A graphic rendering of a similar biomass facility. Image by Yuba Water Agency.
CAMPTONVILLE — One of the biggest obstacles to rapid progress on the North Yuba Landscape Resiliency Project (NYLRP) has been the absence of a place for processing the immense quantity of small, non-marketable trees and brush now clogging our national forest with fuel for wildfires and reducing the amount of water available for healthy trees.
However, early last month, on August 6, the Board of Directors for the Yuba Water Agency unanimously approved a $7 million grant and an $8.3 million loan to the Camptonville Community Partnership (CCP) to facilitate the construction of a 5-megawatt biomass plant near the southwestern edge of the massive, 275,000 acre NYLRP. This funding, combined with grants from the California Energy Commission, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, and the US Forest Service, will cover the facility’s cost.
Scheduled to begin operation in early 2026 on land owned by the CCP about two miles south of Bullards Bar Dam, the biomass plant will be owned, managed, and staffed (with good living-wage jobs) by CCP’s Engeman Camptonville Green Energy.
To pay off the construction loan and support the ongoing costs of operations, CCP is now finalizing an electric interconnection and power purchase agreement for the electricity generated by the plant with Pacific Gas & Electric.
According to the Watershed Manager for the Yuba Water Agency, JoAnna Lessard, “Having a local biomass plant to process these materials removes a huge barrier to scaling up forest health and wildfire risk in the region.”
Cathy LeBlanc, project manager for CCP, wrote in the September edition of the Camptonville Courier, “This bio-energy project is a prime example of our resolve to bring the voice of the community to decision makers. It may have taken us over a decade, but that spirit of tenacity, and a whole lot of help from our extended staff, stakeholders, and partners have brought this small women-driven, locally staffed non-profit to move a $30 million project like this forward into reality. This project is a perfect example of asset-based development, which is the foundation of CCP’s work in the foothills.”
To see a recent CBS13 (Sacramento) broadcast about this significant initiative, point your internet browser to: https://bit.ly/3AKgqrh.