On Behalf of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, I write in support of Assembly Bill (AB) 2878. AB 2878 supports California's forest health and wildfire reduction objectives while also providing energy security and new economic opportunities for Tulare County's rural mountain communities.
AB 2878 will establish the guidelines for biomass energy generation. Biomass energy generation increases the productive use of forest waste, promotes wood product manufacturing, and provides greater energy retention and reliability in areas that experience a historical lack of energy security. AB-2878's Forest Biomass Waste Utilization Program is an important first step towards the facilitation of better forest management strategies.
Legislative action on long-overdue forest management strategies is a welcome development, yet the need to increase the pace and scale of those endeavors has never been greater. Currently Tulare County, like most of California, continues to experience a series of devastating prolonged droughts. These droughts and decades of forest mismanagement played a pivotal role in the devastation caused by the SQF, KNP, and Windy Complex Fires. In 2020, the SQF Complex fire burned over 174,000 acres of forested land. In 2021, the KNP and Windy Fires incinerated an additional 185,000 acres. Long since extinguished, these fires continue to leave lasting economic and environmental consequences. Biomass energy generation provides a viable option to utilize forest-product derived biomass and limit the environmental impacts.
Biomass energy generation plays a pivotal role in the state's m1ss10n to reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional methods of disposal. A recent field study indicates that biomass energy generation results in 98-99 percent lower PM2.5, carbon monoxide, methane, and black carbon emissions compared to open pile burning (along with a significant reduction in NOx and carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions). Similarly, many recent state reports have called for an increase in innovative wood products to sequester carbon and put conventionally unmarketable forest residuals to productive use.
The creation and use of biomass energy also helps improve local power grid resiliency and reliability. These are very important goals, as electrical reliability has plummeted dramatically for many rural communities. AB 2878 seeks to address these problems by:
For these reasons, and more we support AB 2878.
Sincerely,
Edwardo Valero
Chair, Tulare County Board of Supervisors
cc: Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry, Tulare County Delegation, Paul Yoder, Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange, Members of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, Members of the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee