Web exclusive posted Dec. 1, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. CST 
 
 The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) will hold its annual Phase II Policy Forum on Renewable Energy in America conference Dec. 4 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. 
 

 The non-profit group represents over 550 international members from various associations, education centers and other entities from all renewable energy sectors, including biofuels and biomass. ACORE began holding Phase II conferences in 2002 to convey the contribution that renewable energy can make towards meeting the United States' energy needs by presenting expert speakers to discuss energy policy issues. Phase II is meant to represent the time period of 2000 to 2025, which the organization believes to be the implementation period for new renewable energy technologies.
 
 Speakers at this year's event include: Tom Daschle, President-elect Barack Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services appointee and a former South Dakota senator; Iowa Gov. Chet Culver; former CIA director Jim Woolsey; and New York Times foreign affairs columnist and author Thomas L. Friedman. Topics that will be discussed include transportation fuels and electric power policies, as well as financing for renewable energy scale-up.
 
 "The renewable energy industry continues to offer solutions on energy, environment and climate," ACORE President Michael Eckhart said. "But we also have a role to play now in getting our nation's economy back on track through the immediate employment impact of green jobs. We can provide the Obama administration with an energy and economic policy framework."
 
 ACORE will offer its conference live via webcast at <a href="http://www.acore.org">www.acore.org</a> beginning Dec. 4 at 8:30 a.m. EST.

Annual ACORE meeting to focus on fuel, power policies

Web exclusive posted Dec. 1, 2008 at 11:20 a.m. CST 
 
 With the acquisition of Ohio-based Velocys Inc. on Nov. 20, Oxford Catalyst Group Plc is combining the catalyst technologies developed over decades at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, where Oxford Catalyst has its roots, with the Fischer-Tropsch technologies developed at the Battelle Memorial Institute, where Velocys was born.
 
 Velocys, which spun off from Battelle in 2001, has developed a microchannel FT technology which reduces the size and cost of processing hardware, while still enabling efficient and precise temperature control in the FT reactor. Oxford Catalyst designed a highly active metal-carbide-based FT catalyst to optimize the reactor's potential.
 
 "The combination of smaller reactor channels and a highly active catalyst can increase productivity ten-fold or more," said Jeff McDaniel, business development director at Velocys. An individual reactor measuring two feet by two feet by two feet can process 30 to 40 barrels per day (440,000 gallons to 600,000 gallons per year), he explained. The plan is to manifold 10 together into a reactor capable of processing between 4 MMgy to 6 MMgy that would measure five feet in diameter by 25 feet long.
 
 A smaller field demonstration unit is expected to be completed by mid-2009, sized to match an existing biomass gasifier at Chicago's Gas Technology Institute. The 25 gallon-per-day unit will demonstrate the technology using syngas derived from wood chips. Once those tests are completed, the skid-mounted unit will be moved to the U.S. Air Force synthetic fuel demonstration facility under construction at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.
 
 "By working more closely together to optimize and intensify the FT process we will be able to make the production of liquid fuels from a wide variety of sources a more practical proposition," said Derek Atkinson, business development director at Oxford Catalyst. The technology promises to be a viable option for the commercial production of diesel and jet fuels from such sources as agricultural waste, municipal solid waste and landfill gas, as well as from stranded gas and coal.

A Velocys Inc. researcher examines a shim, showing the configuration of the microchannels that make up a Velocys FT reactor./PHOTO: VELOCYS INC.

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Oxford Catalyst to demonstrate microchannel technology

Web exclusive posted Dec. 10, 2008 at 2:56 p.m. CST 
 
 Santa Clarita, Calif.-based <a href="http://www.biosolar.com/index.php">BioSolar Inc.</a> is ushering in the inherent benefits of biomass by leading a pioneering effort to reduce the costs of solar cells by replacing petroleum-based solar panel components with durable biomass-based plastic materials. 
 
 According to BioSolar, one of its first product offerings, a BioBacksheet, is in the pre-production phase. The product forms the bottom layer of most crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells-a layer traditionally comprised of petroleum-based plastics. BioSolar will use primarily recycled cotton in combination with natural polymers derived from castor bean oil in its BioBacksheet product, according to Chief Executive Officer David Lee.
 
 "The bottom line is that the product made from these new sources using a specific producing technique can withstand the same or maybe much worse environmental challenges that these backsheets have to go through," he said, noting that BioSolar is the first company in the industry to find such a viable alternative. "Our main intent was to make it clean so that we don't increase the demand of petroleum and at the same time reduce waste and possible pollution afterwards."
 
 Approximately 75 percent of the typical photovoltaic solar cells currently on the market consist of the actual sunlight-to-electricity converter; the remaining 25 percent contain packaging manufactured mostly from non-renewable materials, including petroleum-based plastics. 
 
 According to Lee, BioSolar's BioBacksheets are also expected to cost approximately 25 percent less than petroleum-based traditional backsheets. Despite the explosive growth in solar panel sales, the savings is also expected to reduce the final cost per watt of solar electricity by allowing cell manufacturers to lower the cost of their finished product.
 
 "Target pricing and the cost reduction was based on the old pricing of petroleum," Lee said. "Even if the petroleum price goes down further I think our cost will be substantially less than what it would be for the cost of petroleum-based components."
 
 Beyond BioBacksheets, Lee said in the future the company intends to develop similar biomass-based products for solar cell components that will replace other petroleum-based components such as a BioSolar Thin Film Substrate, BioSolar Superstrate and BioSolar Plastics to be used for injection molding in various solar panel housing and packaging components.

A diagram depicting BioSolar Inc.'s BioBacksheet, a biomass-based component found in conventional c-Si solar panels./PHOTO: BIOSOLAR INC.

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BioSolar to use biomass in solar panel components

Web exclusive posted Nov. 25, 2008 at 12:43 p.m. CST 

 
 The development of soil management practices to maintain adequate soil organic matter (SOM) is essential for making prudent decisions regarding land use for food, fiber, feed and bioenergy, according to an article by the USDA -Agricultural Research Services that was recently published in the Soil Science Society of American Journal. 
 	
 The report details methods of measuring soil quality using the carbon sequestration (CQSTER) model, and predicts long-term soil organic matter and soil organic carbon changes caused by an array of practices including crop residue removal. 
 
 The CQSTER model is described in the report as a tool used to relate organic residue additions, crop management, and soil tillage to SOM accretion or loss. "Given the high correlation of simulated and observed SOM changes, CQESTR can be used as a reliable tool to predict SOM changes from management practices and offers the potential for estimating soil carbon storage required for carbon credits," the article stated. "It can also be an important tool to estimate the impacts of crop residue removal for bioenergy production on SOM level and soil production capacity."
 
 ARS scientists selected four previously conducted long-term experiments with several management systems to examine the ability of the CQSTER to simulate the long-term effects of practices such as crop rotation, organic amendments and tillage practices. Two of the experiments were 100-year studies done in Champaign, Ill., and Columbia, Mo., and the other two were 20-year studies done in Lincoln and Sidney, Neb.
 
 The CQSTER model successfully simulated the detrimental effect of 50 or more years of crop residue removal on SOM dynamics, according to the report. "Management practices that increase biomass, limit inversion tillage, and return root and shoot biomass to the soil annually promote C accretion," it stated. "The CQESTR model can be used to examine the expected effect of planned or proposed changes in agricultural management practices on soil C contents at the field scale."
 
 The scientists also found that the use of the CQESTR model allows evaluation of management options so that sustainability can be considered along with soil productivity. "More studies are needed to evaluate the CQESTR model's performance in predicting the amount of crop residue required to maintain the SOM concentration in different soils under a wide range of management and climatic conditions," the article concluded. 
 
 The report is available on the <a href="http://soil.scijournals.org/cgi/reprint/72/5/1486">Soil Science Society of American Journal Web site </a>at no charge until Dec. 20.

USDA ARS: CQSTER model can evaluate soil quality

Web exclusive posted Nov. 28, 2008 at 4:50 p.m. CST 

 
 After months of negotiations and meetings, Lake County, Ind., officials voted 14-4 at a late November meeting approving a 15-year contract with Powers Energy One of Indiana to construct and operate a 32 MMgy ethanol production facility. The county will pay a tipping fee to the company in exchange for the plant to convert the county's usable trash to ethanol. 
 
 Prior to approving the Powers One contract, the board had previously considered bids from Genahol-Powers One LLC and Agresti Biofuels. Powers Energy One President Earl Powers told Ethanol Producer Magazine he believes his company won the contract because it offered the most feasible MSW-to-ethanol technology. "The process is a revolutionary step forward in addressing two major issues facing our nation: the environmental problems caused by our difficulties in disposing of the mountains of waste we produce; and finding a cost-effective way to provide alternative energy from domestic sources," Powers said.
 
 The gasification/fermentation process that will be used at the facility was purchased by Powers Energy One from technology-provider <a href="http://www.ineosbio.com">INEOS Bio</a>. The technology has been put to use at an INEOS Bio pilot-scale facility in Fayetteville, Ark., for five years, according to Powers, and was a major selling point to members of the Lake County Solid Waste Management District. 
 
 Final site selection for the $211 million facility will begin the first week of December, Powers said. He expects permitting to take up to four months and construction an additional 12 to 18 months, making the 2010 opening goal an optimistic bet.

Indiana county approves trash-to-ethanol facility

Lignol Energy Corp. in Burnaby, British Columbia, and Weyerhaeuser Co. in Federal Way, Wash., have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the development of commercial cellulose fiber and biochemical applications, such as industrial adhesive or carbon fiber production, that would use the cellulose fiber and high-purity lignin produced in Lignol's biorefining process. Weyerhaeuser feedstocks are being tested at Lignol's pilot-scale plant in Burnaby to determine whether to build a commercial-scale biorefinery at or near a Weyerhaeuser mill site.

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Lignol, Weyerhaeuser sign agreement

Now that the presidential election is over, we can finally get back to business. I just hope President-elect Barack Obama understands how important biomass is to this country's energy future. Yes, gas prices are down for the time being, but we shouldn't forget the pain everyone suffered when crude oil soared to more than $100 a barrel because it will probably happen again. 
 
 Speaking of pain, one of the features in this month's magazine, called "Reinventing the Mill," is about the pulp and paper industry. The story details how the pulp and paper industry has been pounded by high energy costs, low-priced imports and the weak economy. To make matters worse, wood prices have increased in response to high energy costs. 
 
 This should remind all of us that the biomass industry needs to proceed with caution. I am a firm believer in making good use of all of our biomass resources, but we need to be careful not to put those resources in jeopardy or drive the prices up so high that fossil fuels look like a bargain.
 
 Although I don't have any profound ideas on how to avoid such situations, I'm sure there are intelligent people out there who have more economic sense. As I've often told people, I'm a journalist, not a rocket scientist, mathematician or economist.
 

 Although the "Reinventing the Mill" feature seems grim, there is a silver lining. Pulp and paper mills have the potential to become biorefineries, which would allow them to produce a variety of products, including biofuels, and to offset input costs by producing electricity. 
 
 As you read the feature, pay particular attention to the projects that have received U.S. DOE funding. Our staff writers will be keeping track of these projects as they progress, and hopefully they will be successful and serve as a model for others. 
 
 Rona Johnson
 Features Editor
 <a href="mailto:rjohnson@bbiinternational.com">rjohnson@bbiinternational.com</a>

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A Cautionary Tale

New York-based Green Energy Resources is working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency to acquire hurricane debris from southeast Texas, following the landfall of Hurricane Ike in September. The company will purchase waste wood with diameters of two inches or more collected by FEMA contractors, but not wood waste from other sources, such as damaged buildings. By taking the wood in log form, the company will be able to produce wood chips as clients need them.

Debris from Hurricane Ike is compiled at a collection center in Houston. 

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Green Energy Resources to utilize hurricane wood

I am fascinated by information and how it's presented. I have an affinity for maps, charts and graphs. Recently, I came across a collection of information that benefits communities and regions seeking to increase economic activity-the laborshed analysis. A laborshed analysis is developed to identify the makeup of the labor force in a certain jurisdiction, including the size of the local workforce, the distribution of that workforce across various industries, typical benefits offered in the area, education levels, wages, underemployment levels and much more. This information is gathered, organized and available to economic development professionals, who are tasked with attracting new industries and employers to their area. The idea is that the more potential employers know about the area's labor force, the easier it is to attract them. The most impressive aspect of the laborshed analyses is that it contains everything a prospective employer would want to know without the fluff. 
 
 Cities and counties would be wise, indeed some have already begun, to make sure all of the various resources under their umbrellas are as completely understood and succinctly expressed as their labor resources, especially biomass. As we derive more energy and products from biomass, those cities, counties and regions that understand their biomass resources will be more likely to attract economic development activity.
 
 The National Renewable Energy Laboratory produced a biomass density map of the United States in September 2005 and my home state of Iowa was identified as rich in biomass resources, as were several other areas of the country. How then do cities, counties and regions elevate themselves to attract development activity or better yet, encourage development from within? 
 
 A document similar to a laborshed analysis outlining the biomass resources in a given area could help economic developers across the country to reach their goals. A document detailing crop residues, manure streams, industrial wastes, municipal solid wastes, wastewater treatment loads, existing landfills and woody biomass could equip economic development professionals with the information they need to attract development, regardless of the technologies that emerge to best harness the energy bound up in these biomass resources. Once these biomass resources are thoroughly understood and expressed, the entrepreneurial spirit of local producers and entrepreneurs can be unleashed and the wheels of commerce can begin to turn.
 
 Tim Portz is a business developer with BBI International's Community initiative to Improve Energy Sustainability. Reach him at <a href="mailto:tportz@bbiinternational.com">tportz@bbiinternational.com</a> or (651) 398-9154.

