Biomass Conference Saturday

The Big Sky Coalition, a Bitterroot-based organization that advocates large scale thinning on National Forest lands, plans to host a daylong symposium in Hamilton on March 1 to examine the conversion of woody biomass into ethanol and methanol, as well as burning it to generate heat and electricity. Executive Dir. Sonny LaSalle reported that the Darby school district is on track to save $100,000 on their energy bill this year by using biomass to heat their building. In Colorado, a plant is already being planned that will begin converting beetle-killed trees into cellulosic ethanol by 2012. The conference will take place all Saturday at the Hamilton, Montana fairgrounds.

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Large wind farms on the drawing board

Montana ranks fifth among the states for its potential wind power. Only the Dakotas, Texas, and Kansas are windier. The largest wind farm in the state opened in 2005 at Judith Gap. This farm has 90 1.5 megawatt turbines which extend more than 260 feet in the air. A Texas company is proposing a 300-megawatt wind farm near Martinsdale with more than 100 towers. At least 6 other major wind farms are being planned for Montana, with a total production of 900 megawatt if all of the projects are approved. Large wind farms are also being considered for Shelby and Glasgow.

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New ethanol plant planned for Butte

A new biofuels demonstration plant will be go online near Butte, MT later this year. The plant will be built by AE Biofuels of California, and will use proprietary enzymes to convert starch to sugars at ambient temperatures, eliminating the cooking process normally used in corn ethanol plants. The plant will produce ethanol using a variety of non-food cellulose starches from straw, corn stalks, and switch grass.

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