Burney-Hat Creek Bioenergy
A community-scale 3 MW biomass gasification to energy system utilizing forest sourced feedstock.
Fall River Resource Conservation District
Recipient
Mcarthur, CA
Recipient Location
1st
Senate District
1st
Assembly District
$4,785,778
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
The Burney-Hat Creek Bioenergy Project, with West Biofuels as its main technology developer and contractor and Fall River Resource Conservation District as the prime EPIC grant recipient, completed the construction of the entire biomass power plant, testing of all systems and components, and testing in real operating environment (called hot commissioning) by the second quarter of 2025. This 3 MW biomass power plant was formally opened through a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on October 15, 2025, although full commercial operation was already underway as of June 2025. The power plant is the first facility purpose-built for local forest residuals, which is Category 3 (Bioenergy using byproducts of sustainable forest management) under the BioMAT program, converting forest waste and sustainably-sourced wood to renewable electricity for export to PG&E’s grid. The completion of the project is recognized as a major milestone for the bioenergy industry and highlighted the value of collaborations particularly of different funding agencies, support for the state’s energy and environment goals, and strategies to meet forest waste challenges.
The Issue
Forest biomass is a potentially valuable resource for power generation but has been difficult to deploy at scale given lack of cost competitiveness and other barriers. There remains a need to advance cost-effective, efficient, and low-emission biopower facilities that are suited to local communities and to develop modular biopower technologies that could be economically scaled up and transported or replicated at different forest locations.
Project Innovation
This project seeks to bring West Biofuels gasification technology, a technology funded by EPIC under an applied research and development program grant (EPC-14-024), to full commercialization. The West Biofuels gasification solution is designed to utilize forest derived biomass and is ready for scale-up demonstration and deployment. To advance its commercial readiness, this project is developing and demonstrating a community-scale forest biomass facility in the Burney-Hat Creek region that is designed to address the need for increased markets for forest biomass resources. The bioenergy facility will be consistent with the requirements of the BioMAT Category 3 and obtain a power purchase agreement at a financially viable price. The plant will consume about 22,000 bone dry tons (BDT) of forest sourced feedstock per year, generate 2.88 MW of renewable energy at full rated capacity, and have a capacity factor that is greater than or equal to 75 percent.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
The project’s bioenergy facility is the first commercial deployment of an innovative woody biomass conversion system that integrates a biomass gasifier, a thermal oxidizer and an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology in place of an internal combustion engine. Previous attempts by other companies at developing and commercially operating community-scale biomass projects have not been successful due to a combination of technology, operating and regulatory compliance challenges. This project overcame those challenges, providing a template for similar deployment to help achieve the state’s statutory energy goals by producing renewable electricity. It serves as the first BioMAT project under Category 3 and one of the first facilities to model a cost-effective approach to meet RPS goals, increasing bioenergy infrastructure in the state, diverting wood residue from pile and burn, utilizing forest biomass from high hazard zones, and creating clean-energy jobs in an underserved area.
Affordability
California IOU’s have been mandated to procure 250 MW of biomass electricity through SB 1122. Burney-Hat Creek Bioenergy is part of a cost-effective set of options for the utilities to acquire this capacity through the SB 1122 BioMAT program.
Reliability
Distributed forest biomass projects provide important grid reliability in northeastern California, a remote region of the PG&E grid. Burney-Hat Creek Bioenergy will help provide greater reliability through: reduced power losses and the reduction in system harmonics through local distributed generation minimizing the heat generation from long-distance transmission
Safety
By developing the region’s biomass infrastructure, the project will promote fire-safe forest management, helping protect ratepayer property and grid infrastructure.
Key Project Members
Sharmie Stevenson
Todd Sloat
Subrecipients
The Regents of California, San Diego
Todd Sloat
Hat Creek Bioenergy, LLC
Match Partners
Hat Creek Bioenergy, LLC
