A decision by the Environmental Protection Agency is good news for Georgia. The EPA announced Monday it will begin treating energy created by burning trees as renewable, the same as wind and solar. Biomass from burning wood to produce electricity will be considered carbon-neutral.

The move puts Georgia in a good position, according to Tim Echols, Vice Chair of the Georgia Public Service Commission.

“This puts a Georgia resource on par with wind and solar and that’s good news for our state,” Echols said.

Echols points out there are 26 million acres of pine trees in Georgia.

“As we enter into a time in the U.S., I think in the next decade, when there will be a price on carbon, this will help the forest industry be competitive,” Echols said.

Heading forward, the EPA it will consider biomass as carbon neutral when establishing regulatory actions on energy production from power plants, such as a potentially revised, more modest Clean Power Plan.