Do we need a biomass energy policy? The California experience

California is the world leader in the production of electricity from biomass. Biomass energy facilities have become a crucial part of the state's solid waste disposal infrastructure, providing a beneficial-use disposal option for a wide variety of the stale's forestry, agricultural, and urban biomass residues. In the peak year of 1990, the biomass energy industry converted more than ten million tons of the state's solid waste into two percent of its electricity supply. However, those heady days are a thing of the past. Deregulation of the electric utility industry has led to the closure of thirty percent of the industry since 1994, and the low energy prices expected in the competitive energy market threaten to bring more closures and cutbacks. The future will be bleak unless policies are developed to reward biomass power generation for the waste-disposal services that, until now, have been provided free of charge.