Don C. Brunell: Costs Killing Animal Waste Power

Converting animal poop to power makes sense, but today it is too expensive. The good news is it reduces greenhouse gas emissions and curtails odors from farms.

Biomass is an important part of our nation’s effort to generate electricity from renewable sources. However, in Washington, where electric rates are low, it is difficult to make an economic argument using biomass to solely produce power.

Our state’s forest products companies have burned wood wastes for decades as part of the manufacturing process. It is called co-generation. Pressurized steam is run through power turbines and then used...