Demonstration illustrates how juniper trees can be harvested and used for fuel

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

The return of logging to Harney County could be right around the corner.

It may not be the days of old when large pine trees rolled out of the forest on log trucks, but the harvesting of juniper for biomass fuel could provide both jobs and energy.

Last week, July 8-10, a crew from John Deere was in town to demonstrate how juniper could be harvested and bundled, ready for transport to an energy-producing facility.

Mike Schmidt, forestry biomass manager for John Deere, said they wanted to demonstrate how juniper could be used for product. “It is an invasive species, and if it is harvested, landowners will be reclaiming the rangeland for forage and water,” he said.

The machinery

Working on a slope of land a few miles from town, a stand of juniper was cut using a carbide blade, mounted on the front of a feller-buncher. Depending on the terrain and the density of the stand, Schmidt said the feller-buncher could cover 20 to 30 acres a day.

Once the trees are cut, a slash bundler moves in. It picks the trees up whole and places them on a high-tech compactor. Using 150 tons of compression, the juniper is compacted into 30-inch diameter bundles, wrapped with twine and cut at a designated length.

The slash bundler can handle trees up to 20 inches in diameter and averages about 20 bundles an hour.
Because of their design, neither the feller-buncher nor the slash bundler have much of an impact on the land. “They’re not dragging anything on the ground, there’s no ground pressure, so soil compaction is a non-issue,” Schmidt said. He then invited those in attendance to take a walk through the harvested area to see for themselves.

Once the juniper is bundled, it can lay on the ground for several years and not lose its usefulness. “The bundles are compacted so tight, they won’t shrink,” Schmidt said. “They will dry out, which will make them weigh less, and that will result in lower transportation costs.”

On average, enough juniper can be harvested on one to two acres to fill up a log truck.
Another benefit is that the entire tree is used, so there are no slash piles left behind.
Schmidt stated that because the machinery is designed using the latest technology, they hope to attract more young people to the industry. “Training to operate these machines is available, and they use a simulator much like an airplane simulator,” Schmidt said. “And they’re good paying jobs.”

Power generation

Once bundled, the juniper is transported to a facility where it is shredded and used to create electricity and heat.

Gary Callihan of EnvioEnergi said a 25 megawatt (MW) power plant could create enough energy to power Burns and Hines, and provide a number of jobs. The plant would require around 250,000 tons of fuel a year, which equates to approximately 10,000 truckloads of bundles.

Callihan said one MW can provide electricity for 1,000 homes per hour, and if you add in heating, the number of homes rises because they are no longer using electricity for that purpose.

“Most of Europe is heated hydronically right now,” Callihan said. “And it can also be used for cooling.”
Callihan said that from the time the first permit was applied for, it could take as little as 24 months to have the plant built and the infrastructure in place. He added that the U.S. Department of Energy has money available for these types of projects.

“You’re using a renewable resource, reducing dependency on oil and lowering your energy cost,” Callihan said.

Community impact

When asked about what a power generation plant could do for the community, Schmidt said, “A rule of thumb is six jobs for every megawatt of energy, so there’s the possibility of around 120 new jobs.”

Schmidt also stressed the fact that John Deere is investing in this venture for the benefit of everyone. “We want this to be around for a long time,” he said. “Deere is a community-based company, and we want to see this succeed.”

Harney County Judge Steve Grasty agreed that the county could see benefits from the proposal. “The county has worked to get John Deere to demonstrate their equipment here for a couple of reasons. All are tied to the hope of job creation,” he said.

Grasty stated they have had conversations with wood pellet and biomass energy producers as to the possibility of them locating in our community. Both have indicated the first requirement is a dependable source of biomass and the second requirement is the ability to get that biomass to a plant location.

“John Deere has been a supplier of logging equipment aimed at biomass for some time,” Grasty said. “They have demonstrated their equipment on thinning slash in the general area several times but never on juniper. We believe that juniper may be a less controversial source of biomass, and obviously we have plenty. So we asked John Deere to demonstrate their equipment here, and Tony Urizar allowed the use of his property.”

Grasty added that between private landowners desiring to remove some of the juniper that has encroached onto their property,  the BLM’s efforts to remove juniper for watershed health improvement and the possibility of thinning slash, they believe the supply questions can be answered. “As John Deere reviews their costs, we will be able to answer the questions of delivery and at what cost to the folks we have been talking with,” he said.

As for the economic impact, Grasty said, “Assuming this all works out, we may be able to attract new business or industry to the community, along with the jobs we so desperately need. I also want to add that this does not downplay the need to manage our forests and seek a predictable supply of products from them. This is simply a parallel attempt to attract industry and jobs here.”

Both Schmidt and Callihan said they were impressed with the cooperation of community members in working on the project. “Steve Grasty and the commissioners, and Mark Maliwauki (Harney County Economic Development Coordinator) have been great to work with,” Callihan said. “We first met with them about a year ago, and then a month later, Steve and Mark really got the ball rolling. You’ve got some good leadership in this county.”

With the cost of oil and gas on the rise, Harney County and new technology have the opportunity to lead the nation into new independence.