Biomass One recycles Christmas trees to fuel biomass power plant

White City, Ore.-based Biomass One is accepting used Christmas trees to use as biomass fuel for its 25-megawatt per year wood-fired steam and electricity cogeneration production power plant in Medford, Ore

Biomass One, which has been recycling old Christmas trees free of charge for the past four years, is estimating it will receive approximately 4,500 trees this year with the majority expected to come from local tree lots, according to Biomass One Vice President Gordon Draper.

“As time goes on we’re probably seeing fewer real pine trees only because I think the quality of artificial trees is increasing and people are going that direction more,” he said, adding that the company expects more people to drop off their trees at local drop yards after the New Year’s holiday.

Draper estimates that 4,500 trees equals out to approximately 56 dry tons of wood biomass, which can provide about an hour and a half worth of power to the company’s wood-fired cogeneration power plant in Medford. That pales in comparison to the 325,000 dry tons of wood biomass it grinds up annually to power the plant.

“In the grand scope of things, it’s not all that much,” Draper said, noting that the collection of Christmas trees is merely more of a community service than a self-serving company strategy. “But, every little bit helps.”