Bradley Tours Schiller Station, Discusses Renewable Energy
BRADLEY TOURS SCHILLER STATION, DISCUSSES RENEWABLE ENERGY
Station is site of Northern Wood Power Project
(Portsmouth, NH) - Today, First District Congressman Jeb Bradley toured the Schiller Station power plant and the site of the Northern Wood Power Project, one of the largest renewable energy efforts in the country. Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) is retiring one of its coal-burning boilers at the Portsmouth station and replacing it with a boiler that burns wood materials, making this the only initiative in the country that will replace fossil fuel generation with an equivalent amount of cleaner power.
"It is important to have a diverse fuel mix and one that provides energy security for our future," said Bradley, who, as a member of the New Hampshire Legislature, was the primary sponsor of the Clean Power Act, the legislation that helped to make this conversion possible. "The Northern Wood Power Project is a win for everyone. Not only will the wood products create cleaner emissions, the project will also contribute to the viability of our state's forestry industry by generating an estimated $20 million in revenue for timber farmers as well as helping foresters grow and maintain a more healthy forest. This initiative is one of the first of its kind in the country and will undoubtedly serve as an example for other states to follow."
As a Member of Congress, Bradley has worked with the rest of the New Hampshire Congressional Delegation to modify the tax credit for open biomass facilities to ensure that Schiller Station was eligible for the credit. In order to qualify for the open-loop production tax credit, the facility had to be online by January 1, 2005. The New Hampshire delegation was able to push the end date of this tax credit to January 1, 2007, so that Schiller Station would qualify.
Schiller Station produces about 150 megawatts of electricity, or 13 percent of PSNH's total power output. The new wood-fired boiler will generate one-third of this, enough to power approximately 50,000 homes in New Hampshire. The project is expected to be operating and supplying power to the region by late summer.
http://www.house.gov/bradley/20060413_main.html