Earlier, we reported Covanta Energy Corp. - a New Jersey-based company represented in British Columbia by former Campbell administration deputy minister provincial Liberal president and Andrew Wilkinson - has expressed an interest in the government's new bioenergy strategy. But it's not the only American company that could take advantage of that strategy. Take the Pacific Gas and Electric Co., for example.

The San Francisco-based company has committed to having at least 20 percent of its power delivered by renewable resources - such as biomass - by 2010. As part of that commitment, the firm sought and received permission from the California Public Utilities Commission "to record up to $14 million in costs to prepare a study to evaluate the feasability of obtaining wind-generated and other renewable electric power from various regions in British Columbia, Canada."

So could it be the company is also looking at obtaining biomass electric power from our province? In an interview with Public Eye, Pacific Gas and Electric news department manager Jon Tremayne said, "It's one of the many (options) that is in the mix." But he couldn't more specific until the company completes the feasability study - which is expected to happen sometime in mid to late March.