The board of Golden State Natural Resources on June 25 voted to revise its plans for the proposed development of two wood pellet plants in California and will instead move forward with the development of two smaller-scale wood chip projects.&nbsp;GSNR is a nonprofit public benefit corporation established by rural counties to address the urgent issue of catastrophic fires from overgrown and under-managed forests. The group’s initial plans focused on the conversion of woody biomass gathered as part of forest treatment and restoration activities into wood pellets that would be exported for use in large-scale power production and similar applications. The plans included the development of a 700,000-metric-ton-per-year pellet plant in Lassen County and a 300,000-metric-ton-per-year facility in Tuolumne County, along with storage infrastructure at the Port of Stockton.&nbsp;GSNR in early 2024 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Drax US BECCS Development LLC “for the joint exploration of sustainable biomass opportunities with a focus on advancing forest resilience and promoting green energy initiatives worldwide.”&nbsp;In October 2024, GSNR announced the release of a draft environmental impact report (DEIR), as required by the California Environmental Quality Act, for the proposed wood pellet project. The DEIR specified that the MOU with Drax was explicitly non-binding and did not commit Drax to purchase or use any quantity of wood pellets or otherwise become involved in GSNR’s project.&nbsp;Documents published ahead of GSNR’s June 25 board of directors meeting indicates that the organization received more than 5,500 public comments in response to the DEIR and had identified three viable paths forward for the project.&nbsp;Under one option, GSNR would have continued with the development of the two proposed full-scale wood pellet plants, updating the project based on the findings of CEQA analysis and comments received. Under another option, GSNR would paused further development at both proposed project sites.&nbsp;The board, however, voted to move forward with a plan revise the scope of the project, which could include reducing the size and throughput of both facilities while transitioning from producing wood pellets for export to the production of wood chips for domestic use. GSNR noted wood chips could have applications in domestic alternative energy production, such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), marine biofuels, or in bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) applications. Alternatively, wood chips can be used to produce wood products, such as oriented strand board.&nbsp;According to information published by GSNR, the pivot to wood chip production would significantly lower the project’s capital costs and environmental footprint. The reduced scale of the wood chip project configuration may also facilitate CEQA review and permitting, and expedite site development timelines, improving the feasibility of near-term deployment, the group explained.&nbsp;Additional information is available in the June 25 meeting packet, which can be found on the GSNR <a href="https://goldenstatenaturalresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/6.25.2025_GSNR_BOD_Agenda.pdf">website</a>.

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The board of Golden State Natural Resources on June 25 voted to revise its plans for the proposed development of two wood pellet plants in California and will instead move forward with the development of two smaller-scale wood chip projects. 

Proposed California project pivots from wood pellets to wood chips

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