From:                                         Meserve, Samantha (ENE)

Sent:                                           Thursday, June 6, 2019 3:20 PM

To:                                               RPS, DOER (ENE)

Subject:                                     FW: Comments on proposed state rule to roll back regulations on biomass

Attachments:                          JDR Bold.pdf

 

 

 

From: Jenny Russell <jrussell@merckff.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 6, 2019 2:42 PM
To: DOER, Thermal (ENE) <thermal.doer@mass.gov>
Subject: Comments on proposed state rule to roll back regulations on biomass

 

To whom it may concern,

 

I am a proud resident of Massachusetts and Executive Director of a private family foundation which has long supported environmental protection efforts. 

 

Massachusetts has been a recognized leader in efforts to mitigate climate change. One such way has been through a policy enacted in 2012 by the Patrick administration which recognized that burning biomass is not “carbon neutral,” and eliminated renewable energy subsidies for biomass electricity plants, restricting subsidies to small, highly efficient combined heat and power plants.

 

The current proposal to rollback that policy is short-sighted and ill advised. First, it is widely accepted that biomass power plants emit far more CO2 per megawatt-hour than coal or natural gas plants.  Second, western Mass and Springfield, in particular, already have high rates of asthma which would be exacerbated by any addition of biomass plants. Third, rolling back the rules would accelerate greenhouse gases, at a time when we need to do everything we can to reduce GHGs. 

 

Further, the draft rules would accelerate logging and provide an undeserved incentive to biomass power plants.

 

I urge you to not accept these draft regulations for the sake of our health, our land, and our future. 

 

Thank you,

 

 

Jenny D. Russell

 

Jenny Russell
Executive Director
Merck Family Fund
P.O. Box 870245
Milton Village, MA 02187
www.merckff.org
617-696-3580 (office phone)
617-696-7262 (fax)
jrussell@merckff.org