USDA, DOE announce $18 million solicitation for biomass R&D

Washington, D.C., June 14, 2007 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a combined total of up to $18 million will be available for research and development (R&D) of biomass-based products, biofuels, bioenergy and related processes. USDA and DOE are issuing these grant solicitations for several types of projects aimed at increasing the availability of alternative and renewable fuels, which will help further President Bush's energy initiatives, including Twenty in Ten. The Twenty in Ten Initiative promotes greater energy security through increased efficiency and diversification of energy sources. USDA will provide up to $14 million and DOE will provide up to $4 million.

The $18 million solicitation will fund projects in four categories (the share of overall funding is noted in parenthesis): the development of technologies to convert cellulosic biomass into intermediaries for bio-based fuels (45 percent); product diversification (30 percent); feedstock production (20 percent); and analysis for strategic guidance (5 percent).

Since 2002, USDA has awarded $58.1 million in grants to 55 projects in 27 states and the District of Columbia under the Biomass Research and Development Initiative. Since the beginning of 2007, DOE has announced nearly $1 billion in funding for biofuels R&D.

Maximum award amounts will not exceed $1 million. Eligible applicants include state and federal research agencies, national laboratories, private-sector groups and nonprofit organizations. The closing date for pre-applications is July 11, 2007.

"I am hopeful that these projects will play a critical role in furthering our knowledge of how we can cost effectively produce more homegrown, bio-based products to help reduce our reliance on imported sources of energy," DOE secretary Samuel Bodman said.

Guest View: Biomass Plant Would Be Benefit

By Martin Hibbs

    I am writing you to express my concern and frustration regarding the permit denial by the New Mexico Department of Environment Air Quality Bureau for the proposed Western Water and Power Production biomass power plant in Torrance County.

    As mayor of Estancia, the community most directly affected by the biomass plant, I am charged with leading local government and businesses to discover and nurture opportunities for our community— opportunities applicable to today and tomorrow. I am concerned that a small, vocal group of naysayers has hijacked Estancia's potentially bright future through a misinformation campaign designed to derail the project.

    The biomass power plant gives south Torrance County a chance to stand on its own and grow. By thwarting this project, we rob the people of Torrance County of a better future possibly. I do not support this theft, and here is why.

    1. The biomass power plant empowers the people of southern Torrance County to invest in their future by taking full advantage of the opportunities that the plant provides.
    Consider the following:
   

Area farmers, who own the water rights, choose to offer water for their crops. This is their right— it's their water rights. They should also have the right to choose to become investors in new technology— renewable energy— right here in the Estancia Valley. This is an opportunity for a business with alternative uses for their water rights;
   

The biomass plant will create and sustain employment in Torrance County. Economic development such as this assures that many of our area citizens will not have to drive to Albuquerque for work, and it also means that many of our young people can continue to live here, because there is work. Working in your hometown area means a better quality of life (shorter commute, more time for family and friends, more discretionary income as less money is spent on commuting); decreased auto emission pollution and improved energy conservation because there aren't as many cars commuting on Interstate 40 daily; and more opportunity to support local businesses, restaurants and retailers because more area citizens are in the Valley every day. This is a win-win for Torrance County.

    2. The Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRB), which provide certain tax benefits to businesses locating to an area, offer opportunity to Torrance County, not penalty. Remember that Rio Rancho High School was built with monies from the IRBs that enticed Intel to move to that city. The IRBs for the biomass power plant have the potential to improve roads and more in Torrance County.

    3. There is enough fuel for the biomass power plant— three times as much as is necessary for the proposed life of the facility (between 20 and 25 years). This fact has been confirmed by studies and independent satellite imagery. Also, PNM has entered into energy contracts with Western Water and Power Production for the power generated; I am sure that PNM did its homework before signing that contract. Also the majority of the fuel for the boiler will be juniper wood. This thirsty, prolific allergen is encroaching on our rangelands. To protect the rangelands and their ecosystems, Western Water and Power Production will be hired by private landowners and state agencies to process these trees as fuel.

    4. The proposed biomass power plant will operate below the national and state clean air standards. This compliance was made evident at the hearings held by the New Mexico Department of Environment Air Quality Bureau in March and April this year. So where is the problem?

    Further, the biomass power plant will work to reduce the existing level of air pollution, which results from the open burning of rangeland brush, particulate emissions from potential wildfires and the emissions from the greenhouse natural gas boilers that are adjacent to the plant's proposed site. When the power plant comes on line, its waste heat will be used to heat the greenhouses, further demonstrating the plant's contribution to energy conservation.

    Please consider the issues when evaluating the future of the biomass power plant. I believe that this plant provides a very important opportunity for our county and the state.

    Martin Hibbs is mayor of Estancia.
 

Biomass plant to be built on UMinn-Morris campus

MORRIS, Minn. (AP) - The Board of Regents has approved construction of a biomass plant on the University of Minnesota's Morris campus.

The associate vice chancellor for physical plant and planning on the Morris campus says they hope to begin building the plant next month and are targeting February for the plant to start producing steam.

Lowell Rasmussen says the biomass burner is unique because it will use corn stover, employing a gasification process to produce steam for energy that will be used throughout the Morris campus.

The college also has a wind turbine. Rasmussen says it's all part of an effort to have all the energy used on the campus to be from renewable sources within the next three years.

