OREGON THINKS WEEDS FOR COAL

Giant Reed May Replace Coal As Boardman Plant Fuel
Simon Boas,. November 1, 2010 (Oregon Public Broadcasting News)

"Portland General Electric is looking into biomass crops that might provide an alternative to coal…One of the crops it’s looking at is giant reed. But…not everybody believes it's desirable to grow this plant in Oregon.

"…[A] plant called giant reed grass, also known as giant cane or by its Latin name Arundo Donax…grows 16 feet in one year…[It is used] as ornamental grass for gardens…[but] doesn’t grow much in Oregon…[but can be seen] when it’s already cut into reeds for woodwind instruments…Portland General Electric wants to plant up to 300 acres of giant reed in Morrow and Umatilla counties to see if it’s a viable biomass crop for its power plant near Boardman."

Giant reed grass can grow 16 feet in a season. (click to enlarge)

"Boardman produces 15 percent of the power that PGE sells. But the plant is one of the biggest polluters in the Northwest…[T]he Department of Environmental Quality is reviewing PGE’s proposals for shuttering the plant by 2020…[B]iomass would be one of the alternatives [PGE] would consider…And growing giant reed for biomass looks promising…[I]t produces a lot of biomass since the whole plant can be burned as fuel…

"But giant reed does have its risks. In the right climate the plant can be an aggressive noxious weed…Problems with it spreading uncontrollably in California prompted the Oregon Department of Agriculture to study the weed in 2007…Noxious Weed Control Program Supervisor Tim Butler says the plant would not be a problem in Oregon, because it doesn’t flower this far north. Without flowers, it can only spread by root fragments…Researchers at Washington State University say the plant did not spread when they grew a test crop in Prosser, Washington, just across the Columbia River from Boardman."

Oregon's biomass resources (click to enlarge)

"But not everyone is convinced that giant reed would be safe to grow on a large scale in Oregon…[Some think] the plant’s roots still make it dangerous…Even though the state doesn’t see giant reed as a problem, the counties still have the authority to decide which plants they will allow…If the giant reed crop is grown more than 50 miles away from the power plant, PGE says the cost of and pollution caused by transporting the biomass would undercut the crop’s benefits…

"County commissioners will make the final decision…later this fall…PGE officials say they will explore other renewable energy options for the Boardman power plant if they if they can’t grow giant reed…"