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Building a ‘Bioshed' Analysis

Canadian companies Sanimax and StormFisher Biogas have announced a joint venture to construct eight biogas plants in the U.S. Midwest, including an investment of more than $160 million. Each of the facilities will generate 2.6 megawatts of electricity, enough to power approximately 2,600 homes annually. A construction schedule wasn't available at press time. The plants will process food byproducts from local facilities, such as schools and restaurants, to generate the electricity, as well as natural gas.

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Sanimax, StormFisher partner

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Inc., a United Technologies Corp. company, has partnered with Exxon Mobil Research and Engineering Co. to develop, demonstrate and license compact coal or biomass gasification technology that results in synthesis gas. Pilot plant activities will take place at the Gas Technology Institute in Des Plaines, Ill., and feed system and dry solids pump tests will occur at the Energy & Environmental Research Center in Grand Forks, N.D. The companies will also collaborate on licensing the technology to third parties.

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Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne partners with Exxon Mobil

The Auburn University Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts is acquiring a rapid biomass fractionation unit developed by Colorado-based PureVision Technology Inc. to use in its research on biochemical and thermochemical conversion processes. PureVision's continuous process employs a countercurrent extraction technique that removes and recovers hemicellulose and lignin fractions in two liquid streams, leaving a solid fraction containing a relatively pure cellulose or fiber. PureVision expects its continuous pilot plant in Fort Lupton, Colo., to be operational in December.

Auburn University selects PureVision technology

Mitsubishi Corp., Japan's largest general trading company, has acquired  45 percent interest in Vis Nova Trading GmbH, a German biopelleting business. Vis Nova Trading currently supplies 180,000 tons of wood pellets annually to electric power companies in the European Union and plans to build additional factories that would increase pellet output to 500,000 tons annually. Mitsubishi invested €5.63 million ($8.2 million) in Vis Nova Trading and intends to be actively involved in the company's management.

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Mitsubishi enters pellet market

The Boeing Co. and UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, have joined several airlines, the World Wildlife Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council in a sustainable fuels initiative called the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group. The airlines include Air France, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Cargolux Airlines International S.A., Gulf Air, Japan Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines and Virgin Atlantic Airways. In addition to its members signing a sustainability pledge, the group's first projects will assess the adherence of algae and jatropha to its sustainability criteria.

Aviation companies form sustainable fuels group

Jeffrey Specialty Equipment Corp. and Rader Co. Inc., biomass equipment suppliers that plan to merge in January to become Jeffrey Rader Corp., will supply four identical biomass utility boiler feed systems to the 585-megawatt Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center in Virginia City, Va. Once operational, the feed systems will convey more than 195 tons of wood chips and forest waste wood per hour. Delivery of the systems components will begin in 2010. Start-up is slated for 2011.

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Jeffrey Rader wins contract, changes name

Braskem SA in Brazil has partnered with Toyota Tsusho Corp. in Japan to produce and market renewable polyethylene made from sugarcane. Braskem will produce the plastic at a new facility built at its existing industrial site in Tuiunfo, Brazil. Toyota Tsusho will market the plastic throughout Asia. Braskem was the first company in the world to have its polyethylene certified as being 100 percent biomass-based. In October, Braskem also produced certified biomass-based polypropylene for the first time.

Green plastics from sugarcane

U.K.-based Helius Energy PLC recently signed an option-to-lease agreement for an 18-acre site located at Avonmouth Dock along Great Britain's Bristol Channel for a proposed 100-megawatt biomass power plant. The agreement followed RWE Innogy's acquisition of full development and operation rights to Helius Energy's 65-megawatt biomass power plant to be built in North East Lincolnshire, U.K.

Helius Energy picks plant site

The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority has approved more than $2.2 million in grants for statewide biomass-related projects. Four companies and a school district received funds ranging from $150,000 to $1 million to install biomass-fed boilers, and to build facilities that will pelletize wood and convert biomass into biochar. Another project involves the construction of a 12-megawatt biomass-fed power generation facility. The funds are dependent on a $500 million state bond issue that was approved by Pennsylvania's General Assembly earlier this year. The official bond issue is expected in 2009.

Pennsylvania awards biomass energy grants

Art Wiselogel, a longtime participant in the biofuels industry, has created A Wise Renewable Energy Consulting LLC. The firm will focus on biomass resource assessments, technical evaluations of biomass-based renewable energy technologies, and various business analyses and reports. Wiselogel has 30 years of experience in biofuels, agronomy and forestry as a scientist, project manager and analyst. He previously worked with BBI International Inc., the U.S. DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the University of Georgia and Texas A&M University.

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Wiselogel creates consulting firm

Two recently passed pieces of legislation are poised to benefit the biomass industry. More widely known as the U.S. economic "bailout package," the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 also extends various renewable energy and biofuels tax credits. 

 
 Signed into law Oct. 3, the act extends the tax credit for producing electricity from closed-loop or open-loop biomass facilities through 2010. In addition, "cellulosic biofuels" are now included within the definition of biomass ethanol plant property for purposes of the bonus depreciation allowance. This extends bonus depreciation to property used to produce cellulosic biofuels in general, rather than just cellulosic ethanol. 
 
 The bailout package also extends the alternative fuel credit and the alternative fuel mixture credit though 2009. This includes compressed or liquefied biomass gas and all types of qualifying fuels sold for use in aviation. Certain carbon capture requirements must be met by gasification facilities to qualify for the credit. 
 
 Another bill-the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance and Continuing Appropriations Act of 2009-was signed into law Sept. 30. This legislation could offer potential benefits to biomass companies working with wood waste. It includes an allowance of $175 million for the U.S. Forest Service to use in removing wood determined to be "hazardous fuel" in 
 areas of the country that are prone to wildfires.
 
 Although woody biomass from national forests isn't currently included in the definition of "woody biomass" contained within the Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., is working to pass legislation to change the definition. This legislation failed to pass in 2008. However, Thune is expected to continue working on revising the definition of woody biomass in 2009.

Wood waste from national forests is not currently included in the definition of "woody biomass" listed in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

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Bailout package benefits biomass industry

In an effort to promote new uses for contaminated lands throughout the United States, the U.S. EPA has created a comprehensive Web site detailing thousands of locations that could become renewable energy production sites. The interactive maps and related information can be found at www.epa.gov/renewablenergyland.
 
 EPA Environmental Scientist Penelope McDaniel said response to the project has been extremely positive. The Web site received more than 20,000 hits in its first month, and the agency has fielded a number of inquiries from interested parties. "That's the first step: getting the developers interested," she said.
 
 The Web site is the result of approximately three months of cooperative work between the EPA and the U.S. DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The agencies began by compiling a database of abandoned mine lands; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act sites; and Superfund sites. Once the massive list was created, sites with workable acreage were extracted and then compared against a list of specific criteria to determine each site's potential for renewable energy production.
 
 Criteria for a site's biomass potential included: 
 

 ›Distance to electric transmission lines: 10 miles or less
 
 ›Property size of 50 acres or more
 
 ›Distance to graded roads: 50 miles or less
 
 ›Biopower: Cumulative biomass sources of at least 150,000 tons per year, including residues from crops, forests and mills; landfills; urban wood waste; and energy crops 
 
 ›Dry-grind corn-based ethanol: Crop biomass residue of at least 100,000 tons per year
 
 More than 9,500 sites were scrutinized for the EPA project, and nearly 9,000 of those sites were deemed "outstanding" for biopower potential. Interested parties are encouraged to visit the Web site or e-mail the EPA for more information at <a href="mailto:cleanenergy@epa.gov">cleanenergy@epa.gov</a>.

Maps on the EPA's new Web site indicate where and what type of contaminated sites could be used for renewable energy production.

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EPA creates renewable energy remediation site map

Xcel Energy is on track to convert the last remaining coal-fired unit at its Bay Front Power Plant in Ashland, Wis., to a biomass gasification system. The conversion, estimated to cost between $55 million and $70 million, will allow the facility to use 100 percent biomass in all three boilers. 
 
 Xcel Energy announced in October that it will submit an application to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. If approved, the company said it expects the engineering, design and construction work on the third boiler to begin in 2010 and finish in late 2012.
 
 The gasification system will convert biomass to synthesis gas to be used as fuel in the boiler. Compared with coal, the biomass boiler is expected to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by 50 percent, sulfur dioxides by more than 85 percent and particulate matter by 90 percent, the company said. 

 
 The Bay Front Power Plant has been burning wood waste to generate electricity since 1979, using more than 4 million tons during its lifetime. The biomass used at Bay Front is primarily wood waste from area forest harvest operations supplied by local independent contractors. According to Xcel Energy, the plant currently uses just over 200,000 tons of wood waste each year. 
 
 When the project is complete, the plant will use an additional 185,000 to 250,000 tons of wood waste annually. The boilers at the Bay Front facility can burn a variety of things, including wood waste, railroad ties, discarded tires and natural gas, to produce steam to drive turbine generators that produce electricity, the company said. The power plant has a $20 million annual economic impact on a six-county region around Ashland.
 
 Xcel Energy currently generates 11 percent of its electricity in Wisconsin from renewable resources and plans to reduce carbon dioxide by 22 percent from 2005 levels in its Midwest generation system by 2020, according to Dick Kelly, president and chief executive officer of Xcel Energy.
 
 An April 2007 report by the Energy Center of Wisconsin determined that forests within 50 miles of the plant could support additional biomass removal without adverse impacts to the local ecosystem. An estimated 860,000 tons of harvest residues are generated each year. Most forest administrators and owner representatives indicated that additional removal and chipping of residues, especially tree tops, would be a welcome activity for their forest operations, according to the report.

Xcel Energy to switch third boiler to biomass

Web exclusive posted Nov. 19, 2008 at 4:33 p.m. CST 

 
 <a href="http://www.intrinergy.com">Intrinergy LLC</a>, a United States-based builder, owner and operator of renewable energy facilities, has announced that due to increased demand its German subsidiary is doubling its wood pellet production capacity. Meanwhile, the company has several projects underway in the United States to provide energy for industrial companies through its combined heat and power facilities.
 
 Intrinergy Chief Executive Officer John Keppler told Biomass Magazine that the Straubing, Germany, facility currently produces between 50,000 and 60,000 metric tons of wood pellets annually. The expansion project is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2009, effectively doubling its production capabilities. The plant is fed by waste wood from local sawmills and other forestry residues. Keppler said bark, mulch and other traditional woody biomass are used for the facility's biomass heating system, while the wood pellets are manufactured from a combination of wood chips, sawdust and other forestry residue.
 
 Demand for wood pellets continues to grow in Europe but Keppler admits that the United States has not had the same experience. He attributes the difference to a much larger industrial demand in Europe combined with greater usage of wood pellet-fired furnaces by residential and commercial customers. "In the United States you have a nascent wood pellet industry but given that so much of the United States is served by natural gas and natural gas heating to the home, we have not seen the same adoption here," Keppler said. Most of the wood pellets produced in the United States are exported overseas.
 
 Rather than wood pellet production, Intrinergy's U.S. projects consist of energy generation for industrial customers, which Keppler said continues to see growth. The company currently operates a renewable energy facility for a paper mill's operations in Mississippi which generates 50,000 pounds of steam per hour and between three megawatts and five megawatts of electricity per hour. Keppler said plans for similar plants are underway in Connecticut, South Carolina, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan. While woody biomass "makes sense" in many parts of the country, Keppler said the company's process is not beholden to that feedstock and could use other field residues and corn stover. "It really is about the radius between our facility and the logistical structure put in place to manage biomass supply," he added.
 
 Prices range drastically for Intrinergy's facilities. Depending on size, the total cost runs anywhere from $5 million to $50 million, according to Keppler. The company has been "very fortunate" in acquiring project financing and attributes it in part to the realization by companies that while the environment for growth is currently difficult, business-wise, there is an equally pressing need for better energy usage and environmental practices, he said. "Those problems don't go away, regardless of what the economic conditions are," Keppler said. "So what you see is real leadership in industrial customers to try and do better than in the past and renewable energy is one of the key ways." Intrinergy's projects receive financing "not just because they're renewable and green but because they're a good deal and renewable and green," He added.

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Intrinergy to expand wood pellet, CHP projects

Web exclusive posted Nov. 20, 2008 at 12:17 p.m. CST 

 
 Developers and farmers continue to pave the way for hemp as a biomass crop in the United States.
 
 The U.S. Appeals Court in St. Paul, Minn., heard arguments Nov. 12 by two North Dakota farmers trying to get a lower court's dismissal of their suit against a federal agency overturned. David Monson, Osnabrock, N.D., and Wayne Hauge, Ray, N.D., have state approval to grow industrial hemp in North Dakota, but are suing the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to get a federal permit to grow industrial hemp. Hemp is related to the illegal drug marijuana and under federal law some of the industrial hemp plant is considered a controlled substance. The three-judge appeals panel will issue a written decision, but that isn't expected to be available for several months.
 
 While a number of states allow hemp research, North Dakota was the only one to allow hemp cultivation until Vermont granted permission earlier this year.
 
 In Massachusetts, a developer sourced the hemp he used for product evaluation from Canada where the crop is legally grown. Jim Pillsbury of Framingham, Mass., is developing hemp for heating pellets. In 2007, Pillsbury had a Canadian prototype biomass research facility, ViFam Pro Services of Kirkland, Quebec, test hemp leaf biomass for heating pellets which were then analyzed at the Twin Ports Testing Labs in Superior, Wis. 
 
 This past year, the tests were repeated using hemp biomass, stalk and leaf. Two pellet samples were evaluated – one comprised of a composition of half leaf and half stalk, the other pellet was made with 100 percent stalk. Pillsbury said the mixed pellets performed similar to the first round of tests done the previous year. The hemp pellets have a heat content similar to wood pellets at 7,247 British thermal units per pound with a 19 percent ash content. The pellet made from just hemp stalk had a higher energy content and lower ash content at 7,890 Btu per pound and nine percent ash content. Pillsbury added, in both cases the hemp fiber used in textiles and paper production had been removed, and the remaining biomass pelletized. ViFam is currently doing a cost analysis for developing a unit that would separate and pelletize hemp on the farm.
 
