El Dorado County District 2 Newsletter

Gold Seal Industries LLC (GSI) has been awarded funding from the State of California and given access to USFS lands to convert forest waste into biofuels. On June 6, 2023, the Air Quality Management District (AQMD) issued an Authority to Construct Permit to GSI for the construction of a portable anhydrous pyrolysis facility that will convert excess forest biomass into a liquid biofuel. Beginning in Summer 2024, the facility will be initially located in the ElDorado National Forest in southern El Dorado County to support the Caldor Fire recovery effort. The initial processing site is located near existing burn piles with available inventory of 80-100,000 tons of biomass. Up to 130 tons of biomass will be processed into approximately 5,000 gallons of B100 Biodiesel fuel on a daily basis.

The GSI system uses electromagnetic induction to thermally decompose biomass in a non-reactive and oxygen free environment. Steam and heat recovered from the process will be used in microturbines and heat exchangers to produce the power to maintain the process temperature of 1,200 – 2,000 ⁰F. This anhydrous pyrolysis process converts the biomass into solid biochar, condensed liquid, and synthetic gas (syngas) products. A subsequent Fischer-Tropsch process converts the syngas into a sulfur free biodiesel.

The Sierra Institute in Plumas County has been developing biomass, milling, logging, and rebuilding operations in Plumas County. Plumas County was impacted by numerous wildfires in recent years, especially the Dixie Fire of 2021. The Sierra Institute began working on ways to make use of the green waste and researching methods of rebuilding that create more wildfire resilient communities. Though separate projects entirely, there are synergies and collaborations between the biomass facility project, the wood utilization campus project, the forest management project(s) and the fire hardening home rebuilding research and development project.

One of the key concepts being developed by the Sierra Institute is wood utilization, for which they have established an industry specific campus. By focusing on making the best use out of all wood coming out of the forests, the communities in Plumas County are benefitting from utilizing wood products in different ways and using different methods for construction that will define future building standards. There are many benefits for El Dorado County to make use of wood utilization campuses, biomass facilities, and new building strategies. The Sierra Institute has been tremendously helpful in educating people about how they operate and how proper wood utilization can be an economic benefit for the community.

Currently, no projects have been planned for El Dorado County that include the Sierra Institute, but the work they do is admirable.

Video: Renewable Energy from Biomass in Quincy, CA

Learn more from Sierra Institute in Plumas County

Wisewood Energy is a team of experts in modern wood energy systems and natural resources out of Portland, Oregon. The mission of Wisewood Energy is to outfit communities, businesses and industrial partners with state-of-the-art biomass energy systems that strengthen local economies, lower heating costs, and promote environmental stewardship. They use proven technologies and expert knowledge to develop custom approaches to help partners switch from fossil fuel systems to modern biomass energy. To accomplish their goals, Wisewood Energy builds custom, right-sized projects by working closely with clients to configure systems that support existing forest management activities, local economies, and energy resiliency by leveraging woody biomass as a clean and local energy source.

Currently, a Wisewood Energy project has been planned for the Black Oak Mine Unified School District who requested $2.625 million from Congressman Kevin Kiley to install a biomass generator system, expand educations, establish on-site sawmill and develop forest management service. The facilities will be located near the Golden Sierra High School to benefit the students and facilities.

Learn more about Wisewood Energy

The Planning and Building Department brought forward their concept of an ordinance (File #24-0003) for owner-built dwellings consistent with Limited Density Owner-Built Rural Dwellings (Title 25) of the California Code of Regulations, Housing and Community Development at the January 9th Board of Supervisors meeting. The conceptual pilot program will be geared toward Caldor Fire survivors who were without adequate insurance coverage in Grizzly Flats who anticipate prohibitive rebuilding costs. The Title 25 program will allow residents to fall and mill their own timber to be used for rebuilding, in addition to reduced size and regulatory requirements, to help avoid the higher costs associated with Title 24. The ordinance will be brought back before the Board of Supervisors for a first reading on April 9th, 2024.

Learn more about Agenda Item #45 (File: #24-0003)

El Dorado County accepts certain household hazardous waste from local residents. The Environmental Management Department provides information regarding what constitutes household hazardous waste, and the proper ways of disposing the waste. On April 6th, El Dorado County will host another household hazardous waste collection event by appointment only. To participate in the upcoming waste collection event, please contact the Environmental Management Department directly by phone at (530) 621-5300 or by email at hhw@edcgov.us to schedule an appointment.

When: April 6th, 2024, from 9am to 12pm

Where:

Fire Station #86
3670 Bass Lake Road
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762 

Scheduled Appointment Required.

Learn more about Hazardous Waste Collection