldmark said.
