Fernandez quoted by Energy News Network about wood-fired power plants in Maine

Ivan Fernandez, professor at the University of Maine’s School of Forest Resources and a member of the Maine Climate Council, spoke to Energy News Network for an article about a law encouraging the development of wood-fired combined heat and power plants in Maine, which is drawing praise for its potential to benefit the economy and the environment though questions remain about whether the program will cut carbon emissions as intended. “Yes, it’s releasing CO2, but it was going to release CO2 through decomposition anyway. As far as what the atmosphere sees, [combined heat and power] is a really good tool in the toolbox in our climate response,” Fernandez said. Fernandez added that on-site combined heat and power facilities also make it easier for logging operations to thin small or weak trees from the forest and put that wood to use.