The biomass plant will cost nearly nine million dollars. Rasmussen says A USDA grant will provide part of the funding.

Information from: J.P. Cola/KWLM-AM

Biomass Technology: Beyond the Laboratory

Biomass Technology: Beyond the Laboratory

By Dr. Gerald H. Groenewold

elcome to the inaugural issue of Biomass Magazine a publication dedicated to the development of biomass-based power, fuels and chemicals. The Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) is extremely proud to be a part of this exciting endeavor. I am honored to write the first of the EERC's monthly columns, which will explore the many tremendous opportunities in renewable energy and biomass utilization.

The biomass industry is still in its infancy compared with other energy markets, but it must play a major role in the world's energy picture. Biomass is a critical domestic resource in the United States for meeting future electricity and transportation fuel demands, reducing dependence on foreign oil, stimulating agriculture, achieving carbon-neutral and toxic-free air emissions, and meeting the demands from public and political groups for green energy.

Biofuels are gaining popularity and prominence around the world as an economical solution for the future. In Europe and now more so throughout North America, the use of methyl esters for diesel fuel has achieved widespread acceptance. In the United States, the demand for ethanol is forcing a rapid progression of technology development to make ethanol from lignocellulosics. Other biomass technologies that are attracting large financial investment include using wood and agricultural wastes for remote power generation, hydrogen from biomass, and biofuels for the military.

 

Right now, the EERC is playing a major role in developing, demonstrating and ultimately commercializing biomass technologies and working with an extensive network of corporate partners to bring technology innovations out of the laboratory and into the commercial marketplace. The EERC's Centers for Renewable Energy and Biomass Utilization are leading the nation in addressing technical barriers to the increased utilization of biomass in energy production. Within the past five years, the EERC has conducted more than 60 major projects involving biomass—coal cofiring, biomass combustion and gasification for power, value-added byproducts from existing biomass industries, grain and lignocellulosic ethanol production, innovative production and use of biodiesel, and the production of hydrogen from biomass and wind. The EERC recently received a $5 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to produce a fully renewable domestic biomass-derived jet fuel for the U.S. military utilizing EERC-developed technology, which is highlighted in this month's magazine (page 18). This project involves partnerships with numerous private-sector entities.

These projects exemplify the EERC's successful business model of developing partnerships with private industry, government and the research community in order to improve the quality of life globally.

The EERC is a nonprofit business within the University of North Dakota (UND), which provides entrepreneurial, market-driven solutions to today's most critical energy and environmental issues. It began in 1951 as the Robertson Lignite Research Laboratory under the Federal Bureau of Mines and became a federal energy technology center under the U.S. DOE in 1977. The center was de-federalized in 1983, at which time it became part of UND.

Since its de-federalization, the EERC has evolved to conduct research in a wide variety of areas, including clean coal technologies, emission control, oil and gas, climate change and carbon sequestration, hydrogen technologies, water management, biomass, wind energy, and alternative fuels. It has become a world leader in the field of pollution prevention and environmental cleanup technologies. Today, the EERC serves as a national leader in advancing technologies to the marketplace by bringing together private industry and federal government funding. Although the EERC is a state entity, we do not accept state-appropriated dollars and have never requested any. With more than 300 employees, the EERC has 970 clients in all 50 states and in 49 countries, and our research portfolio totals over $122 million.

In the months to come, I encourage you to follow along as several members of our research staff write this column providing a deeper analysis of some of the pressing issues facing the biomass industry, exploring its vast opportunities and discussing some of the EERC's own research projects.
 

Renewafuel receives EPA funding to study pelletized wood fuel

Renewafuel receives EPA funding to study pelletized wood fuel

 

Rosemount, Minn.-based Renewafuel LLC has produced what it hopes will prove to be a similar fuel to coal, but with far fewer environmental impacts, according to company President James Mennell. Testing on a new pelletized wood fuel was conducted at the University of Iowa power plant in March and was funded by the U.S. EPA. The government agency provided $200,000 for the study, which seeks to verify the benefits of blending wood-based fuel with coal for use in coal-fired facilities.

A final report detailing all the results and a full environmental lifecycle analysis from third-party contractor The Greenhouse Gas Technology Center should be completed this summer. Renewafuel's initial research on the fuel found that it reduces creditable greenhouse gas emissions by 100 percent, sulfur dioxide emissions by more than 90 percent and mercury emissions by more than 50 percent. Mennell said the testing went "very well" from an operational standpoint. "I believe that we are going to produce on a large-scale a fuel that can replace fossil fuels that would be equivalent in its energy value to coal with a fraction of the emissions," Mennell said. "I also like the idea of it being locally produced."

Renewafuel currently owns and operates a production-scale research and development facility in Battle Creek, Mich. Mennell said the wood fuel, supplied by local feedstocks, can be immediately substituted in existing coal-fired equipment without any alterations. Renewafuel's technology process allows for various feedstocks and not just wood, making it attractive to anyone who is a large-scale institutional user of solid fuels, he said.

 

Renewafuel, founded in 2005 by Mennell and CEO Leon Endres, has already received a lot of feedback and is in various agreements with several U.S.-based companies for large-scale projects, Mennell said. Because location and transportation influence cost, Renewafuel's future plan is to locate facilities near the feedstock source and the customer, he said.