PSE signs deal with local forest products company to create clean electricity
BELLEVUE, Wash. (3/3/2020) Puget Sound Energy teams up with Sierra Pacific Industries to purchase 17 megawatts of renewable energy from their Mt. Vernon Mill
Puget Sound Energy continues its commitment to the environment and deep decarbonization by investing in biomass energy.
PSE will work with Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) to use 17 MW of energy produced from the company’s cogeneration plant at its lumber mill, providing locally-generated, renewable biomass energy to its customers.
“This is another step in our journey to acquire clean sources of energy for our customers,” said David Mills, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at PSE “We will continue to work with renewable energy projects to fill our capacity needs.
SPI’s cogeneration facility uses wood byproducts from its lumber manufacturing process to generate steam that is used to make electricity and to heat kilns to dry lumber. There is an air pollution controlling device that filters out fine particles and other emissions from the burning wood so that what is released into the atmosphere comes out clean.
”Our crew is proud to be using locally grown, harvested and manufactured wood products to power homes in our own neighborhoods,” said Brad Gould, Division Manager at the SPI Mt. Vernon facility. ”This is a partnership that provides both environmental and economic solutions for our community.”
PSE signed a 17-year contract with SPI that starts in 2021 to purchase the excess energy generated after wood waste is burned at SPI’s Burlington Mill. The mill provides jobs to more than 200 employees contributing to the $900 million annual economic impact of the forest products industry in Skagit county.
“Not only are we supporting a local renewable energy project that is located right here in our service area, but we’re also proud to be supporting local jobs in Skagit County,” added Mills.
PSE’s mission is deep decarbonization, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transforming its business to deliver on the objectives of Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act. PSE will be coal free by 2025 and its electric system will be carbon neutral by 2030.To meet the anticipated energy needs of the region in the coming years, PSE will continue to acquire new sources of energy.
Media Contact:
Andrew Padula, 1-888-831-7250, psenewsroom@pse.com
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