Willow trees to provide cleaner fuel source

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MARQUETTE - In the near future, Upper Peninsula residents may see rows of willows planted across about 50,000 acres of the region.

The fast-growing trees will be planted to feed four U.P. biomass power plants, including ones in L'Anse, White Pine, K.I. Sawyer and Escanaba.

"We're building these biomass plants throughout the U.P.," said Mike Reid, vice president of Traxys Energy Group in White Pine. "You need 300 tons of fuel a day. We plan on having four plants in the U.P."

Reid said his company is converting existing power plants into biomass plants to help energy companies meet Michigan's new renewable fuel standards that require 10 percent of their energy come from renewable sources by 2015.

"It either is biomass, hydro, wind or solar," Reid said. "The conditions here in the U.P. ... we have an overabundance of wood."

Reid said to ensure there will be enough fuel to run the biomass plants, Traxys, United BioFuels and Michigan State University have been researching hybrid willows. Their first planting of 180,000 hybrid clones occurred three weeks ago on 30 acres of farmland owned by Barry Bahrman in Skandia.

"This is a test," Reid said. "We'll watch them over the course of the year and see how they're doing during the winter."

Seven varieties of willows were planted; all species that are expected to do well in the U.P. climate.

Reid added that there is a lot of unused farmland in the U.P. that could serve as areas to plant the biomass fuel.

As far as whether the willows will change the existing ecosystem, Reid said they should not have a big impact.

The willows will be harvested every four to 4 years and are expected to grow up to 30 feet tall and three inches in diameter. The trees will be cut, so the stump can re-vegetate, he said.

"We let the leaves drop to the ground and harvest the bare wood," he said.

Burning biomass also helps reduce emissions harmful to the environment, Reid said.

"The plant that we have in L'Anse produces about 50 percent less in emissions," he said.

The 18-megawatt unit was originally designed to burn coal, but Traxys converted the power plant so it can burn biomass in 2008.

It now burns papermill residues, local sawmill and wood process waste, tire chips and railroad ties.

Reid said the plant not only produces less emissions than coal plants, but it also uses local fuel, versus having to ship coal via boat or rail, which also causes more carbon emissions and uses more energy.

Traxys is hoping to convert the former K.I. Sawyer steam plant to biomass, a process that takes about 18 months. The company is also working to convert another coal plant in White Pine, and it is hoping to purchase the Escanaba power plant if the city decides to sell it, Reid said. The Escanaba plant would also be converted to biomass.

Reid said the biomass industry could produce between 75 to 80 new jobs in the U.P.

In the meantime, the company is working with local farmers to lease land and test more hybrid willows.

For more information, contact Reid at 885-7238.