A group of five local non profits plan to study whether biomass can be used in the Valley to heat and power buildings. The Roaring Fork Biomass Consortium received a grant from the Governor's Energy Office to conduct a feasibility study. Types of biomass are plants, wood, grass, animal waste and landfill waste. It's most commonly burned to create renewable energy. Locally, officials with the Consortium believe wood from trees killed by the Mountain Pine Beetle and wood leftover from construction sites could be used. One non profit in the Consortium, the Flux Farm Foundation, even wants to explore the idea of planting short-rotation woody crops to supply potential biomass plants with wood. Everyone in the group says jobs could be created, and the White River National Forest supports the study. After it's completed, the analysis will be available to local governments, private businesses and other non profits. Those entities can decide whether they want to build biomass plants in the Valley.
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