 Pillsbury predicts President-elect's Barack Obama's administration will lift the ban on growing hemp in the United States, and pointed out that it's being grown in many other countries. "The new administration has a solid commitment to bring new and old ideas to the table for renewable energy," he said. Industrial hemp is an ideal bioenergy, Pillsbury said, citing figures from Canada that show straw yields of 6 tons per hectare (2.47 acres) and 1.5 tons of fiber, in addition to 200 liters (50 gallons) of oil pressed from the seed.

U.S. industrial hemp development continues

Researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service Coastal Plains Soil, Water and Plant Research Center in Florence, S.C., are developing a new technology dubbed "wet gasification" to convert wet livestock manure slurry directly into synthesis gas without pretreatment.
 
 According to the USDA, the main feedstock characteristic requirement for wet gasification is that it must be pumpable as a liquid, which means that swine and dairy manures with 85 percent to 95 percent moisture content can be fed directly into the system. Other feedstocks, such as poultry litter or municipal solid waste, would need to be pretreated with a certain amount of water before they could be gasified in this way. It's also possible to mix wet and dry waste feedstocks to increase the moisture content of the overall mixture, thus making it pumpable. 
 
 The U.S. DOE Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is developing a ruthenium-based metal catalyst for the technology, the USDA said. Ruthenium is used in platinum and palladium alloys for wear-resistance and in titanium alloys for corrosion resistance.
 
 Under processing conditions of 662 degrees Fahrenheit, wet gasification destroys pathogens, odor-generating organic compounds and hormones in as little as 15 minutes, which is exponentially quicker than the days and months required to process manure using anaerobic digestion, the USDA said. However, the USDA estimates that the annualized costs for a wet gasification system, including both capital and operating costs, is $375 per animal unit compared with $85 to $95 per animal unit for an anaerobic digestion system. Most of the higher cost is related to the fact that the wet gasification system is still in the research and development stage. Additional catalyst research might substantially lower capital costs for wet gasification, the USDA said.
 
 The environmental advantages of wet gasification are that oxygen-demanding wastes, estrogens and odorous compounds are removed during gasification, and pathogens are totally killed, the USDA said. Most of the nitrogen can be recovered as ammonia for fertilizer, and the water byproduct can be treated to provide livestock with drinking water.

This wet gasification system converts wet livestock manure slurry directly into synthesis gas in as little as 15 minutes.

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USDA uses new technology to produce syngas from manure

In early October, the U.S. DOE announced it had awarded up to $7 million in funding to U.S. research organizations and institutions of higher education to support research and development of the stabilization of biomass fast-pyrolysis oils. The funding serves to support the goals established in the Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007 for advanced biofuels and DOE production targets.

 
 Biomass pyrolysis oil, commonly referred to as bio-oil, is made from second-generation feedstocks such as agricultural and forestry residuals. The DOE defined the act of stabilizing bio-oil to include removing char, lowering the oxygen content, and reducing the acidity of pyrolysis oil because it's naturally corrosive, unstable and difficult to transport. When the stabilization of bio-oil is successful, it could be used at petroleum refineries as a feedstock that is greenhouse-gas-neutral, renewable and domestically produced. 
 
 Five funding recipients have been selected to date, including Illinois-based UOP LLC, a Honeywell International Inc. subsidiary that has partnered with Ensyn Corp., the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Pall Corp., and the USDA Agricultural Research Service's Crop Conversion Science and Engineering Research Unit. The group's project is centered on the development of a commercialized next-generation technology to refine bio-oil for use in power generation, as a heating fuel and eventually as a transportation fuel.
 
 North Carolina-based research institute RTI International will also receive funding for its proposal that primarily aims to develop highly active and stable catalysts for the stabilization of bio-oil, potentially resulting in a condensed bio-oil intermediate that has physical and chemical properties adequate for use as liquid transportation fuels in existing petroleum refineries or in standalone, centralized upgrading facilities.
 
 Three universities will also receive funding. Virginia Polytechnic Institute proposed research involving the development of a pyrolysis technology that produces a stable bio-oil, including reactor modeling with computational fluid dynamics on a supercomputer and advanced kinetic analyses for the optimization of bio-oil production. Iowa State University proposed a project to develop practical, cost-effective methods of stabilizing bio-oil for storage under ambient conditions. The University of Massachusetts-Amherst proposed a project to develop economical technologies for the production of stable bio-oil with a low char content and a neutral pH by using a combination of membrane and catalytic technologies.

DOE funds bio-oil stabilization projects

Thermochemical methods of processing solid organic matter such as biomass or coal have been around for more than 100 years, but creating a system that completes the process economically and efficiently has been a significant engineering challenge. Siemens Energy and Automation Inc., a manufacturer of electrical and electronic products, is partnering with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service to improve the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into liquid biofuel intermediates, such as bio-oil. 
 
 "This investment in the future of second-generation feedstocks is another example of Siemens' commitment to alternative fuel development and production," said Dave Hankins, vice president of Siemens Chemical and Pharmaceutical Center of Competence. "New feedstocks that can be quickly and easily processed will benefit the nation, and the biochemicals and biofuels industries."
 
 The ARS and Siemens have entered into a cooperative research and development agreement to explore the use of nonfood-based materials for biofuel and biochemical production. "Siemens is a partner for technology," said Rich Chmielewski, the company's chemical and biofuels marketing manager. "What our partnership includes is providing the technology for them to do that research."
 
 As part of the agreement, Virginia-based Logical Innovations Inc., a partner of Siemens, will work with researchers at the ARS Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, Pa. The company will install a distributed control system based on Siemens' Simatic PCS 7 Box technology on the ERRC's bench-scale fluidized bed pyrolysis system. "We think distributed control will help accelerate second-generation biofuels and biochemicals development by improving the repeatability, consistency and efficiency of our research processes," said USDA ARS Research Leader Kevin Hicks. 
 
 Siemens' technology will help control the reaction process by controlling variables inside the reactor. This will allow researchers to have a repeatable environment where heat, pressure and other variables are automatically controlled. Controlling these variables will make it easier to compare the bio-oil produced from various biomass materials. "What we are really concentrating on is taking low-density biomass, having a consistent reaction and then being able to put it into this bio-oil form we can use," Chmielewski said. One goal of the research is to identify the best feedstocks suited for specific end products.

 
 The project is currently in the engineering phase. Chmielewski said it will be commissioned in January. The second step in the research agreement will involve a larger-scale fluidized bed pyrolysis system. That step is currently in the planning stages. "This larger system will have the added complexity of recycling and combusting all-or at least some-of the gases and charcoal," he said.

Siemens, USDA seek improved biomass conversion

Researchers in the United States and China are working to develop a new catalyst that converts cellulose directly into ethylene glycol. The research team is led by Tao Zhang at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics in China and Jingguang Chen at the University of Delaware in Newark. 
 
 The technology that the team is developing uses heat, pressure, and a catalyst made of tungsten carbide and nickel deposited on a carbon support to produce a mixture of polyalcohols from cellulosic biomass. The small amount of nickel in the catalyst improves the efficiency and selectivity of the catalyst system. According to Chen, the catalyst, which likely works through hydrolysis and hydrogenation reactions, converts 100 percent of the cellulose in biomass materials. 
 
 Ethylene glycol accounts for approximately 61 percent of the polyalcohols created by the process. The chemical compound is an important intermediate in the chemical industry. It's used as an antifreeze or coolant, and is needed to produce polyester fibers and resins in the plastics industry. The remaining 39 percent of the polyalcohols are primarily C6 sugars, which can be further processed into hydrogen and chemicals. 
 
 One benefit of the catalyst that Chen's team is developing is that it's affordable. To date, similar research has generally centered on precious-metal catalysts that would be too expensive to use in large-scale applications. In addition, the ability to convert cellulose directly into organic compounds is potentially faster and cheaper than splitting cellulose into individual sugar components, which can then be fermented. 
 
 The research team is performing additional studies to better understand how the catalyst works. Chen said the next steps include improving the conditions of temperature and pressure, as well as identifying other promising catalysts. Several patents have been filed for the technology.

Researchers in the United States and China are working to develop a new catalyst that will convert cellulosic biomass, such as switchgrass, directly into ethylene glycol.

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Affordable catalyst converts cellulose to ethylene glycol

As cellulosic ethanol producers continue to ramp up for commercial production, careful attention is being paid to wood fiber markets, both by ethanol producers and the forest products industry.
 
 The North American Wood Fiber Review reported third-quarter prices in the western United States had dropped 13 percent from the decade-high prices paid in the second quarter. 
 
 An increase in supply after shortages earlier in the year can be attributed to the price drop, according to the report's publisher Wood Resources International. Supply remains tight in other areas of the country and is expected to be an issue in the near future. Pulp mills in Maine, for example, are reportedly importing logs from Canada and states bordering the Great Lakes due to a lack of local supply. Mills in the South are suffering from an interruption in supply due to an intensive hurricane season.
 
 It remains to be seen if lack of supply will equalize a predicted waning demand. The International Wood Fiber Report, published by forest products information provider RISI Inc., foresees demand for virgin wood fiber falling by up to 20 million green tons (a measure of undried biomass) in 2009. "With the housing market virtually dead in the water, and pulp and paper markets teetering under the weight of the general financial crisis, pulpwood demand could see unprecedented declines in most U.S. and Canadian markets," the report's Executive Editor Chris Lyddan said. 
 

 The developing biomass industry might be a game-changer for wood fiber markets. RISI published a report earlier this year that explored the biomass industry's potential impact on wood fiber prices and determined that the increase in demand would most certainly lead to a rise in prices. This has caused concern among members of the forest products industry, even though many of them have begun utilizing biomass technologies themselves in order to cut operating costs.
 
 Range Fuels Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mitch Mandich has no qualms about supply or feedstock prices for the company's future commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Georgia. "There is a huge abundance of woody biomass in the Southeast to support the existing industries that are already there," he said. Twenty paper/pulp mills left the United States in the past decade not because of a lack of feedstock, but because labor and operating costs are cheaper elsewhere in the world, he added. Members of the forest products industry might be concerned about long-term price changes due to biomass industry demands, but Mandich thinks it's unwarranted. "I look at it over many years, and I don't see the potential impact on price," he said. "I don't understand the concern that might be out there with some of those in the industry."

Wood fiber: Cheaper, more available, but for how long?

In a bid to produce charcoal from biomass for the sequestration of carbon dioxide, Marlborough, New Zealand-based Carbonscape Ltd. has developed a microwave technology capable of converting 40 percent to 50 percent of wood debris into charcoal.
 
 Dubbed "Black Phantom," the wood-nuking process was described by Chief Science Officer Forrest Tyrrell-Baxter as an "energy-efficient, high-yielding, microwave-assisted pyrolysis."
 Carbonscape, established in 2006, produced its initial industrial-scale batch at its pilot plant on the South Island of New Zealand in early October. "We know from scientific studies that charcoal can store carbon for thousands of years," Company Director Chris Turney said. "Ancient fires preserved in archaeological sites show carbon can be stable for thousands of years. This is because charcoal is highly resistant to microbial breakdown. Once formed, the charcoal effectively keeps the carbon out of the atmosphere and ocean for virtually indefinite periods." 
 
 According to the company, the significance of its technology is that in spite of the energy used during production, the carbon captured during the process draws down significantly more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it produces; approximately one ton of carbon dioxide can be transformed into charcoal each day. The final charcoal product may be returned to the soil in the form of bio-char to improve plant productivity and further reduce greenhouse gases. 
 
 Tyrrell-Baxter said initial considerations have focused on converting wood waste from harvesting operations such as pruning and bark material, and common agricultural crop waste such as leaf and stalk byproducts from maize plantations, into charcoal. However, other biomass materials may be utilized in the future. "Farm manure and compost biomass are two other waste streams identified as likely viable source materials for biochar production," he said. "Both are currently planned for further examination by the company's research team and academic partners in the near future. Ultimately, we're open to considering any waste or byproduct source materials that are of primary sector origin, and demonstrated as viable in terms of energy balance and final charcoal.

Carbonscape's first sample of charcoal created from microwaved wood debris

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New Zealand company converts wood to charcoal

The U.S. EPA has awarded approximately $1 million to projects that seek to capture methane gas from agricultural waste, and more than $1.4 million to projects that plan to capture methane gas from landfills in foreign countries. The projects are being funded through the global Methane to Markets Partnership, an initiative to reduce global methane emissions using methane recovery and energy systems. The United States and 13 other countries launched the partnership in November 2004. It now includes 21 partners, including the European Commission.
 
 The following projects have been funded to capture methane gas from agricultural waste:
 
 ›The Department of Livestock and Cooperation in Thailand's Ministry of Agriculture received $700,000 to assist in reducing methane from swine farms.
 
 ›The Fundacion Guanajuato Produce in Mexico received $149,550 to develop technical standards for the design, construction and installation of anaerobic digesters.
 

 ›The International Institute for Energy Conservation in India received $100,062 to assess the potential of capturing methane from distillery and winery waste.
 
 ›The National Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology Rural Development Administration in Korea received $98,500 to capture methane from agricultural wastes.
 
 The following projects have been funded to capture methane gas from landfills:
 
 ›The Fundacao Promar in Brazil received $98,500 to develop a plan for landfill management in the State of Espirito Santo.
 
 ›The Renewable Energy Agency in Ukraine received $98,500 to conduct a landfill gas feasibility study, and to install a collection system and flare at the Rivne Landfill.
 
 ›The Municipality of Guayaquil in Ecuador received $192,600 for activities that advance methane recovery and its use as a clean energy source in Las Iguanas Landfill.
 
 ›The Environmental Sanitation Engineering Technical Research Center in China received $175,000 to conduct a feasibility study for landfill gas energy recovery and utilization.
 
 ›The Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires in Argentina received $150,000 to use landfill gas as fuel for a pyrolysis furnace.
 
