Consider `opting up' to send a message to RCEA

I am a member of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority's Community Advisory Committee (CAC). The comments below are mine alone and do not represent either the CAC or RCEA.

Wendy Ring's My Word column of 3/22 (Times-Standard, Page A4) completely misrepresented both the tenor and the facts presented at the CAC's recent meeting discussing the Humboldt Sawmill Company (HSC) biomass power plant. Most alarming is her vindictive suggestion that utility customers should “opt out” of RCEA to pressure them to break their contract with HSC. The truth is that breaking the contract would not shut down the power plant; it would continue operating but with an out-of-town energy buyer. Ironically, that buyer would most likely be PG&E. The issues that so concern Ring would not end, but any influence RCEA and our community has on HSC to operate the plant cleanly would. By continuing the contract, we retain local influence on HSC.

The recent CAC meeting was respectful, broadly representative, and comprehensive, lasting over four hours. Five entities made presentations: Ring representing the Coalition for Clean Energy (going first), the Air Pollution Control Officer for the north coast, RCEA's Power Resources Director, the Executive VP of HSC and the Forest Advisor for the H-DN Cooperative Extension. All were given the same amount of time to make their presentations. In addition, of the approximately 60 people in attendance, over 40 made public comment, lasting two hours, and several written comments were also received. Comments were both pro and con regarding the biomass plant. In the end, the CAC was essentially evenly split, accurately reflecting all we had heard. Yet Ring complains that RCEA staff “loaded” the meeting and that her Coalition was “not given enough” time. It is a sad commentary that Ring would stoop to claiming the meeting was rigged because we were willing to listen to many stakeholders. In fact, RCEA and the CAC went out of their way to get all involved parties in the room at the same time to hear everyone's “side of the story.”

Ring conveniently omits that most of RCEA's decisions about biomass are driven by state legislation and regulations. Agree or not, the state defines biomass as “renewable” and “carbon neutral.” Further, the state requires all power generators to enter supply contracts at least ten years long, as well as providing baseload energy, called Resource Adequacy. Some of the state requirements for “carbon neutral” energy can only be met with either geothermal or biomass power. Utilities of a certain size — PG&E is one — are required by law to purchase biomass power. The state will levee steep fines on utilities that fail to comply, and RCEA estimates that terminating the biomass contract early could cost our community as much as 50 million dollars.

Resource Adequacy is in particularly short supply and expensive in California right now. The HSC biomass contract provides RCEA with this required Resource Adequacy. Ring makes baseless conjectures that if RCEA terminated its contract, HSC would be forced to accept a lower price for their power and that would drive the plant to close. Considering actual market forces, the opposite is true, they might get an even better price, and given the state's requirements for longterm contracts, it is probable that a replacement contract with another buyer would last even longer than RCEA's current contract. Again, the most likely buyer would be PG&E, the utility company Ring urges people to switch to.

RCEA is our local energy supplier and provides many energy-related programs that benefit our community. The Board of Directors is made up of City Council members that you elected and anyone can attend Board or Community Advisory Committee meetings. What chance of that would any of us have with PG&E or another outof-area power buyer?

RCEA offers every customer the opportunity to “opt up” to their RePower Plus program, which sources energy only from non-carbon, non-biomass, renewable sources. This adds just a penny more per kilowatt hour to your bill. But today, less than 2% of RCEA customers have chosen it. In other words, 98% of RCEA customers have already expressed an opinion about what matters most to them.

For those opposed to biomass, opting up would meet your clean energy ideals, would still “send a message” to RCEA, but wouldn't impose your will on other customers. Rather than going negative as Ring suggests by opting out of RCEA, go positive by opting up to RePower Plus.