Burning sawmill waste isn't clean energy
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Forty percent of the the "renewable" energy Redwood Coast Energy Authority's (RCEA) buys for Humboldt County comes from a biomass plant emitting over 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide and 1,500 tons of pollution a year. California's Renewable Portfolio Standard was established to cut carbon emissions. Using biomass to meet the standard diverts millions of our dollars from clean and just climate solutions.
RCEA'S RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO 
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PROJECT DRAWDOWN, a globally recognized research group promoting science based climate solutions, defines "renewable energy" as power from sources that are replenished at the same rate as they are consumed. Drawdown does not consider power from burning forestry waste a climate solution.
Burning sawmill waste doesn't prevent wildfires. It fans the flames.
Burning sawmill waste doesn't prevent wildfires. It fans the flames.
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The Scotia plant emits twice as much greenhouse gas per kilowatt hour as a coal powered plant, and as much per year as 70% of the county's passenger vehicles.
It takes 20-40 years for new tree growth to remove this carbon from the atmosphere. While we wait, it warms the planet. We are currently on track to exceed 1.5C and reach 5 planetary tipping points in the next decade. |
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Burning biomass 3 blocks from a school is environmental injustice
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The biomass plant is a federally designated Major Source that emits 1,600 tons of pollution each year. Its particulate emissions alone are estimated to cause $12-28 million in health damage each year and 7 additional emergency room visits per month for asthma from residents of Scotia and Rio Dell.
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The air district protects the plant, not the people.
The EPA recently found that the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District had not renewed the plant's federal Permit to Operate for 20 years, circumventing public comment and EPA review. In November 2024, the air district approved a permit change that will allow a fivefold increase in pollution. |
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Humboldt Redwoods lied about their environmental performance to get the RCEA contract. Over the past decade, the plant has committed over 1000 violations of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, including several hundred while under contract with RCEA.
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