Russell Biomass
Russell Biomass is one of the latest biomass construction projects set forth in the United States and is being built on the Westfield River in the town of Russell, Massachusetts.
The 50-megawatt wood-fired voltaic power plant will 
boast job relief for the residents of Russell and its surrounding areas. The residents of Western Massachusetts are expecting abundant employment opportunities within the different divisions of the plant, throughout its construction and daily operations. The Russell Biomass development will be the second largest renewable energy strategy in MA and is expected to commence daily operations in late 2010. Approximately 500,000 tons of wood fuel will be used annually, including roadside bush trimmings, tree chips from forest preservation residues, land clearings, power line repair waste and other forms of clean lumber.
In addition, the operation anticipates sufficient power supply to fulfill the needs of 30 percent of the 186,000 homes in Hampden County and expects over $600,000 a year in tax revenues in Russell over the life of the plant.
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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The wood chips would arrive on 84 diesel trucks a day (hardly green, would draw close to a million gallons of water a day from the Westfield river (most likely with catastrophic effects), and will provide a financial incentive to burn trees and clear forests. This is a horrible proposal, and is so far from green it’s not even funny. The planners of this plant are completely unconcerned with green energy, climate change, or the benefit of the people of Russell.
Leaving these tree chips on the ground to rot, would keep some carbon on the ground, and enrich the soil so that more trees could grow. Humans have been burning things for energy for thousands of years, if we don’t change this, and come up with a more creative way to generate energy we are doomed.
That is completely right, as there are pros and cons to each form of “green” energy. However, at the juncture we are at in the United States, trucking/boating/flying in massive amounts of dead fossil fuels and burning them for gas (and other things) is doing nothing for our environment now and possibly harming it beyond repair. At least renewable energy programs are attempting to create a balance between the consumption of energy and what they put back into the earth (for example: biomass may use a small amount of gas or energy to complete the process, but more trees will be planted to help sustain this energy and therefore will help to offset any greenhouse gas emissions that may be released into the atmosphere). Plus – there will always be wood chips, leaves and such left on the ground to rot and that would never be disrupted by embarking in biomass, maybe except on that specific ground where they are building the factory. Like I said before, there are pros and cons to each form of renewable energy, if there weren’t then we wouldn’t be in the predicament we are in now. But I do have faith in the ingenuity of people and I believe that if we work together for a common goal, we can make renewable energy work for us now.
If the biomass is so clean…what is going to be done about the diesel truck smell that will permeate the air in Russell from all the massive number of trucks that will be coming to the plant on a daily basis?
As we move toward energy independence in America, it will be vital to employ the use of biofuels in traditional cars and trucks. It has been successfully trialed in airplanes – the first step. The next step is to get an initiative pushed through that would require all vehicles be fueled with some type of renewable fuel, therefore ending our dependence on foreign products. If you are a resident of Russell or the surrounding area, I suggest writing to your local representatives to push the clean fuel initiative if you are worried about future truck pollution in your area.
This sounds like a horrible idea for a lousy 50 megawatts.. Throw up a Wind Turbine or Solar Panel and be done with it
Living out here in Northern Indiana 11 miles south of the BP refinery has quite a few stinky, volatile hydrocarbon moments. Yep, you can be enjoying a nice sleep with your window open, then you’ll wake up to a rotten toxic stench.
I know this has nothing to do with your project out there except there is a whole bunch of people that will make MONEY off of it. Some may get a living wage even, if they’re lucky. But someone will make much more, I have to say I like all the comments, and I side on the ones that lean towards the notion that increased fumes, truck traffic, etc. increased water use (a terrible side affect) hardly constitutes a green energy source.
The idea and sincerity may be for real, but the future cannot sustain a biomass system like this. We’ll need much better, because the likes of BP and their ideas are even worse.
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