El Dorado County is considering a study of opening a wood biomass station at the Sierra Pacific Industries sawmill in Camino.
The county will decide Tuesday whether to pay TSS Consultants of Sacramento $15,000 to study the feasibility of such an operation, which would convert wood products into electricity.
The goal of the operation would be to reduce wildfire fuels in the forests around the mill. Studies have found that forests in the region are too dense, and they create an environment to fuel wildfires. The state in general, and that part of the Sierra Nevada in particular, have been hit with massive wildfires in recent years, including last year's Mosquito Fire, which burned almost 77,000 acres.
The county will study a 5-megawatt bioenergy station. A megawatt is enough energy to power 750 homes.
El Dorado County has a letter from Redding-based Sierra Pacific Industries stating that it's willing to negotiate the possible sale or lease to the county of 10 to 15 acres at its Camino sawmill at 4001 Carson Road.
Sierra Pacific is the second-largest lumber producer in the country. It operates six sawmills in California, and owns sawmills locally in Lincoln and Camino. The Lincoln mill is in operation with more than 340 employees. The Camino sawmill has been closed for over a decade.
Sierra Pacific owns and manages more than 2.4 million acres of timberland in California, Oregon and Washington, where it operates mills and some cogeneration sites.
