The American Forest & Paper Association and American Wood Council issued a joint news release stating that the organizations had filed a Joint Petition for Review (“Petition”) in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Act Clean Power Plan.
The Petition objects to the role of biomass in the Clean Power Plan.
The American Forest & Paper Association represents the United States pulp, paper, packing and wood products manufacturing industry while the American Wood Council is an organization of North American wood products manufacturing.
The President of the American Forest & Paper Association stated:
The Clean Power Plan does not put biomass on a level playing field with other renewable energy sources; this litigation will assure that EPA does not improperly constrain states’ ability to take advantage of the important role biomass energy can plan in addressing climate change. Managed properly, biomass-based energy provides carbon-reducing benefits to the atmosphere and should not be treated the same as energy from fossil fuels. Our facilities generate about two-thirds of the energy we use from biomass, primarily residuals that are left over from the manufacturing process, making ours among the most efficient industries in America.
The President of the American Wood Council stated:
Our industry strives to be as energy efficient as possible and is one of the leaders nationwide in the use of carbon-neutral biomass energy. Over 75 percent of the energy at our member companies’ wood products facilities is generated from biomass. After reviewing EPA’s Clean Power Plan, it appears that the rule may place unnecessary and inappropriate restrictions on states’ use of biomass energy as part of their plans to reduce CO2 emissions from electric power generation. This litigation seeks to protect biomass energy use as a critical component of renewable power. When biomass is used, it helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.
Click here to download a copy of the news release.
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