Wood burning plants can gain support

BOSTON (AP) - The Patrick administration is rethinking its support of wood-burning power plants. Wood has long been part of the state's portfolio of renewable energy sources, along with solar and wind.

But the wood-burning plants have irked some environmental activists who say they could lead to the clear cutting of forests while pumping more carbon dioxide into the air than coal plants.

Plant developers say the facilities are carbon neutral and rely heavily on waste wood.

Criticism of the wood-burning plants has ramped up in western Massachusetts, where the administration has invested $1 million to jump-start four proposed wood-burning plants.

State Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles says the administration now wants more information -- including how much carbon dioxide the plants release and their effect on local forests.