Attended a meeting yesterday of Oregon Solutions Southern Oregon Renewable Energy Project. There were 22 people at the library in Roseburg discussing options available for a regional coordinated strategy. Solar, Ocean and Wind Power are all potential alternatives.
One of the biggest focus areas is biomass utility. There is a lot of fuel load on the forests in the region. The federal government controls about half the space and has a bio-fuel phobia. The depth of the problem is immense - we have seen several large forest fires this past decade that demonstrates the need for a different management style. Balancing the environmental concerns with the economics is quite a task - but at least there is movement in exploring several options.
The committee is fairly high-powered with county commissioners and industry well represented. As a freelance scientist, I feel honored to be included. There is a need for better education about what can be done - but too many vested interests that can get in the way. Pacific Power presented their western energy strategy - our current regional power comes mostly from burning coal in Montana. Not quite a local system. My personal preference would be to develop a local grid off the national grid.
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