Biomass breakthrough

stltoday.com (St. Louis, MO)
By Jeffrey Tomich
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/22/2009

The workhorse of renewable fuels in Missouri may be found in its forests, farms and pastures.

Across the state, the idea of using plant waste such as wood scraps, wheat straw or tree trimmings as fuel for electricity generation is gaining steam.

In Perryville, a private developer is planning a $100 million plant that will burn wood waste from nearby forests to generate enough electricity to light 23,000 homes. The University of Missouri-Columbia is spending more than $60 million to replace a boiler at its power plant that will burn exclusively wood waste. Even the state's largest utility is looking at how to use biomass at its power plants to displace some of its coal usage.

A combination of new and proposed state and federal policies is driving interest in renewable energy.

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