Massachusetts Passes Moratorium on Biomass as Pioneer Renewable Energy Project Waits in the Balance

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Town Council of Greenfield, Massachusetts, passed a moratorium on large-scale biomass wood-burning facilities last week in an 11 to 13 vote. The moratorium will last up to 17 months.

"Residents have voiced their opposition to biomass," said At-large Councilor Patrick Devlin, who said he supports doing a "careful and detailed study" on biomass and waste-to-energy burning before a facility is allowed to operate in Greenfield.

Pioneer Renewable Energy (Cambridge, Massachusetts) has been trying to get a biomass energy project off the ground in the area since mid-2009. The company wants to construct a 47-megawatt biomass power plant that would burn 240 tons per day of clean wood waste to produce renewable energy. Construction costs are in the $250 million range.

The moratorium is in effect until September 2014, and it is not clear how it will affect development of the project planned on Butternut Street in the industrial park. At best, construction would not start until spring of 2014, and power generation would not begin until the fall of 2016.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.