Jun 1 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.

A $1.2 million U.S. Department of Energy grant will help the Laurentian Energy Authority study potential wood resources and the effect of using forest waste products for biomass burning projects at the Virginia and Hibbing public utilities.

"This is taking it to the next step," said Terry Leoni, Virginia Public Utilities manager. "It's to prove that the hybrid plantations that we will use are viable for burning, and that it makes sense to do that."

On, utility plants in Hibbing and Virginia plan to begin producing electricity and steam heat from wood-burning biomass boilers, an $80 million project.

The boilers would be fed with hybrid trees grown on plantations, treetops, brush and wood residue from forest floors.

About 300,000 tons of wood would be burned each year by the two utilities.

"The resource is there," Leoni said. "The science is making sure that once you remove the resource, you are not creating other problems but adding to the resource."

Construction of the boilers has been under way since been last fall.

The utilities plan to begin testing the boilers in late October or early November, Leoni said.