Replies to post #18270 on Laidlaw Energy Group, Inc.(fka LLEG)

[Matilda007]

jscot you are uniformed, there is currently 2.5 million tons of wood chips available on the market, since the papermills closed. LLEG will use about a 1/4 of what is available.

What do you think the defunct paper mills were using corn cobs???

[jimmenknee]

Interesting point jscot :) But it seems to be flying all over the country as there are ~100 biomass plants in the beginning of 2007:

.... will join nearly 100 biomass plants in the country, said Bill Carlson, chairman of the Redding, Calif.-based USA Biomass Power Producers Alliance, a national group of owners and operators of biomass plants. ...

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/164369.php

And the wood seems to be a non-issue:

... Trees. In addition to growing very fast, some trees will grow back after being cut off close to the ground, a feature called "coppicing." Coppicing allows trees to be harvested every three to eight years for 20 or 30 years before replanting. These trees, also called "short-rotation woody crops," grow as much as 40 feet high in the years between harvests. In the cooler, wetter regions of the northern United States, varieties of poplar, maple, black locust, and willow are the best choice. In the warmer Southeast, sycamore and sweetgum are best, while in the warmest parts of Florida and California, eucalyptus is likely to grow well. ..."

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/renewable_energy_basics/offmen-how-biomass-energy-works.html

Also, Laidlaw seems to be poised to gain from it:

"... an agricultural division will focus on growing hybrid willow trees for fuel for the Company's bio-mass energy projects and for sale to third parties. ..."

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0OXD/is_2007_Jan_25/ai_n17218431