American Renewable Power (ARP) has today completed its acquisition and refurbishment of the Loyalton Biomass Cogeneration Plant from Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI).
Loyalton Biomass is a 20MW, baseload, 24/7 renewable power generation facility located on 212 acres adjacent to the City of Loyalton in Sierra County, California. Previously owned by SPI, the Plant was in continuous operation from 1987 to 2010. In conjunction with the acquisition, ARP has fully refurbished the facility and will be delivering power to a consortium of municipal utilities located throughout California.
Biomass’ environmental impact is becoming increasingly important. In addition to being a stated carbon-reduction technology by the US EPA, biomass power generation plays a highly significant role in reducing forest fire risk and in diverting biomass waste away from landfill sites.
California’s biomass plants provide a critical resource to reduce fire risks by removing waste material from forests. According to the US Forest Service, there were more than 126,000,000 dead trees urgently in need of removal in the western US. In 2017, California suffered the single most damaging wildfires in its history resulting in more than $13 billion in damage and firefighting costs.
Loyalton Biomass will source 80% of its annual fuel requirement from byproducts of sustainable forestry management and is not from lands that have been clear-cut. Furthermore, 60% of annual fuel will be from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection designated High Hazard Zones, which require the removal of dead and dying trees from high fire risk areas.
In addition to the above environmental benefits, ARP’s restart of the Loyalton Biomass plant has created 20 new full-time equivalent positions in the predominately rural Sierra County in Northern California.
Sierra County Board Supervisors Peter Huebner and Paul Roen commented, “Sierra County congratulates American Renewable Power on its acquisition of the Loyalton Biomass plant and looks forward to a long, successful and sustaining relationship with the company. The project will provide numerous benefits to the region including job creation, small business expansion, new business development opportunities, increased local commerce and a regional market for biomass materials that stands to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires in the region. Sierra County has been extremely active in its support for bringing this opportunity to the County and this Board of Supervisors greatly welcomes American Renewable Power to the region.”
ARP has also rebranded and begun marketing the Sierra Valley EcoTech Campus. This onsite industrial park provides office and manufacturing tenants with 24/7 renewable power, various thermal energy products (steam, hot water, etc), high-capacity fiber optic services and onsite water supply and sewage treatment.
American Renewable Power is an Irvine, California-based company that acquires, owns and operates renewable energy power facilities in the US. ARP will acquire and operate large-scale biomass, wind and solar generation assets to provide a reliable, renewable electricity source to large corporate and institutional customers. Loyalton is ARP’s first acquisition with additional biomass and renewable power generation acquisitions planned in the western US.
Sierra Pacific Industries is based in Anderson, California. The company owns and manages nearly 1.9 million acres of timberland in California and Washington, and is among the largest lumber producers in the United States. SPI is committed to managing its lands in a responsible and sustainable manner to protect the environment while providing quality wood products and renewable power for consumers.
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Contact Details:
American Renewable Power
300 Spectrum Drive, Suite 400, Irvine, CA 92618
Office: (888) 918-8685
