Community Energy Initiative focus areas

Biomass Utilization
Current Projects :
Community Guide to Biomass Heat

The wood pellet boiler system at Harney County District Hospital occupies just four parking spaces.

Project overview

The transition to local renewable energy presents a significant opportunity for rural communities to address global climate change while fostering new wealth creation and energy independence at home. The Community Energy Initiative seeks to implement an integrated approach to realize the potential of the Pacific Northwest region’s nascent renewable energy economy. This approach includes facilitating the adoption of biomass utilization technology across the region, encouraging the development of biomass utilization clusters, and providing strategic and targeted technical assistance to clusters of public schools, hospitals, government buildings, prisons, and industrial heat users in rural communities.

This initiative will lead to the following outcomes:

• Development of new demonstration facilities and new businesses located in rural communities that serve as learning centers and models for the rest of the region
• Enhanced regional capacity to plan and implement effective biomass utilization projects
• Policy efforts and initiatives that foster distributed biomass utilization that benefits rural communities and working landscapes
• Development and dissemination of new knowledge to address emerging issues about small-scale biomass utilization and the economic, social, and ecological impacts.

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Stewardship Contracting
Current Projects :
Josephine County

This automated inclined chip conveyer moves chips from the storage bin to the combustion chamber.