LPEA supports biomass project, but not the price

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On Wednesday, May 20, after dispensing with a number of housekeeping items, including electing board officers for the next year, the newly seated board of directors for La Plata Electric Association heard a proposal about purchasing power generated by Renewable Forest Energy (RFE), a Pagosa company.

Specifically, the proposal was for LPEA (and Tri-State Generation and Transmission) to purchase 3 megawatts of power generated by RFE’s biomass gasification power plant anticipated to be built in Archuleta County in the near future.

However, while the board expressed support for the project and noted its merits, the purchase price of the power gave the board pause, said J.R. Ford, who heads up the project.

Ford said there was a separation between what the board was willing to pay and the price RFE requested, which began at 8.1 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the company’s presentation.

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