ATLANTA — Representatives of Georgia’s timber industry want its byproducts to help power the state.
The plan involves branches and other scraps of wood — organic matter which could be turned into fuel, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported.
Industry officials recently asked the Georgia Public Service Commission to take steps that would ensure “biomass” is more broadly used by Georgia Power.
“We’ve got mountains and mountains of biomass,” said Clay Crosby, the chief executive of Twin Rivers Land and Timber in Perry.
Some of it was left after storms such as Hurricane Michael, which carved its way across a million acres of timberland last year.
Environmental groups have debated how clean the technology is.
But it could provide at least some help for the timber industry and land owners, industry representatives contend.
It would also be an economic benefit for rural parts of the state, said Andres Villegas, the chief executive of the Georgia Forestry Association.
A Section on 04/22/2019