SYRACUSE — A collaboration between the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) and ReEnergy Holdings, LLC aims to encourage the growth of shrub willow in Central and Northern New York as a renewable-fuel source. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is backing the effort with $4.3 million in funding. […]
SYRACUSE — A collaboration between the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) and ReEnergy Holdings, LLC aims to encourage the growth of shrub willow in Central and Northern New York as a renewable-fuel source.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is backing the effort with $4.3 million in funding. The willow will be grown on farmland throughout the region and used as fuel for biomass-powered energy producing facilities in the area owned by ReEnergy, according to ESF.
ESF and the company will work together to educate local-government officials, agricultural leaders, farmers, and landowners about the opportunity to grow willow. The money is available through a USDA program designed to help renewable-energy companies and farmers manage the risk of developing crops that can be used for power, heat, and fuel, according to ESF.
The main goal of the project is to demonstrate a full willow biomass-production system on a commercial scale.
“ESF scientists have invested 25 years of research in the development of shrub willow as a sustainable resource for bioenergy and other bioproducts,” ESF President Cornelius Murphy said in a news release. “We’re now bringing that research to fruition as we increase our energy independence, reduce our carbon footprint and provide an opportunity for jobs for the people of Central and Northern New York.”
ReEnergy owns facilities that use biomass to produce renewable thermal and electric energy. The company employs 260 people in New York, Maine, Connecticut, and New Hampshire and generates 240 megawatts of energy.
The firm owns facilities in Lyons Falls, Chateaugay, and Fort Drum.
“This is an exciting opportunity to demonstrate fast growing wood biomass cultivation on a commercial scale,” Charlie Niebling, general manager of New England Wood Pellet and president of the New York Biomass Energy Alliance, a statewide trade organization, said in the release. “New York has an abundance of marginal farmlands that can be put to productive use helping America produce homegrown and renewable energy, while helping to restore our rural economy.”
Through the program, interested farmers and landowners will get access to funding to help plant the willow, technical advice from experts, and a guaranteed buyer for the crop in ReEnergy. The project involves planting 3,500 acres throughout Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Oswego, and St. Lawrence counties, according to ESF.
The 11-year project is expected to produce almost 400,000 green tons of biomass for use in ReEnergy facilities. The willow can be harvested every three years and will have the potential to continue producing biomass for at least another 10 years after the program ends, ESF said.
“Through this kind of collaboration, the new technology that has been developed can be utilized here locally, and we get the benefit of broadening the availability of additional renewable fuels while also creating jobs and improving the regional economy by supporting local farmers and landowners,” ReEnergy CEO Larry Richardson said in the release.