TAHOE CITY, Calif. — The Placer County Planning Commission approved a use permit for the proposed Cabin Creek Biomass Facility at its Sept. 10 meeting. The project is designed to convert locally, sustainably sourced woody biomass and other eligible organic waste materials into biochar and other renewable or beneficial-use products to assist in the reduction of catastrophic wildfire risk.
The proposed project would establish a biomass utilization and biochar production facility on county-owned property at the Eastern Regional Landfill complex, located at 900 Cabin Creek Road. The site is approximately 2 miles south of Interstate 80 and just west of state Route 89. The facility would be developed on the southernmost 2.7-acre portion of a 148-acre county-owned parcel.
The commission’s approval advances an innovatively redesigned proposal from a biomass energy facility previously approved for the site in 2013. The current project would use new technology that replaces the previously approved gasification-based power generation system with patented non-combustion thermal conversion technology.
The project, which supports the county’s long-standing biomass utilization efforts to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, is proposed through a public-private partnership between Placer County and Biochar Now LLC. Under the proposal, locally, sustainably sourced woody biomass and other eligible organic materials would be processed using kiln-based thermal conversion technology to produce biochar and other renewable or beneficial-use products.
The facility would provide an alternative use for excess woody biomass generated through forest thinning and management activities, which have been conducted in Placer County for many years by agencies including the U.S. Forest Service, local fire districts and private property owners. Historically, a portion of the excess biomass generated through these activities has been disposed of through open pile burning or other methods. Alternatives to open burning, like this project, can help reduce air emissions while creating opportunities to beneficially use the resulting biomass in our local economy.
The county’s biomass utilization program was created in 2006 with the following objectives:
- Reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires in Placer County
- Protect residents and visitors from the impacts of wildfire events
- Promote beneficial reuse of excess biomass materials generated within the county
- Improve overall air quality through alternatives to open burning
As part of its action, the Planning Commission also adopted an addendum to the previously certified Cabin Creek Biomass Facility project final environmental impact report.
In 2013, the board considered and subsequently denied a third-party appeal challenging the previously proposed project’s environmental analysis. The board approved a conditional use permit for the project at that time, but the permit was not exercised and expired in 2015.
Placer County’s Board of Supervisors is anticipated to hear additional actions towards the public-private partnership between the county and Biochar Now LLC at its Sept. 22 meeting.
Learn more about the project: https://www.placer.ca.gov/2900/Cabin-Creek-Biomass-Energy-Facility.