Transforming Wood Products to Renewable Energy
Converting a former lumber mill to a biomass plant in Crescent Mills, California
Project Summary
Community: Crescent Mills, California
Technical Assistance: Economic Analysis
Former Use: Lumber Mill
Future Use: Biomass Renewable Energy
Historic lumber mill operations left a Crescent Mills site in
northern California blighted with soil contamination.
However, the Sierra Institute for Community and
Environment aims to transform this brown field site into a
wood products campus and biomass power facility with a
capacity up to 3 megawatts.
The Sierra Institute seeks to generate renewable
electricity and thermal outputs for the community at an
appropriate rate of return, stimulate employment related to
wood products in the area, and help improve the health of
the forest in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Implementing
their vision will help revitalize job growth in the area and
generate renewable energy outside of the typical solar and
wind industry.
The Community's Challenge
Beyond executing a long-term electricity sales contract,
there are many challenges associated with implementing a
biomass facility. For the plant and its co-located
businesses to be successful, the Sierra Institute first
needed specific information about the regional market and
price points for biomass products.
EPA's Land Revitalization Technical Assistance
EPA's Land Revitalization Program provided contractor
assistance to develop an economic and market
assessment report for the proposed facility. The report
identifies viable co-located business types that could
expand and diversify site redevelopment income derived
from the biomass plant by-products and location (heat,
mid- to high-quality timber, proximity to electrical grid,
etc.), local labor market characteristics related to staffing
needs of the biomass plant, feedstock contract best
practices, and public-private partnership opportunities
related to the plant.
Technical assistance provided by EPA will support the
successful development and long-term plan for the
Crescent Mills facility. It also serves as guidance to a
broad network of similarly planned bioenergy facilities in
California.
Best Practices to Pursue What to Avoid
For more information, contact Eric Byous, EPA Region 9
Brownfields Program, at Bvous.Eric@epa.gov.
Do include contract
mechanisms about changing
pricing based on real changes
in supplier costs.
Don't allow biomass
deliveries of chips outside
of specified minimum and
maximum size ranges.
Do maintain suitable stockpiles
of feedstock to allow for winter
and mud season supply
difficulties.
Don't allow delivery of wood
chips that have been
intentionally watered to
increase their weight.
Do manage chip stockpiles on
a first-in, first-out basis.
Don't allow excessively dirty
round wood to be delivered.
Do have a qualified forester
visit with the suppliers, see
their source of biomass, and
develop sustainable harvesting
plans.
Don't allow deliveries of
chips or round wood without
careful inspection before
acceptance.
Feedstock supply: best practices and what to avoid
s>EPA
United States	Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
Environmental Protection
Agency	EPA Pub # 560-F-19-005-S

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