Flame-Cap Kiln Emissions Study — Final Results

In 2024 and 2025, SBI concluded a two-phase, CAL FIRE-funded grant project measuring and comparing emissions produced by the Ring of Fire Kiln (produced by Wilson Biochar), the conservation burn pile technique, and the standard burn pile technique. This work was conducted in partnership with the San Luis Obispo APCD, the USFS Fire Science Lab, The Usal Redwood Forest Company, LCA researcher Jim Amonette from Washington State University, and SEC's restoration program led by Cuauhtemoc Villa.

Final results are being released in a webinar available here. This data is critical for fire managers, air quality regulators, and biochar producers seeking to understand the relative environmental footprints of different burn management strategies.

Community Pyrolysis — Production Temporarily on Pause

As many of you know who have followed our almost 5-year pyrolysis system saga we received our Authority to Construct permit in February of 2025, and we installed, commissioned, and ran the system successfully for 2 months. During this period we conducted extensive emissions testing, and because of a clerical error by the testing company we had to pause production to go through a health research assessment process, which we successfully completed and we were issued our Permit to Operate on November 17th, allowing us to start up operations. However, there is one more hoop we need to jump through to start operations: our permit specifies that we can accept feedstock from only one source and we need to be able to use any "clean, cellulosic biomass", so we need to change this language. We have requested this change and it has to wind its way through the BAAQMD bureaucracy but we are hopeful we will be able to start producing biochar soon. We WILL be making biochar soon and we will announce that here when we are up and running again.

SBI worked with collaborators Sitos, the US Biochar Coalition, and others to change a USEPA determination that had categorized clean cellulosic biomass as municipal solid waste requiring extensive and expensive monitoring.

Greening 12 Schools — Pittsburg & Santa Rosa

In 2024, SBI received a CAL FIRE grant to manage planning for greening additions to 12 elementary schools - 4 in Santa Rosa and 8 in Pittsburg. Working with architects, landscape architects, and school communities, SBI developed plans that include planting shade trees, building outdoor classrooms, removing asphalt, building bioswales, and integrating biochar into all soil treatments.

In 2025, SBI was awarded implementation funding for Stoneman Elementary in Pittsburg. Construction completed in December 2025 and environmental education programming for 2nd-5th graders began in February 2026. All projects include a curriculum element where SEC staff provide environmental education to every class.

Sonoma County Biomass Campus — Berry's Sawmill

SBI is contributing to a Sonoma County effort to assess biomass flows in the county and the viability of establishing a biomass campus and mill to better utilize lower-value, unmerchantable forest materials. Spearheaded by Temra Costa and Jeremy Fisher of Regenerative Forest Solutions and funded by the California Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, this group is currently working to acquire the idled Berry's Sawmill near Cazadero, California.

Vineyard Field Trial — Positive Results After 6th Harvest

Thanks to the continued monitoring by partners Josiah Hunt of Pacific Biochar and the Monterey Pacific vineyard management company, the Oasis Vineyard field trial - originally funded by the CA Department of Water Resources - is still recording positive results after the 6th harvest. This long-running trial has become one of the most robust biochar-in-viticulture datasets on the West Coast.

Scaling Biochar Forum — 27 Presentations Still Available

In 2020, SBI produced a two-day educational webinar series called the Scaling Biochar Forum - focused on what is needed to scale the developing biochar industry, featuring 27 speakers from across the country representing science, industry, entrepreneurial, and policy perspectives. All 20-30 minute presentations are available on the scalingbiochar.com website. Share them widely.