 ›The Institute for Environmental Management Inc. in India received $150,000 to improve landfill methane energy recovery from landfills.

 
 ›The Oil and Gas Institute in Poland received $100,000 to study the capabilities of landfill gas as a potential energy source.
 
 ›The Center for People and the Environment in Nigeria received $90,000 for a prefeasibility study exploring the conversion of landfill gas to electricity from landfills.

EPA funds Methane to Markets projects

Biobutanol may be a promising alternative fuel, but it has been plagued with difficulties as organisms that produce butanol through fermentation are difficult to maintain and tend to have a low conversion efficiency. However, butanol has many properties that make it desirable as a biofuel, including a higher energy content than ethanol and good blending characteristics with conventional fuels, so it continues to attract research and corporate interest. 
 
 Green Biologics Ltd. operates a 300-liter-per-batch pilot plant in England. The company is joining with Mumbai, India-based Laxmi Organic Industries to build a commercial-scale biobutanol plant in India. The plant will produce 1,000 metric tons of butanol per year and is expected to begin production in 2010. The facility will use sugarcane as a feedstock, and will use a combination of thermophilic organisms and thermostable enzymes to break the biomass down into butanol.
 
 Cobalt Biofuels in Mountain View, Calif., has raised $25 million in equity to continue pursuing its goal of commercializing biobutanol production. Investors included Cobalt's existing institutional investors Pinnacle Ventures, VantagePoint Venture Partners, The Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund and @Ventures, along with new players Life Sciences Partners and 
 Harris & Harris Group. Fouad Azzam, general partner of Life Sciences Partners, will be joining the Cobalt board of directors. The company's fermentation process uses continuous fermentation to maintain peak production rates for extended periods of time. It has patented a fluid separation technology, known as vapor compression distillation, that removes alcohol from the fermentation steep using approximately one-half the energy required in typical separation techniques. 
 
 As commercial activity moves forward, research continues in government labs for ways to make butanol production more competitive with existing fuels. Nasib Qureshi is working at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Ill., on ways to convert wheat straw into biobutanol. Normally, fermenting biomass such as wheat straw involves four preparatory steps: pretreatment, hydrolysis, fermentation and recovery. These steps need to be carried out separately and sequentially, and Qureshi's lab was able to combine three of the four steps. He found a way to use the enzymes that hydrolyze the wheat straw while simultaneously letting the bacteria conduct the fermentation. The lab also devised a process called gas stripping, which removes the biobutanol continually as it's produced. Early trials of the process doubled productivity over traditional glucose-based fermentation, and also produced acetone and ethanol. If the process can be scaled to commercial production, it's estimated that 99 gallons of the three chemicals could be made from one ton of wheat straw.

Researchers, companies pursue biobutanol

Projects commissioned in Ohio, Virginia and New York in September joined the growing list of landfills tapping into the gas released by decomposing waste. 
 
 A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in mid-September in Stafford County, Va., for a landfill-gas-to-energy facility with a 2.14 megawatt generating capacity, enough to meet the annual power needs of more than 1,300 homes. The Rappahannock Regional Solid Waste Management Board has signed a 20-year agreement with energy services provider Ameresco Inc., the company that developed the landfill-gas-to-energy project. The electricity is being purchased by Constellation Energy Group Inc.
 
 Casella Waste Systems Inc., a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company based in Rutland, Vt., completed its fourth and fifth landfill-gas-to-energy plants ahead of schedule this fall at the Hyland landfill in Angelica, N.Y., and its landfill in Clinton County, N.Y. Each facility has the generating capacity to produce 4.8 megawatts per hour. This brings the company's total production capacity of clean energy to nearly 25 megawatts per hour. It expects to begin producing clean energy at its Southbridge landfill-gas-to-energy facility in Massachusetts during the first half of fiscal year 2010. When this new facility comes on line, the company and its partners will be producing approximately 28 megawatts of clean electricity per hour.
 

 A landfill project in Ohio is converting landfill gas to a green compressed natural gas, which project developer FirmGreen Inc. has trademarked gCNG. In partnership with the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio, California-based FirmGreen built the landfill-gas processing facility and fueling station that pumps compressed natural gas. The $18 million Green Energy Center located at a landfill near Grove City, Ohio, collects and cleans raw landfill gas using Acrion Technologies' patented CO2 Wash technology. It will produce enough compressed natural gas annually to replace nearly 250,000 gallons of gasoline, plus enough gas to generate the electricity required for its own operation.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in mid-September for a new landfill-gas-to-energy project in Stafford County, Va.

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Landfill gas projects generate electricity, compressed natural gas

2008 was not a good year for pulp and paper mills. The news has been peppered with announcements of plant downsizing and closures in a number of communities that rely on the plants for their economic well-being. One of the most devastating closures occurred in the small town of Kimberly, Wis. NewPage Corp. announced in May that it would be forced to close its paper mill at the end of August, leaving 475 workers with no jobs. Just months before that, 125 people were released from the facility after one of its machines was shut down. The closure has left Kimberly's 6,300 residents wondering what will become of the community, where the mill had served as its heart since 1889. 
 
 NewPage issued a statement attributing the closure to several factors. "Our decision to close the mill is the result of a weak economy, the continued effects of low-priced imported products and sky-rocketing costs," said NewPage chairman and chief executive officer Mark Suwyn. "The coated paper market is being hit with a slowdown in demand as the uncertain economy is reflected in a reduction in print advertising. At the same time, we are experiencing higher input costs for raw materials and transportation driven by oil and natural gas prices. To balance the somewhat reduced demand in a manner that helps us reduce costs, we are closing our mill in Kimberly, Wis." 
 
 In June, Sappi Fine Paper North America in Boston, Mass., announced that it would shut down a paper machine and suspend operations at its pulp mill in Muskegon, Mich., affecting 365 workers.
 
 The situation at the NewPage and Sappi Fine Paper isn't restricted to U.S.-based paper mills. In mid-September, UPM-Kymmene Oyj, Europe's second-largest papermaker, announced it would close a pulp and paper mill in Finland, resulting in the loss of about 1,600 jobs in the next two years. "Demand growth for paper in traditional markets has slowed down," said a statement released by the company in September. "Overcapacity still exists in Europe and slowing economic growth imposes further challenges. Prices of wood, energy and fuels have increased significantly in the last two years." 
 
 In Ontario, Canada, Thunder Bay Fine Papers announced it is in danger of closing unless $10 million in funds can be raised by early October. The closing would leave 320 people out of work. 
 
 These are just some of the closings announced at the end of 2008, begging the question: What can the struggling pulp and paper mills do to ensure survival? 
 The idea of transforming the mills into biorefineries-factories where a variety of alternative fuels and chemicals can be produced-has been talked about for some time. The problem is that many pulp and paper mills are nearly a century old and simply can't compete with companies that are equipped with more modern, cost-efficient machinery. 
 Furthermore, developing a full-scale biorefinery could cost anywhere from $50 million to $200 million.
 
 Despite the obvious hurdles, some companies are beginning to venture down the biorefinery path by taking small steps, beginning with cutting energy costs. "In the near term, mills seem to be taking the intermediate step of putting in biomass boilers and gasification systems to take the heat off of energy costs," says Kris Plamann, director of business development for Kaukauna, Wis.-based Baisch Engineering Inc., which serves the pulp and paper, biofuels and other industries. "If the pulp and paper industry is to survive in this country-and it will-it'll just look a lot different. They have to become innovative biorefineries, no question. Really, it comes down to two questions for the mills in regard to how they are going to respond to the rising cost of energy. What can they produce in addition to paper and how can they come up with, or who can they partner with, to raise the available capital to create a biomass-fired energy plant or biorefinery?" 
 
 Feedstock for Thought

 Rising energy costs are like a double-edged sword for pulp and paper mills, as they have increased the global demand for wood and pushed prices higher. "The hot new market for wood fiber is that of biomass energy; demand in Europe and North America is expected to soar over the next 10 years," says Håkan Ekström. "With the supply of wood fiber relatively inelastic, at least in the short term, this sudden new demand would normally be expected to push wood prices to unprecedented new heights."
 
 Ekström is principal of Wood Resources International LLC, a consulting firm providing forest market analysis and wood price reporting for the forest industry worldwide. For the past 22 years he has worked in various capacities related to wood products utilization, international forest products marketing and global wood supply. He is also the editor of the Wood Resource Quarterly and the North American Wood Fiber Review.
 
 Wood costs typically account for about 50 percent of the production costs for a pulp mill, which often determines a region or a company's competitiveness, Ekström says. Wood fiber prices have been rising steadily for the past six years, reaching record levels in the second quarter of 2008. "Expanding demand for renewable energy may potentially drive wood fiber prices even higher in many countries in the near future," he says. "Since 2002, global average prices for pulpwood have risen 67 percent for softwood and 64 percent for hardwood, in U.S. dollar terms."
 
 Ekström says to date, most pulpwood has been consumed by the pulp and paper sector, with smaller amounts used to produce wood-based panels
 
 The high price of wood is exacerbated for those pulp and paper mills looking to reinvent themselves if they don't have access to a reliable source of wood. "There are already increasing challenges with getting an economical biomass supply," Plamann says. "Some have it available, and some don't. Depending on the size of the equipment they are running, some will need more biomass than they have available and have to procure it in an increasingly competitive market. The capital may not be balanced by the amount of product they can produce if they have to purchase feedstock or waste materials to run the biorefineries." 
 
 Pulp and paper mills don't have to go it alone when it comes to biomass logistics though. Third-party financing companies, which fund projects outside of the traditional paper-related projects, and biomass supply and distribution companies, are working to improve the logistics and availability of feedstock sources, Plamann says. "The timber and transportation industries are becoming active in defining a path forward, even state and federal funding through grant support," she says.
 
 Plamann tells Biomass Magazine that Baisch Engineering may be working with a major paper company on a pre-feasibility study for a biomass gasifier. The company doesn't have the money to fund the project itself, and plans to work with a third-party energy supply company that will sell them back the energy. "There are a couple of considerations for this project," Plamann says. "They know what the cost of the fuel is today, but because of the increasing demand for logging residuals and other waste products to fuel the boilers and gasification systems, they can't easily predict where the price will go in the future. Therefore, the company cannot be sure their return on investment will be accurate-as the waste product market is changing and evolving."
 
 Although it might seem like the obstacles are insurmountable, for some pulp and paper mills the benefits of reducing energy costs and evolving into a biorefinery outweigh the capital costs. "Mills have had long-term contracts-10 years-for what would today be considered very reasonable rates, such as 5 cents per kilowatt hour or $50 per megawatt hour for electricity," Plamann says. "The cost of electricity purchased from the grid and No. 6 fuel oil have gone up 20-and-a-half times in the past two years. Now, mills are experiencing reconstructed rates upwards of 12 cents in place of that original long-term contact of 5 cents." Plamann says one of the engineering firm's customers burns 9 million gallons of No. 6 fuel oil per year. "There's a lot of potential savings if you balance the capital costs of a biomass boiler and replace that oil usage-and maybe even generate enough steam to sell electricity back to the grid," Plamann says. "This company used to purchase its fuel from a neighboring paper mill, but now that mill is putting in a biomass system, which will require possibly as much as 2,500 tons of fuel products a day for a 483,000-pound-per-hour biomass-to-steam system." Although this isn't considered a full-fledged biorefinery, it is the first step in reducing energy costs. 
 			
 Funding the Future

 Plamann says one of the biggest challenges mills face when putting together the plans for developing a biorefinery, or adding energy-saving biomass-fired equipment, is making third-party initial contractual arrangements. "Getting those in place takes a lot of time and work, sorting out all the energy supply agreements," she says. The beauty of working with a third party for funding is that the pulp and paper company doesn't have to come up with as much up-front capital. The third party may also be able to work with other nearby energy consumers willing to purchase biomass-created energy from the mill, securing a quicker return on investment. "There are also different resources and infrastructures each facility may bring to the table that can impact either the up-front capital required, or help feed the boilers down the road-there's the land, the utility, and the biomass or waste available."
 
 The mill may be able to lease the land from the third party and collocate the energy facility between the mill and other energy consumers. Plamann points out that there are several benefits to being in close proximity to mills-one is that the utilities are already there, the wastewater and sewage treatment facility is there, make-up water is available, and there are a lot of synergies to the capital investment needed and what the mill already has established that they can share.
 
 Making Progress 
 In April 2008, the U.S. DOE selected three small-scale pulp and paper mill biorefinery projects and awarded each of them $30 million. The projects, which are expected to be operational before 2011, will use a wide variety of feedstocks and test various conversion technologies to provide the data necessary to commercialize other full-scale biorefinery technologies. 
 
 One of the selected sites is RSE Pulp & Chemical in Old Town, Maine. The project will be installed at an existing pulp mill and will produce cellulosic ethanol from wood extract. 
 
 The DOE awarded funds to Flambeau River Biofuels to construct a biorefinery that will employ two technologies to produce clean renewable energy and biofuels. It will gasify biomass resources, such as forest residuals and agricultural wastes, into a synthesis gas, which will then be catalyzed using the Fischer-Tropsch process to generate 6 MMgy per year of renewable liquid fuels such as biodiesel and waxes. 
 
 At the August 2008 TAPPI International Bioenergy and Bioproducts Conference in Portland, Ore., Doug Freeman, project manager for NewPage Corp., another $30 million recipient, gave an initial analysis of a feasibility study being conducted regarding the possibility of a biofuels project at its mill in Wisconsin Rapids. The project would produce 5.5 MMgy of renewable diesel and renewable gasoline from 175,000 tons of wood residue obtained from within a 70-mile radius. 
 
 Although these projects are still a few years away from completion, they are the forerunners of what could be a revolution for pulp and paper mills. "Full-scale active biorefineries at mills across the country may be years off, but the industry as a whole needs to embrace the concepts and work toward conversion just as the corn ethanol industry is doing," 
 Plamann says. "It's not just a question of making paper anymore, it is completely revamping a very old and wise industry into a thriving, new multidimensional one that can successfully live on for another 100 years." 

