The UK government is set to greenlight Drax’s power generation plan, coupling biomass with carbon capture & storage. In related news: Enviva enters 2024 on a tightrope; Sumitomo looks to biodiesel in Japan; Hampton Lumber is buying Rebuilt from Atlas; and the Espanola Action Centre is preparing for more Domtar layoffs. In Market news: wood pellet exports are up; mortgage rates are down, and housing starts are better positioned than you think.
In other news: an Oregon timber tax could pay for wildfire prevention; a new study says Michigan’s forests can support a mass timber plant; Mongabay says Indonesia’s deforestation rates are on the rise again; and an Australian court is set to decide if native forest logging can continue in New South Wales.
Finally, CBC latest to boost NRDC funded study on logging and caribou.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Drax is set to stoke renewed controversy as ministers prepare to approve a multibillion-pound CO2 capture scheme it claims would make it “carbon negative”. The scheme has infuriated greens already angered by Drax’s switch from coal to wood. They say Drax’s clear-cutting of forests in North America destroys the environment rather than supporting it. Next week, however, Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho is expected to approve a scheme to bolt two massive carbon capture plants onto Drax’s four generating units, potentially stripping out almost all their CO2 emissions. Drax claims the scheme will make it the world’s first carbon negative thermal power station. Greens claim it will destroy forests. …However, the UK government has repeatedly supported the idea. Its net zero strategy report argues that: “When coupled with carbon capture and storage, it is possible that sustainable biomass can not only enable production of low carbon fuels but could also deliver vital negative emissions.”
ASHLAND, Ore. — State Senator Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, wants to tax timber companies to acquire funding for wildfire prevention and response programs. Golden … said Oregon needs to make sure its communities have enough resources to protect its residents from wildfires. He said it’s much cheaper to prevent wildfires than it is to recover from them. …According to Golden, the proposal is similar to the timber severance tax that was eliminated decades ago. Golden said some parts of the timber industry help local economies but there are other parts of the industry that are solely focused on profit. …Golden said there are still some details to figure out but told NewsWatch 12 the tax would total a rough estimate of $75 million. …Ultimately, Golden wants his tax proposal to end up on the November 2024 ballot, so Oregonians can decide for themselves.
The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR) is beginning an innovative project in the Camel’s Hump Management Unit, as outlined in the 2021 Long-Range Management Plan. This project …is designed to demonstrate an important approach in increasing forest resilience to climate change and invasive pests. Collaborating with the University of Vermont (UVM) and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, this project is part of a series of forest adaptation experiments being implemented across the Northeast. Tony D’Amato, Professor and Director of the Forestry Program in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at UVM, is a lead researcher on the project. “This project aims to address the dominance of poor quality American beech suffering from beech bark disease and use forest management tools such as timber harvests to allow other species to thrive,” said Oliver Pierson, FPR’s Director of Forests.
