SDS Lumber
Sales Office
P.O. Box 407
Bingen, WA 98605
Phone:
509-493-1444
Fax:
509-493-1149
sales email

SDS Lumber
Business Office
P.O. Box 266
Bingen, WA 98605
Phone:
509-493-2155
Fax:
509-493-2535
business email

POWER PLANT OPERATION

In addition to manufacturing wood products, SDS produces power in its steam - operated power plant. Energy created by SDS qualifies as bioenergy - energy generated from renewable, organic resources. Examples of renewable energy systems include solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass energy. Biomass resources include any organic matter, available on a renewable basis, that can be used to provide heat, make fuels, or generate electricity. The residual waste wood that is burned in our boiler and converted into steam is a classic example of biomass.

Bioenergy ranks second (to hydropower) in renewable U.S. primary energy production and accounts for 3% of the primary energy production in the United States. Most of the energy used today -- approximately 85% -- is created with fossil fuels. Fossil fuels, which include oil, natural gas and coal, do not regenerate quickly to keep pace with demand. Furthermore, emissions from fossil fuels systems are more polluting than renewable energy systems. Not surprisingly, there is an urgent push worldwide to generate renewable, environmentally friendly energy, such as the bioenergy produced at SDS.

We take great pride in knowing that 100% of the wood that enters the SDS mill has value and a purpose. Nothing is wasted. Though our state-of- the art mill uses the latest in technology to maximize the amount of lumber and veneer recovered from a single log, leftover residues inevitably exist. We sell sawdust and wood chips to paper companies and use bark and other wood waste - biomass - to fuel our steam plant.

Constructed in 1978, the steam plant supplies the steam required by our lumber dryers, veneer dryers, log vats and plywood presses. When there is a surplus of steam, we convert the energy into electricity. The electricity is used on site or sold to the open market as "green power." Currently, when running at full capacity, we generate 8.5 megawatts of electricity per hour with our surplus steam. One megawatt of electricity supplies an average of 1000 households. Due to today's high demand for power, we have been busier than ever selling power to the open market. Our biggest problem with running at full capacity is maintaining a sufficient hog fuel (biomass) supply. Lately, we've been supplementing our hog fuel supply with waste wood purchased from other lumber companies as well as waste wood purchased from recycle yards.