BRECKENRIDGE, Colo.—A Colorado company is proposing a plant in Breckenridge that would capitalize on the bark beetle infestation by turning the dead lodgepole pine trees into wood pellets.
Environmental Energy Partners is discussing bringing the plant to this ski town and have begun negotiations with Breckenridge town officials this week. The wood pellets the plant would produce would be used as fuel to warm homes in the town.
Bill Nootenboom, the company’s chief operating officer, said the plant could help Breckenridge take “control of its own energy supply” and that the town could become “a model for the world.”
The Summit Daily News reports that the company said it could begin operations as soon as this fall if their plan is approved. Before the plant is approved, noise tests will be conducted so the operation is not too loud for residents. The noise from the chipping operation would not last more than four hours during the day.
“Assuming all the environmental stuff from them is accurate, then it sounds like a win-win deal for the community and them,” said Councilman Mike Dudick.
The plant would be on Highway 9 on five acres at the north end of Breckenridge and Environmental Energy Partners would lease the land.
The plant is expected to produce about 5 tons of pellets every hour.
Bark beetles have killed about 3.6 million pine trees in the state and southern Wyoming. The epidemic has forced campground closures out of fear of dead trees toppling over and to give the U.S. Forest Service workers a chance to remove dead trees. The Forest Service has received $30 million to deal with the infestation’s aftermath.
———
Information from: Summit Daily News,