 
 Anna Austin is a Biomass Magazine staff writer. Reach her at <a href="mailto:aaustin@bbiinternational.com">aaustin@bbiinternational.com</a> or (701) 738-4968.

The weak U.S. economy, high-priced inputs and low-priced imports have forced many U.S. pulp and paper mills to downsize or close. At one time, transforming these mills into biorefineries looked to be a promising approach. Is the biorefinery still a viable concept that can save aging pulp and paper mills?

Reinventing the Mill

Biomass is used around the world to generate heat, steam and electricity. However, coal is preferred over biomass for energy production because it generates between 7,000 and 12,500 British thermal units (Btus) per pound while woody biomass produces between 5,300 and 6,400 Btus per pound. But coal prices are rising. Meanwhile, climate change initiatives around the world are calling for greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. Demand for clean-burning biomass for heat and power generation is increasing.
 
 Government programs in the United States and Europe are funding projects to develop a more streamlined, far-reaching system of trade for biomass. Could biomass become a commodity that is bought and sold on a trading floor?
 
 Increasing Demand
 Global coal markets are tightening and the United States is exporting more coal. The average price of exported coal in the second quarter of 2008 was $97.24 per short ton, its highest value in history and an increase of more than 50 percent year-over-year, according to the Energy Information Administration, a service of the U.S. DOE.
 
 Meanwhile, the European Union and its member states, which more than six years ago ratified the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, have committed to reducing their collective GHG emissions by at least 8 percent by 2012. The EU's Biomass Action Plan includes a directive to promote renewable electricity generation by increasing production in member states from 14 percent in 1997 up to 21 percent by 2010. In the United States, 28 states have individually established renewable portfolio standards, specifying that electric utilities must generate a certain amount of electricity from renewable resources by specific dates, according to the Pew Center on Global 
 Climate Change.
 
 This market environment has led electric utilities in the United States and around the world to use woody biomass from timber harvesting and sawmill operations, as well as waste wood destined for landfills, for power generation.

 
 For example in the United States, Xcel Energy plans to spend $55 million to $70 million to convert the last remaining coal-fired unit at its Bay Front Power Plant in Ashland, Wis., to a biomass gasification system. The plant has been burning waste wood to generate electricity since 1979 and currently uses just over 200,000 tons of waste wood each year. When the project is complete, the plant will use an additional 185,000 to 250,000 tons per year.
 
 In Europe, Prenergy Power Ltd. of Switzerland is building a $788 million wood-burning power station capable of generating 350 megawatts of electricity in deep-water Port Talbot on the western side of Wales. Approximately 3 million tons of wood chips will be imported by cargo ship for the plant annually. In addition, Drax Group Plc in the U.K. is planning to build three 300-megawatt biomass-fed plants at the deep water ports of Immingham and Kingston upon Hull; the third location is to be determined.
 
 During the past five years, global trade of woody biomass has almost doubled, especially trade for wood pellets for energy generation, according to Håkan Ekström of Wood Resources International LLC.
 
 Global trade of woody biomass was just over 11 million tons in 2007, up from 5.6 million tons in 2003, Ekström says, and a record of more than 3 million tons of wood pellets was traded globally in 2007. Most of the trade has been between European countries or exports from Canada to Europe. Germany exported 1.4 million tons of biomass to neighboring countries in 2007. Canada exported 1.3 million tons of biomass last year, including an estimated 600,000 tons of wood pellets for the European market.
 
 In response to increased demand for wood pellets, Mitsubishi Corp., Japan's largest general trading company with offices in 80 countries, has acquired a 45 percent stake in Vis Nova Trading GmbH, a manufacturer in Bremen, Germany, that produces wood pellets from waste wood. Mitsubishi invested $8.2 million in VNT, which supplies 180,000 metric tons of wood pellets per year to electric power companies in the EU. VNT plans to build additional factories and achieve 500,000 metric tons in wood pellet sales by 2010. 
 
 Biomass Commodity Exchange
 As global trade in woody biomass increases, is it possible that woody biomass will someday be traded as a commodity?
 
 The U.S. Forest Service Technology Marketing Unit, located at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wis., has awarded a $75,000 grant to CleanTech Partners Inc. of Middleton, Wis., to develop a plan for implementing a commodity exchange program for biomass in the United States, specifically to increase the efficiency of the existing woody biomass fuel supply chain and to support emerging biorefineries through the future trade of energy crops, such as switchgrass.
 

 Coordinated by Heartland Business Consultants, the Biomass Commodity Exchange (BCEX) should be operational by late 2009, according to Stephen Dinehart, a principal for the consultancy. Dinehart says his experience working for the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as well as the Chicago Board of Trade-where he looked at developing nontraditional markets-and his experience in investment banking have been helpful in developing the plan for the exchange.
 
 The project began in November 2007, Dinehart says, and the first step was to survey the marketplace to understand what large biomass users are currently doing in terms of contracting and pricing. He says the biomass industry is changing dramatically with the implementation of portfolio standards for electric utilities, continued growth in the wood pellet industry, renewable fuels standard volume requirements, and an increased push to develop cellulosic ethanol. Demand for biomass, as well as the number of market players, will increase dramatically in the near future, therefore, "rather than just doing a study, what we determined to do is actually put together a business plan for an exchange that will address the woody biomass market," he says. "But more broadly, it will incorporate nonwoody products, such as corn stover, switchgrass, wheat straw and so on. The bottom line is to encompass the biomass market on an exchange platform."
 
 Dinehart says the need for an exchange grew out of concerns expressed by companies that are looking at using biomass for power generation. Because there is no way to confidently report what the cost of woody biomass feedstock will be, it is difficult for those projects to obtain financing, he says. "A very important element [of the exchange] is that we will provide publicly available prices," Dinehart says. "A major part of the problem right now is that most people don't know what the value of biomass is. The lack of pricing means that we're not eliciting as much supply as we can from the marketplace. If people don't know what the value is of what they have, they're not going to sell it."
 
 Initially, the exchange will provide indicative pricing on a monthly basis with plans for weekly and, ultimately, daily price reports, depending on the volume of trades, Dinehart says. Price reports will begin with prices for large categories of biomass across large geographic areas and will become more specific as the exchange matures, he says.
 
 To be market-traded as a commodity, a product must typically be qualitatively uniform across the market. It might be suggested that the inherent diversity of woody biomass is the main barrier preventing it from becoming a commodity. The limbs, branches and twigs derived from timber harvesting and the woodchips and sawdust derived from sawmills are as diverse as the trees they come from. While wood pellets are more uniform in size and shape, they too are made from diverse materials, including switchgrass, nut hulls, and so on. An argument can be made that before biomass can be market-traded, the various categories of biomass must be standardized and there must be broad consensus concerning which biomass is acceptable for one purpose or another.
 
 However, Dinehart says the BCEX will not pre-impose standards on the exchange. He says the BCEX will be an Internet-based electronic listing platform that will be a focal point for biomass buyers and sellers to come together and that standards will grow organically through active trading. "We are not prescribing what people can trade," he says. "They can trade whatever they want. If they want to solicit delivery of rice hulls to Savannah, Ga., they can do so."
 
 Initially, how biomass will be identified on the exchange will be up to the buyers and sellers, Dinehart says. The BCEX might supply a lexicon of suggested terminology, he says, or might also list the CEN/TC 335 Solid Biofuels standards that have been described by the European Committee for Standardization under the European Commission, which he said are being proposed as an International Organization for Standardization standard.
 
 Dinehart initially expects the largest volumes of trade on the exchange will be for forest residuals, followed by pulpwood, round wood, urban waste wood, industrial waste wood and bark. The lowest-volume trading will be for cellulosic ethanol biomass feedstocks, such as switchgrass. Whether wood pellets will be traded on the exchange is an open question, he says, because typically, wood pellet manufacturers are branding their pellets and might not be interested in commoditization.
 
 In order to become a mature exchange with futures contracts, the BCEX will need to identify actively traded spot markets. Dinehart says because there currently are no spot markets for biomass in the United States, the spot markets, too, will have to grow organically from the exchange through active trading. He says there are areas of high wood consumption in the United States and it is logical to expect that spot markets will emerge in those areas. Currently, because of the relatively low value of biomass, the product's price is extremely transportation sensitive, which means there are relatively small markets, with most markets only 200 miles in diameter. In order for biomass markets to grow in size geographically, the base value of biomass will need to increase to push relative transportation costs down, Dinehart says.

 
 "Right now we don't think a futures market is viable," Dinehart says, "but what we do think is viable is an exchange that facilitates cash market trading." He notes that the BCEX would begin life as an exempt commercial exchange and would be free from CFTC regulation. Only if the BCEX can grow to support futures contracts will CFTC regulation be necessary, he says. "Once you allow pure speculators to go and trade on an exchange, or once it is marketed to the public, then it comes under the auspices of the CFTC as a regulated exchange," he says. "I don't see that occurring for a very, very long time."
 
 In traditional commodity exchanges, CFTC regulation protects market participants against fraud, manipulation, and abusive trading practices and ensures the financial integrity of the clearing process. Dinehart says the BCEX platform will offer trade confirmation and verification and could provide delivery notices and settlement services, as needed, as well as an audit trail. He says a beta version of the BCEX electronic listing platform will be tested in early 2009. The business plan for the exchange will be completed next year, when a decision will be made whether to move forward with BCEX.
 
 Ultimately, if BCEX is successful, the price of biomass as a commodity will be determined by the market as a whole. Futures contracts might ultimately be possible and market participants might be able to hedge themselves against price fluctuations. 
 
 Ryan C. Christiansen is a Biomass Magazine staff writer. Reach him at <a href="mailto:rchristiansen@bbiinternational.com">rchristiansen@bbiinternational.com</a> or (701) 373-8042.

The market for biomass is getting ready to embrace exchange-traded commodities.

The Next Hot Commodity?

Some say paradise can be found on Colorado's Western Slope amidst the towering mountain peaks and the clear, cold, rushing mountain rivers. These people tend not to mention the bitterly cold winters and the ever more expensive fuels that have to be trucked over mountain passes to keep homes and businesses warm and cozy. This dependence on fossil fuels is ironic considering the vast biomass resource available in the mountain west.
 
 Tucked away in this slice of heaven is the town of Oak Creek, Colo., just down the road from Steamboat Springs, also known as "Ski Town, USA." Oak Creek, with a population of less than 1,000, is very different from neighboring towns, which are dependent on providing amenities for tourists. Oak Creek was a coal mining town settled in the late 1800s, says Angie Krall, former mayor pro tem of the town. Several high-quality coal veins underlie Routt County, and they drew in a diverse population of immigrants from all over the world. "The town attracted every sort of person you could imagine," she says. "Oak Creek was the ‘diversity town' in the region back then and still is in a lot of ways. You have a lot of third- and fourth-generation folks still living there, which is kind of unique. It's a real blue-collar town that's proud if its coal-mining heritage."
 
 While there is still an active coal mine in the area, by and large the mining industry has been declining in the area since the 1950s. However, that coal mining heritage could play an important role in moving Oak Creek and other small communities to a future where biomass is as important as "king coal."

 
 A Grid of Their Own
 Once powered by coal, Oak Creek is kept warm during the frigid mountain winters mostly with propane these days. Not only do the residents face the escalating cost of fossil fuels but also the rising cost of getting that fuel to the community. As energy prices escalate, some residents are turning back to coal. Moving back to coal would have a dramatic impact on the local air quality though as Oak Creek is cloistered in a mountain valley where winter temperature inversions trap smoke and soot in dead-still air. 
 
 A turning point came when the town's school decided to replace its decades-old heating system. The coal-fired boiler was nearly 80 years old. The school district decided to replace the boiler with a biomass-based system. The dedication for the new heating system was a big event in Oak Creek and even attracted Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, who symbolically shoveled the last scoop of coal into the old boiler. "Some of us thought if the high school could do this, why not the town?" Krall says. "The school was using a local source of energy, coal, and moved to a new local source of energy."
 
 Early in its history, Oak Creek generated its own electricity from coal. The municipal utility that distributes power still exists, although it now purchases its electricity from a Nebraska utility, Krall says. The city-owned utility has access to credit and funding that the town itself doesn't. That opens the door for the community to explore options that might not otherwise be open to it.
 
 Out of Crisis, Opportunity
 One of the driving forces behind the installation of the biomass boiler at the school was the establishment of a wood fuel pellet plant in nearby Kremmling. Confluence Energy LLC was founded by Mark Mathis and began producing in June 2008. Although the company is new, it is already expanding, and is in the process of adding a third mill that will increase the plant's capacity to 120,000 tons of production per year.
 
 Biomass turned out to be the answer to several thorny problems on the Western Slope, not just high fossil fuel prices. The dominant tree in the region is the Lodgepole pine. 
 
 These trees grow rapidly, but have a short life of only 60 to 80 years. Decades of forest fire suppression have allowed the forests around Kremmling to get to the end of the trees' natural life span. An epidemic of pine beetles has swept through the forest, turning green hillsides red and leaving behind mountains of potential fuel for catastrophic fires. "We were trying to make lemonade out lemons," Mathis says. "We wanted to be part of the solution if we could. So we developed the first whole-log pelleting facility in the United States."
 

 While some of the dying trees can be salvaged for lumber, smaller trees and trees that have been dead too long are better suited for wood pellet production, Mathis says. "We grade out all the usable wood for timber and house logs and then we take the rest of it and make renewable energy products out of it."
 
 After working with Oak Creek on its school, Mathis became intrigued with the town's potential for district heating. He had visited many small communities in Germany and Austria that relied on biomass-powered district heating systems and was convinced such an approach could work in the United States. But when he first approached Oak Creek, he was just looking for people who might be interested in heating their individual homes with wood pellets. "We had a town meeting and I wanted to talk about our product and how we could save them money individually on their heating bills," he says. "For some reason I opened my mouth and said I had been to Europe and seen the district heating systems and that might be a viable alternative for them."
 
