Biomass plants generate electricity by burning what otherwise
would be waste: brushy undergrowth that's been cleared from
forests. The U.S. Forest Service estimates that on California
national forest lands alone, there are easily 500,000 acres per
year that should be thinned to reduce the risk of catastrophic
wildfire. But to Tom Christoff of the Placer County Air
Pollution Control District it's not only about reducing forest
fires and producing electricity. He says by burning this waste
in controlled emission plant, instead of in smoky piles in the
forest: CHRISTOFF: "The benefits are huge, on the order of 95
percent reduction on particulate matter, 60 to 70 percent
reduction on nitrous oxides, and considerable percentrage on
carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds." Christoff says
independent studies showed this would lead to demonstrable
health benefits. That's one of the many reasons Placer County is
planning to build a 2 megawatt biomass plant on county-owned
land just outside Truckee. Transportat