 Mathis put together some preliminary financial numbers for a follow-up meeting with the community. "They decided that it was attractive enough that we should pursue it," he adds.
 
 Still a Dream
 Oak Creek has a number of advantages that lend itself toward a district heating solution. First, having its own municipal utility gives the town an operational home for the project, not to mention access to credit and grants. Second, the 400 to 600 homes and businesses in the community are clustered together tightly, reminding Krall more of a European village than an American town. Finally, it has a nearby source of reasonably priced fuel. Most of the town's streets are gravel, so no pavement would have to be torn up to install the pipes to carry hot water to peoples' homes. "There are four or five things that make this kind of system work for Oak Creek that other areas don't have," Mathis says.
 
 These advantages may not be enough to make creating a district heating system practical, Mathis warns. Oak Creek and Confluence Energy are still conducting feasibility studies to make sure the project's price tag is within the community's reach. "We need to get a really tight focus on what it is going to cost to get five miles of pipe put into the ground," he says. "We also need to know how big the pipe will have to be, how deep it needs to go, how we would go about plumbing each individual house and how that would be handled." 
 
 Even if the price isn't too high, there are other roadblocks that could derail the project. A primary concern is the level of community adoption of the project. Mathis says at least 75 percent of the homes and businesses would need to agree to switch to district heating for the project to be worthwhile. "We can lay in the biomass system, that's no problem," he says. "But how do you incentivize and put the funding together to get a big enough take on this thing? You can put in all of the infrastructure you want, but there is a cost to retrofit each house for that kind of a system. How do we get our arms around that piece of it?"
 
 Mathis says his company has some experience in the financial markets that makes him believe that the local utility could create a rebate system for customers who retrofit their homes. That cost would be incorporated into the utility's debt structure. "So customers would get most of their costs paid for," he says. "There might be a little bit of cost they have to absorb, depending on how cumbersome it is to retrofit their home. Every house is different."
 
 The project isn't far enough along and no decisions have been made about what kind of technology would be used for the biomass burner. Mathis says his company will be able to provide the community pellets, sawdust or wood chips, depending on what technology is chosen. "We want to be that fuel provider at the end of the day," Mathis says. "However, we haven't gotten far enough along yet to decide what is going to make the most sustainable, long-term sense. In Europe I saw all those fuels being used, but transportation becomes an issue, sustainability becomes an issue and how much hassle each town wants to take on. Pellets have advantages, but they are going to be a little more costly than a dried chip."

 
 While the opportunity for Confluence Energy is speculative at this time, the company is devoting resources to work with Oak Creek. Mathis says the company has brought on a project manager to work on the system and hopes to have firmer numbers to present to the community in a few months. "At some point, it will start costing some dollars and Oak Creek will have to pay a little money to take a serious look at this thing," Mathis says. "We are trying to help them out to find out if it is even worth trying to do the feasibility piece of it. We should be able to put a scoping number on this thing to say, ‘this makes sense.'"
 
 While there could be roadblocks ahead, Mathis remains enthusiastic. "We know we can put funding together for a plant like this over a 20-year period, so I can't possibly imagine that we can't make it work," he says. "It's unfathomable to me and I am willing to pony up and get the right pricing on the fuel. This is something that this country needs to do. Oak Creek can be a wonderful example of what this country can be doing to solve its energy needs."
 
 In Mathis' best case scenario, Oak Creek residents could be enjoying biomass-powered central heating by 2010.
 
 A Bright, Warm Future?
 If Oak Creek decides to pursue biomass energy, there are other options for the community on the horizon, which Krall says could really benefit the town in the long run. "We own our own grid and there is great potential in firing that with electricity from biomass," Krall says. "It is interesting that Oak Creeks' high [electrical]use time is winter. But in the Midwest, the peak time is in the summer when everyone is running their air conditioners. My dream for Oak Creek is to improve its enterprise so we can get more money in to fund our general fund."
 
 Sales and property tax revenue often don't cover Oak Creek's general fund expenses. This has made the town reluctant to allow developers to do projects in the town, fearing more development could overtax existing facilities. "We fear we don't have enough money to cover the impacts on the infrastructure," Krall says. "We're not sure if people would move here, and if they do, if they would spend their money in Oak Creek. Many of the smaller communities around here are bedroom communities and the money is spent in Steamboat."
 
 Biomass could be the stabilizing force that would give Oak Creek the financial base that would allow it to grow in addition to providing relief from excessive energy prices for residents. "It's a way that we could really create a business opportunity for ourselves, while cutting peoples' heating costs," Krall says. BIO
 
 Jerry W. Kram is a Biomass Magazine staff writer. Reach him at <a href="mailto:jkram@bbiinternational.com">jkram@bbiinternational.com</a> or (701) 738-4920.

The Confluence Energy pellet mill in Kremmling, Colo., is expanding to produce up to 120,000 tons of wood pellets per year. This would be more than enough to provide the nearby town of Oak Creek with heat for 400 to 600 homes and businesses.

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Colorado's forests are dominated by the relatively short-lived Lodgepole pines. Decades of fire suppression have left these forests vulnerable to pine beetle infestations that have killed millions of trees. Converting the trees into fuel pellets prov

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Tiny Oak Creek, Colo., faces harsh winters and an ever increasing fossil fuel bill to keep its 600 homes and businesses warm. A newly established wood pellet producer thinks he has a way to cut the town's fuel bill.

Using Biomass to Weather Colorado Winters

Efforts are underway across the United States to develop innovative process technologies that may one day bridge the gap between first generation, or starch-based biofuels, and advanced biofuels. This sense of progress was evident at the 2008 Advanced Biofuels Workshop & Trade Show in Minneapolis in September. 

 
 Tom Bryan, vice president of communications for BBI International, opened the general session by highlighting the importance of the federal government's support of the growth of advanced biofuels production and the concurrent development of novel technologies to guide that growth. The renewable fuels standard (RFS) in the Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007 requires the use of 600 million gallons of advanced biofuels in 2009. That's just the beginning. The requirement steadily increases until it hits 21 billion gallons in 2022, guaranteeing a significant expansion and transformation within the existing biofuels industry. 
 
 Advanced biofuels in the legislation are defined as anything other than corn-starch-based ethanol that achieves a 50 percent greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction when compared with fossil fuels, whereas conventional biofuel, such as corn-based ethanol, must achieve a 20 percent GHG reduction. Cellulosic biofuels derived from nonfood-based feedstocks must achieve a 60 percent GHG reduction. The industry doesn't anticipate having difficulty meeting the increased conventional biofuel standard, however the advanced biofuel category presents a new challenge for the industry, according to Bryan. "In my mind, this mandate is achievable," he says. "There are so many research entities, scientists, start-up companies and others actively optimizing old technologies to adapt to meeting these mandates as well as those developing novel pathways for delivering cost-effective methods for producing advanced biofuels today." 
 
 The federal government targets call for a new wave of more sustainable, efficient transportation fuels. According to Bryan, the transition from first-generation to second-generation biofuels won't be easy, however, advanced biofuel technology developers can look to the success of the corn-based ethanol industry as a blueprint. "The existence of these biofuels is and will be a critical cornerstone for the development and commercialization of second-generation and advanced biofuels," he said. "The race is definitely on to produce these advanced biofuels in order to meet the targets the federal government has laid out for the emerging advanced biofuels space." 
 
 John Christianson, principal partner with Minnesota-based Christianson & Associates PLLP, provided an overview of biofuels tax laws and incentives that have been adopted over the past couple of years. His presentation touched on the Biomass Crop Assistance Program and the Rural Energy for America Program, incentives provided for in the 2008 Farm Bill. "The one takeaway I would say, is that the Farm Bill has many provisions, tax incentives, loan guarantees and so forth, that are all related to advanced biofuels," Christianson said. "If you're looking to develop an advanced biofuels project, carefully examine the provisions in the Farm Bill and see what's applicable for you to gain the most benefit."
 
 While Christianson highlighted Farm Bill provisions, David Morris, vice president of the Institute for Local Self Reliance, talked about the Energy Bill. The impact of the new Energy Bill can't be underestimated as it supports the evolution of advanced and cellulosic biofuels, he said. "Essentially, Congress is mandating a huge increase in the production of a product that doesn't yet exist commercially and from a feedstock that doesn't largely exist either," Morris says. "That's called courage."
 
 Like the United States, countries and societies all over the world are trying to determine what role biological resources should play in the energy, national security, environmental and economic scheme of things. Much of the expansion efforts depend on the policies that countries adopt to support this growth.
 
 Unlike wind or solar, biomass has multiple uses such as in the textile, industrial, agricultural and construction industries. However, to grow a sustainable amount of biomass and support the growth of advanced biofuels, the United States must be mindful of the limited amount of biomass to harvest in limited land areas, according to Morris. "We're going to have to develop policies that don't divert the use of plant matter from a higher to a lower value use," he said.
 

 Morris said that the United States and other countries must marry agricultural and energy goals in order for public policies to work. He stressed that biofuels advocates and developers should embrace the public policies laid out as advanced biofuels will be a significant foundation for the development of electric-driven motor vehicles in the future. "There's a symbiotic relationship that can be formed between the biofuels sector and the renewable energy sectors such as wind and solar energy, and there should be."
 
 Morris believes that electricity will become the dominant transportation fuel. "A motor-driven vehicle is much more fuel efficient than an engine-driven vehicle," he said. An electrified vehicle is quiet and is nonpolluting inside of cities. Moreover, if we have millions of electrified vehicles on the road we will have sufficient electric storage capacity to overcome the Achilles' heel of renewable energy, which is its intermittency."
 
 Every major vehicle manufacturer except Ford has announced it will be selling electric vehicles within three years. San Diego and San Francisco, among other U.S. cities, are developing citywide recharging stations to accommodate the use of electric vehicles. In addition, Congress is about to enact a $7,500 per vehicle tax credit for electric vehicles. "Compare that to the $50 per vehicle tax incentive that biofuels gets right now per year," Morris says. "That's enormous and that could very well happen as part of the 2007 Energy Bill." 
 
 Bryan Sims is a Biomass Magazine staff writer. Reach him at <a href="mailto:bsims@bbiinternational.com">bsims@bbiinternational.com</a> or (701) 738-4950.

Interest in biomass-based fuels has intensified since the Energy Bill was passed mandating the use of millions of gallons of advanced biofuels. At the Advanced Biofuels Workshop & Trade Show held recently in Minneapolis it was clear that the race to commercialization is on and all signs indicate progress is being made.

Biofuels Advance

North American companies and communities have a lot to learn from their European counterparts. European companies, primarily in Scandinavia, have decades of experience in biomass power and the logistics and incentives associated with it. 
 
 The Canadian Bioenergy Association (CANBIO) is doing its part to bring those groups together in one location. The association's annual event was held Oct. 6-8 in Ottawa, Ontario.
 
 The conference stayed true to its theme, From Words to Action. Twenty-five trade show exhibitors from Ireland, Finland, Sweden, the United States and Canada, including companies John Deere, Ponsse, Metso Power and Buhler, showcased the latest technologies and equipment impacting the biomass industry. The event also featured a business-to-business session, where interested delegates held private meetings with trade show companies. "The one-on-one meetings were a great chance to sit down and just talk business with interested people," said Björn Vikinge of Vikinge Forest & Bioenergy AB.
 

 Project consultant and long-time forester Dean Johnson discussed the fast-paced changes in Canada's wood energy industry. He operates D.F. Johnson & Associates in Pembroke, Ontario. "Seven years ago we were burning mill residues, and four years ago mills were paying to have it removed," Johnson said.
 Johnson said that more competition for biomass residues is one factor in driving residue prices up over the past year. "Sawmill residues went from being considered waste to being 
 a lucrative product in high demand," he said.
 
 Biomass buyers can expect annual price negotiations and shorter contract terms for biomass supply, Johnson said. He predicted that biomass prices could rise by as much as 25 percent over the next four years, though others in the industry predicted that currently inflated prices will fall due to recovery of the Canadian sawmill industry.
 
 Small-scale power generation also made big strides in 2008. Quebec is creating favorable regulations to help its struggling forest communities develop bioenergy heat and power projects. While Hydro Quebec continues to increase its biomass cogeneration targets, the real crusaders can be found at the regional level, said Carl Éric Guertin, CANBIO director and marketing director of the Quebec Wood Energy Board. 
 
 Several regional groups throughout Quebec have been working together to get bioenergy off the ground in the province by visiting Scandinavia to study best practices and equipment. They've also published case studies for wood pellets, and central heating and district heating to help communities decide if they have a solid business case. The Bas-Saint-Laurent region, which is located along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, has set a goal to install 10 central heating projects by 2010. "The regional boards are crusaders," Guertin said. "They're really pushing wood-to-energy and they're working cooperatively to get biomass going here."
 
 Following the conference, several Finnish companies visited Matapédia, Temiscaming and Ville Marie, Quebec, and Hearst, Ontario, to help those communities with their biomass plants.
 
 Carbon Credits, Wood Pellets
 World Bioenergy Association President Kent Nyström's keynote address showed Canada has a long way to go before making bioenergy a critical part of its energy system. He said the turning point for his homeland of Sweden came when its government introduced a carbon tax. Citizens were given an income tax break in return for paying a tax on carbon. As a result, public acceptance was high, he said.
 

 "One thing is clear, whether it be through a carbon tax or trading in carbon credits, Canada needs to put a value on carbon now," CANBIO President Doug Bradley said as he summed up a panel discussion on Canada's renewable energy industry.
 
 WBA Secretary Karin Haara, who has worked in Scandinavia's biomass industry for more than 20 years, said that the discussions she heard at the conference made her "feel like I was sitting in an auditorium in Sweden in the year 1985. We had 7 percent of our country's energy coming from biomass in 1980, now it's 29 percent and we're going to double it again."
 
 Like Nyström, Haara said she feels strong government incentives, such as a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system, could help the industry take off.
 
 Speakers said the wood industry itself needs to change in order to achieve greater success. "We're in the energy business," said John Swaan, CANBIO board member and executive director of the Canadian Wood Pellets Association. "We're not in the forest products business."
 
 Jane Todd, CANBIO director and Ontario Power Generation program manager for the Northwest, said the province's major power utility is intensively testing biomass to ready itself should the province decide to convert coal-fueled plants to biomass. 
 
 From just one biomass-testing program in 2007 at its Nanticoke, Ontario, plant, Ontario Power Generation is conducting an "aggressive testing program in all of our plants," Todd said. The utility has been pleased with results thus far, she said. "Last year the Atikokan [Ontario] plant had never put a wood pellet in their plant, but by July (2008) it had burned 100 percent wood pellets for four hours," Todd said. "We can't believe how easy it was."
 
 Todd said part of the reason behind the shift was the recent review ordered by Energy Minister George Smitherman into the renewable energy and conservation portion of the Integrated Power System Plan. The province ordered the review to ensure it is maximizing renewable energy sources, and biomass could prove an important part of the mix if the government wants to reach its goal of phasing out coal by 2014.
 
 Wood pellets are one of Canada's greatest bioenergy success stories. "We're global leaders in pellet production technology and our exports to Europe will continue to grow," Swaan said. His association has been developing a "super pellet" using steam explosion and torrefaction to get a pellet with 30 percent more calorific value, resulting in output of 6.5 megawatts per tonne. Swaan said they're in the "black box" phase of development and hope to bring the super pellet to market within the next year.
 
 Most of Canada's wood pellets are shipped to Europe, and Swaan said he sees it remaining the biggest market in the near future. However, he said more work needs to be done to develop a domestic industry for wood pellets, especially in the face of the recent economic crash.

 
 CANBIO and the Wood Pellet Association of Canada are working together to create Go Pellets, a program that promotes a domestic wood pellet market. "The pellet industry is the most active bioenergy market in Canada today," said CANBIO Director Chris Rees. "The only other country that's working on the super pellet is The Netherlands. Canada has a competitive advantage and the federal government should jump on this bandwagon."
 
 Rees said he would like to see domestic pellet production increase to 500,000 tonnes (551,000 tons) per year, with 200,000 tonnes (220,000 tons) for industrial use and the remainder for residential pellet furnaces, which already burn about 5 tonnes (5.5 tons) of pellets per year. Germany achieved this rate of residential use in approximately 10 years, and Rees said he thinks Canada can do the same.
 
 Go Pellets has applied to Industry Canada for funding to draw up a roadmap to develop the pellet market. It's also pulling together interested stakeholders to sit on an advisory board. Rees invited those interested in participating in the initiative to contact him at crees@xplornet.com.
 
 Other Opportunities
 Pellets aren't the only area where Canadian research and development prowess is turning heads. Denis Arquin, vice president of engineering and implementation at Enerkem, told stakeholders how the company is turning "negative-value" feedstocks, such as municipal solid waste and used telephone poles or railroad ties, into ethanol. He said Enerkem's Westbury, Quebec, ethanol plant should start up in 2008. The plant is expected to produce 5 million liters of ethanol per year (1.3 MMgy) from treated telephone polls.
 
 Arquin also outlined a deal that Enerkem signed with Edmonton, Alberta, which will see the company's plant take 100,000 tonnes (110,000 tons) of the city's municipal solid waste each year, helping Edmonton to achieve a 90 percent diversion rate from the landfill.
 
 Conference delegates got a chance to see waste-to-energy technology up close during a study tour at Plasco's Ottawa, Ontario, facility. Plasco's plant gasifies and converts municipal solid waste into a clean syngas. Plasco Program Manager Andrea Foottit said their process is unique because it doesn't require any pretreatment of the waste, which includes up to 8 percent shredded plastics. The process leaves 1.3 kilograms of disposal per tonne of waste processed.
 
 More than 60 delegates took part in the study tour. Delegates also visited Abitibi-Bowater's cogeneration plant in Hull, Quebec, and Camionnage Norman Sans-Cartier, a biomass harvesting and processing operation. 
 

 Crystal Luxmore is public relations manager for the Canadian Bioenergy Association. Reach her at <a href="mailto:canbio@gmail.com">canbio@gmail.com</a> or (647) 239-5899.

CANBIO's Paul Buckley, left, talks with World Bioenergy Association Secretary Karin Haara during the trade show of CANBIO's annual event.

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More than 60 delegates visited Abitibi-Bowater's cogeneration facility in Gatineau, Quebec, as part of the CANBIO conference's study tour.

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The Canadian Bioenergy Association's annual conference and trade show, held recently in Ottawa, testified to the rapid industry momentum experienced in 2008.

Bioenergy in Action

In the November issue, we discussed biomass-derived hydrogen as a third- or even fourth-generation biofuel requiring a major change in automobile technology and fuel infrastructure. Federal policy and automotive industry leaders truly believe that niche markets for hydrogen-based propulsion and power will appear in the next few years (some are already happening today), with deployment of affordable hydrogen vehicles within 10 to 20 years. 
 
 Practically speaking, since we will not run out of oil in the next 20 to 30 years, the replacement of significant quantities of fossil-derived fuels and the replacement of traditional automobile propulsion systems will be slow. An important word is transition, defined here as a period of change in fuel types and production, fuel distribution and vehicle types. We have been using gasoline and diesel fuel in engines that were designed and built 100 years ago, with few fundamental changes since. 
 
 Hydrogen as an alternative fuel can and will become a reality, but we appear to be going through a transition phase of first using ethanol and biodiesel in vehicles, requiring few changes. The introduction of alternative fuel vehicles such as hydrogen cars will be slow, unless market drivers force a more rapid transition. There is an ever-increasing possibility of politically-driven global disruption of oil supply, which could push hydrogen technologies into the forefront within five years.
 
 Demand for hydrogen in the oil, food, aeronautics and utility industries is met by reforming natural gas. During a time of transition toward hydrogen-powered vehicles, it is obvious that we will need to lean on conventional fossil technologies for hydrogen production, but eventually more sustainable renewable options will be desired to lower greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy security.
 
 This is where we enter the dawn of a new era. Renewable hydrogen options currently include using wind, solar and hydroelectric energies, and biomass feedstocks. Wind, solar and hydroelectric systems produce renewable electricity, which can be used to power an electrolyzer to produce hydrogen. Biomass or biobased resources can be converted through current thermochemical or biological processes to produce hydrogen. Biomass is probably the best resource in the next several decades for producing reliable, sustainable, large-scale quantities of renewable hydrogen. 
 
 Current electrolyzers are inefficient, and solar and wind-based systems simply do not have the capacity for producing sustainable, large quantities of hydrogen. Biomass can be collected in quantities ranging in the thousands of tons. Gasification, anaerobic digestion and conventional corn or next-generation cellulosic ethanol technologies can produce renewable hydrogen. A biomass gasifier produces primarily carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen. Gasifiers can be operated to optimize that hydrogen component. Anaerobic digesters will convert biomass to methane, which can be reformed like fossil-based natural gas to hydrogen. The ethanol production process can be interrupted in the wet mixed-alcohol stage with thermochemical processing to produce hydrogen. These are all fairly conventional technologies that can be improved, optimized and made cost-effective through economies of scale.
 
 Strains of bacterial microbes are being discovered that maximize hydrogen production yield and rates. Microbial systems are being integrated within fuel cells to deliver their hydrogen directly across a membrane for fuel cell electricity generation. A similar concept was developed and tested at the laboratory scale at the Energy & Environmental Research Center using thermochemistry instead of biology. A biomass gasifier was thermally integrated with a solid oxide fuel cell so that hydrogen and other syngas products would fuel electricity production. The distributed energy system could conceptually generate between 100 kilowatts and one megawatt of electrical power.

 
 We have entered an exciting age of hydrogen potential, and research is advancing the use of biomass as a resource for the production of biomass-based hydrogen. 
 
 Chris J. Zygarlicke, is a deputy associate director for research at the EERC and is vice chairman of the National Hydrogen Association Renewable Hydrogen Working Group. Reach him at <a href="mailto:czygarlicke@undeerc.org">czygarlicke@undeerc.org</a> or (701) 777-5123.

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Renewable Hydrogen: Biomass for Sustainable Hydrogen Transportation Fuel

Web exclusive posted Nov. 19, 2008 at 9:42 a.m. CST 
 
 N-Viro International Corp., an environmental and materials handling company, has formed a joint venture with SouthSide Environmental Group, a subsidiary of Ohio-based Schimley's Excavating Inc., to jointly construct, manage and operate an N-Viro Fuel manufacturing facility in Mahoning Valley, Ohio. The facility will manufacture a biomass-based coal substitute fuel that will be known as N-Viro Fuel. 
 
 According to Robert Bohmer, N-Viro's vice president of business development, the company's technology is a waste-to-energy process that converts various waste products into a coal substitute fuel that can be co-fired with coal to reduce the use of fossil fuels. The fuel will primarily be used to generate electricity. 
 
 Bio-organic waste, such as sewage or manure, is put through an alkaline stabilization process. A high pH reactive alkaline material, such as small doses of kiln dust or fly ash, disinfects or pasteurizes the product, Bohmer said. The product is then dehydrated. "You end up with a very dry, very granular pulverized coal-like product that can burn with coal, without modifications to the coal burning power plant's power feed system or coal feed system," he said. The product was tested in January 2007 at Michigan State University.
 

 N-Viro and SouthSide Environmental expect to finalize a site for the project within the next 90 days. Once the joint venture secures the required permits from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, it will begin converting the selected building into an N-Viro Fuel facility, which is expected to take approximately six months. Bohmer hopes the facility will be up and running by mid to late 2009. 
 
 N-Viro initially expects to be able to convert 200 to 250 tons of wastewater bio-solids into N-Viro Fuel daily. The facility will have the capacity to increase up to 500 tons per day. 
 
 N-Viro owns the technology and will be in charge of the actual processing of the fuel. SouthSide Environmental will assist in local matters, such as obtaining contracts, employee recruitment and logistics.

N-Viro venture to produce biomass-based fuel

Web exclusive posted Nov. 19, 2008 at 9:59 a.m. CST 
 
 The process of forming an international agency to promote worldwide transition to use renewable energy has not been easy. It appears as though the final stage of founding the International Renewable Agency may be approaching as soon as January 2009.
 
 Representatives from 51 nations attended a conference Oct. 23-24 in Madrid, Spain, and settled on a statute that will serve as the backbone of IRENA. The founding conference will be held Jan. 26, 2009, in Bonn, Germany, where the statute will be signed and IRENA will be officially established.
 
 First suggested by German leaders, the purpose of IRENA will be to provide practical advice and support for both industrialized and developing countries to help improve their regulatory frameworks and build capacity. Because many countries have embraced the idea of renewable energy, but so many have not, IRENA is seen by its future members as a necessary agency with many obstacles to overcome before becoming a major force in spreading the notion of sustainable use of renewable energy at a global level. 
 
 Germany has been designated as depositary for the agency and will handle the necessary distribution of documents to participants, as well as invitations to the founding conference and respective documents to all United Nations member states.
 
 For more information, visit <a href="http://www.irena.org">www.irena.org</a>.

International Renewable Energy Agency closer to reality

Web exclusive posted Nov. 20, 2008 at 1:09 p.m. CST 
 
 Tennessee farmers met with biomass industry developers during a conference Nov. 12-13 sponsored by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and Memphis Bioworks Foundation. More than 140 people attended the Planting Seeds for the Future: West Tennessee Alternative Crops Conference in Memphis, Tenn., of which 30 percent were farmers and 30 percent were representatives from companies working on new technologies and plant genetics, according to Pete Nelson, director of AgBioworks. Rural developers and entrepreneurs, along with university and government representatives, also attended the conference. "These were cutting edge entrepreneurs," Nelson said. "The environment was something, like the early ethanol meetings 10 years ago. It was a very young group, and very exciting."
 

 AgBioworks, a project of the Memphis Bioworks Foundation, organized the meeting as part of its 25-farmer project, a small group of farmers that were selected to participate in an effort to advance a biomass industry in the state. "We're really focused on the feedstock," Nelson said. Among the event's speakers were representatives from companies working on the commercialization of new oilseed and biomass crops, as well as those involved in genetically engineering new crops, and others involved in bioenergy initiatives.
 
 Gordon Sturgeoner, president of the Ontario Agri-Food Technologies in Guelph, Ontario, spoke about a similar network in Ontario. "They are building a value chain to connect the farmers to end-users," Nelson explained. The two regions are similar in having an existing infrastructure of manufacturers and chemical companies that can be connected to farmers interested in building out the new biomass economy, he added.

Steve Bares, executive director of Memphis Bioworks Foundation, talks with Gordon Sturgeoner, president of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies at an alternative crops conference in Memphis, Tenn. Both nonprofit organizations are dedicated to developing ne

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Tennessee conference addresses alternative crops

Web exclusive posted Nov. 20, 2008 at 1:18 p.m. CST 
 
 Citing "extensive interest" in the program, the U.S. DOE has extended the application deadline for its Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program for renewable energy projects. The deadline, originally set for Dec. 31, has been extended to Feb. 26, 2009. Any applications that have already been submitted may be revised or amended, so long as the final version is submitted by new deadline. 
 
 The loan guarantee program was established with the goal of facilitating early commercial use of new or significantly improved energy-related technologies. Research and development projects need not apply. Projects in 10 renewable areas will be evaluated by the DOE, including biomass, electricity delivery and energy reliability, alternative fuel vehicles, industry energy efficiency projects and pollution control equipment.
 
 DOE Deputy Director of Public Affairs Alyson Austin told Biomass Magazine that the department is authorized to issue up to $42.5 billion in loan guarantees. While there is no specific allocation for biomass projects, Austin said $10 billion of the total allocation is authorized for renewable and/or energy efficient systems and manufacturing, distributed energy generation, as well as transmission and distribution technologies.
 
 The DOE declined to release an estimated number of applications for the loan program. Once the window for applications has closed, the DOE will subject each application to a thorough credit underwriting as a condition for consideration, after which awardees will be notified of their acceptance.
 
 For more information on the loan guarantee program, visit <a href="http://www.lgprogram.energy.gov/index.html">www.lgprogram.energy.gov/index.html</a>.

U.S. DOE extends renewable energy grant deadline

Web exclusive posted Nov. 21, 2008 at 9:57 a.m. CST 

 
 Willmar Municipal Utilities, the electric utility for the city of Willmar, Minn., harvested 450 tons of corn cobs from a local farmer this fall and will test burn cobs with coal at its power plant this winter. 
 
 According to Jon Folkedahl, a consultant for the renewable energy venture, the Willmar utility submitted a request to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on Nov. 18 for a temporary permit to burn the cobs. 
 
 If the test burn is successful, the utility plans to apply for a permit to permanently burn 20 to 30 percent cobs with 70 to 80 percent coal at its 16-megawatt power plant, said Bruce Gomm, general manager for Willmar Municipal Utilities. 
 
 Folkedahl said the cobs were harvested using the Vermeer Corp. CCX770 Cob Harvester. He said numerous growers volunteered for the harvest, but in the end logistics, timing, and equipment availability led to working with a single grower.
 
 The Willmar utility's harvest was the second harvest in central Minnesota this fall. Nearby Benson, Minn.-based Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company LLLP held three corn cob harvesting demonstrations near the Minnesota communities of Holloway, Donnelly, and Priam, harvesting 5,000 acres of cobs from more than a dozen farmers. CVEC plans to use a Frontline BioEnergy gasifier to convert cobs to syngas to replace natural gas at the company's 45 MMgy ethanol plant. In nearby Morris, Minn., the University of Minnesota campus also plans to use cobs at its new biomass gasification plant.
 
 "The development of cobs as a fuel material by several different entities is good," Folkedahl said. "We want to develop the market in the local area and so we think that will help generate enough interest. The farmer will feel more comfortable investing in cob harvesting equipment if he knows that there is more than one market available in the area. On the other hand, competition will probably drive the prices up."
 
 Gomm said the utility, the ethanol plant, and the university are all aware of what each other is doing to generate demand for a supply of cobs. "Our research indicates that there is quite a large quantity of cobs available," he said. "When you look at total corn acres in the immediate area, if we could get a pretty high percentage of cob collection, there would be plenty to meet everybody's needs." Folkedahl said there were 150,000 acres of corn planted in Kandiyohi County, Minn., last year.
 
 Because Minnesota has mandated that all utilities produce 25 percent of their energy needs through renewable resources by 2025, Gomm said the Willmar utility has been looking for a source of biomass to produce energy for some time. Corn cobs appear to be the solution. 

 "The best way for biomass to be economical is for it to be a fuel of opportunity," Gomm said. "The traditional fuel of opportunity for biomass has been wood waste. Unfortunately, there is just not a lot of that around here." Another large biomass resource is turkey litter from turkey farming operations in the Willmar area, he said. However, that resource has already been spoken for. Fibrominn, a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Fibrowatt LLC, is using the turkey litter to fuel a 55-megawatt power plant in Benson, Minn. 
 
 Gomm said Folkedahl approached the utility with the idea of using cobs about a year ago. "I came to the conclusion that corn cobs were probably the ideal fuel source," Folkedahl said, "because the equipment to harvest them was just becoming available. I give you better-to-even odds that this will take off. Cobs are the hottest thing going in terms of renewable fuels."

Minnesota utility harvests cobs for test burn

Web exclusive posted Nov. 21, 2008 at 10:11 a.m. CST 
 
 California-based BioEnergy Solutions announced Nov. 18 that the Kern County Board of Supervisors had approved the construction of a biogas distribution network in eastern Kern County, Calif., which is located in the Central Valley of southern California.
 
 According to the company, the network is the first of its kind to be approved by a government authority in the United States. 
 
 Biogas from cow manure will be produced to power area homes. BioEnergy will construct an underground pipeline which will link as many as nine dairy farms in the county. The methane gas from the farms will be captured and transported through the pipeline to a purification facility located at Vermeer and Goedhard Dairy in Shafter, Calif. The gas will then be upgraded to utility standard natural gas and delivered to Pacific Gas & Electric Co.'s nearby pipeline for energy production.
 
 To date, BioEnergy said three dairy farms have agreed to supply biogas to the network. The combined herd of 6,500 dairy cows is expected to produce 615,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day, enough to power 3,000 homes. 
 
 When the nine-farm network is completed, BioEnergy said it may include as many as 26,700 cows to produce enough natural gas to power 12,000 homes. 
 

 Construction of the project is slated to begin early 2009. BioEnergy spokesman Steve Duchesne told Biomass Magazine that the company expects to have gas flowing in the third quarter of 2009. 
 
 Duchesne said BioEnergy hasn't publicized specific cost estimates for the Kern County project. "Although generally, the capital investment required to get a farm equipped with a digester and the other necessary infrastructure can be upwards of $1 million," he added.
 
 BioEnergy recently completed its first biogas project at Vintage Dairy in western Fresno County, Calif., which is producing 175,000 cubic feet of natural gas to power 1,200 homes. A neighboring farm has also agreed to supply biogas, which will power an additional 1,300 homes.
 
 To learn more about BioEnergy Solutions, visit <a href="http://www.allbioenergy.com">www.allbioenergy.com</a>.

BioEnergy to build biogas distribution network

Web exclusive posted Nov. 21, 2008 at 10:41 a.m. CST 
 
 The Grand Forks, N.D.-based Energy & Environmental Research Center Foundation announced the launch of InEnergy Inc., a for-profit consulting corporation, Nov. 18. 
 

 InEnergy was created to provide expert due diligence services to financial investors who are analyzing risks and opportunities in new energy technologies and emerging energy industry trends. 
 
 According to Gerald Groenewold, EERC's director, the organization identified a need on Wall Street for a global perspective and sophisticated technical information regarding energy technologies that could help guide investments. "[Investors] had very little access to that sort of thing," he said. "Even in a time of tremendous global market volatility and business uncertainty, commitments to clean energy technology will move forward, and InEnergy is providing leadership in the energy investment field." 
 
 InEnergy has a wide range of areas of technical focus, including alternative fuels, gasification technologies to produce electricity, fuels and hydrogen, combustion technologies for waste management and electricity production, emission control systems, carbon dioxide management and utilization, as well as energy and water sustainability. InEnergy's core consulting group includes a group of energy, global finance, and business development experts who possess a wide range of expertise in engineering, strategic vision and financial management. 
 
 InEnergy will also draw on its relationship with the EERC, which includes a team of more than 320 skilled scientists, engineers, and support staff. The EERC has had more than 1,000 clients in 50 states and 51 countries. 
 
 "There is a tremendous need for what we are offering," Groenewold said. "Frankly, I expect to be overwhelmed with opportunities." 
 
 InEnergy has offices in Grand Forks, N.D., and New York City. According to Clara Del Villar, who manages the company's New York office, InEnergy will help investors develop a clearer picture of the energy sector, protect against technology risk, and identify investment opportunities before competitors do. 
 
 To learn more, visit <a href="http://www.inenergy.us">www.inenergy.us</a>.

EERC forms InEnergy to provide consulting services

Web exclusive posted Nov. 21, 2008 at 10:52 a.m. CST 

 
 Koda Energy LLC will conduct a steam blow the first week of December as it prepares to start up its biomass facility on the Rahr Malting Co. campus in Shakopee, Minn. Koda Energy is a joint venture between Rahr and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. 
 
 The project's name comes from the word "koda" which means "friend" in the Dakota language. 
 
 The steam blow is a necessary part of the construction and testing process for the $60 million facility. During boiler construction, miles of various sizes and shapes of stainless steel and black iron pipes are welded together. The steam blow will remove any contamination by releasing steam through the pipes and then out a diverter pipe at the last minute before reaching the turbine blades. Koda Energy explained the process in a news release to alert the Shakopee community prior to the testing. The facility is built on the edge of a residential area, and is designed to operate quietly. 
 
 The project will be the first of its type using 100 percent biomass in a McBurney high pressure biomass boiler. The system will have a 24 megawatt per hour generating capacity, which will power Koda Energy, as well as the adjacent Rahr Malting plant. Approximately half the power will be sold to Xcel Energy. Waste heat from the boiler will be recycled back to Rahr, replacing the natural gas used in the malting process.
 
 Feedstocks are expected to come from within 50 miles of the facility which sits on the southwest edge of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Feedstocks will include dust from the malting plant, oat hulls supplied by General Mill's cereal processing plant, clean wood chips and other dry agricultural biomass.
 
 The long range plans for the Shakopee Mdewakanton community include supplying the biomass power plant with prairie grass harvested from restored prairie plantings on tribal land. This past summer, the community restored 400 acres of former farmland to native prairie in a cooperative project with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the University of Minnesota. The project includes research on 40-acre parcels where various mixes of grasses are being grown to determine which mix of seed produces the most biomass containing the highest energy content. The project is building on the work done by University of Minnesota ecologist David Tillman in studying mixes of prairie grasses and which ones might work best for biomass and cellulosic ethanol projects. 
 
 The biomass power unit is one of several renewable energy projects being developed by the Shakopee Mdewakanton tribe, which has been investing profits from its successful casino operation and other enterprises into infrastructure improvements. For more information on the Shakopee Mdewakanton projects visit <a href="http://www.shakopeedakota.org">www.shakopeedakota.org</a>.

Koda Energy biomass facility to begin final testing

Web exclusive posted Nov. 24, 2008 at 5:02 p.m. CST 
 
 In an effort to encourage more residents to recycle, while also increasing organic material for two anaerobic digestion facilities, on Nov. 19, Toronto Mayor David Miller announced that the city's Green Bin Program has expanded to now include 4,500 multi-unit buildings such as apartments, condominiums and co-ops. The program, which encourages residents to recycle organic materials like table scraps and soiled diapers, began in the early 2000s and was limited to single-family households. 
 
 Already 510,000 single-family households in the city participate, and City Councilor Glenn De Baeremaeker told Biomass Magazine the program has enjoyed a 95 percent success rate at getting its residents to participate. Over the next 18 months, approximately 300 apartment buildings and condominiums will be brought into the Green Bin Program every month. 
 
 The city estimates 30,000 metric tons of organics from these multi-unit buildings will be diverted from landfills and can be used as either composting material in producing fertilizer or as residential "source-separated organics' for use at two proposed 55,000 metric tons per year anaerobic digestion (AD) facilities that will produce methane gas to generate green electricity. 
 
 Toronto owns a 25,000 metric ton per year facility at its Dufferin Transfer Station, which started operating in 2002, where the material is anaerobically digested using German BTA technology and a wet pretreatment hydropulping process. Through screening and settling unwanted plastics or other non-digestible materials are removed prior to the organic slurry moving into the digestion tank. Plant manager Doug Beattie said the facility was built as more of a front-end demonstration plant to see if the system would work. He said the methane gas produced on site is flared off because the facility was not designed to produce energy, but rather to demonstrate that the front-end AD technology and pretreatment process would work. 
 
 The city owns four other facilities where collected organics are composted and turned into fertilizer. 
 
 The Green Bin Program is part of the city of Toronto's plan to achieve 70 percent landfill diversion. The city estimates that 30 percent of all household waste is organic material.

Toronto residents collect organic waste in smaller "kitchen catchers." Once the container is full, the organics are disposed of in a larger Green Bin, which is collected by the city every one to two weeks. The material will eventually help feed two l

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From left to right, Toronto City Councilor Glenn De Baeremaeker, Councilor John Fillion, Condominium Board President Anne-Marie Ambert, and Toronto City Mayor David Miller, display the ease with which apartment residents can now source separate their

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Toronto expands Green Bin Program

Web exclusive posted Nov. 25, 2008 at 11:54 a.m. CST 

 
 Based in Lufkin, Texas, Angelina Fuels LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aspen Pipeline LP, has begun using a John Deere 1490D Slash Bundler to collect the slash and residual woody biomass left behind in the woods of east Texas after the timber harvest. The slash is fed into the bundler and bound into compact logs, dubbed "slash logs." According to Deere & Co., each slash log contains on average one megawatt-hour of electricity when burned at a power plant. The bundler can package 40 bundles or more per hour.
 
 Angelina Fuels is collecting the biomass for its sister company, Aspen Power LLC, which has begun building a 50 MW biomass-fired power plant in Lufkin, according to Danny Vines, president of both companies. He said the power plant is scheduled to go on line in November 2009. The plant will consume 1,500 tons of woody biomass per day, producing 4,200 to 4,400 British thermal units per ton, based on a 50 percent moisture content.
 
 The John Deere bundler is only the third unit to be sold in the United States, according to Shane Toner, sales consultant for Doggett Machinery Services in Lufkin. According to John Deere, the bundler is already widely used in Finland, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. 
 
 Vines said the bundler is a necessary piece of equipment for collecting biomass for large power plants. "The logistics currently do not exist in this market to provide the volumes of biomass necessary to fuel one of these plants," he said.
 
 Logging operations in east Texas generate approximately 8.6 billion pounds of slash each year, which is equivalent to 37 trillion Btus of energy, Vines said. "That material, for the most part, has been wasted," he added. "It has either been slash-burned in the woods for site preparation activities or has simply been left to rot."
 
 Vines said bundling makes it easier to transport slash from the woods and increases the shelf-life of slash. When bundled and stacked, the material dries properly and can be stored more than a year before it has to be chipped or ground for a power plant. "It's a very good tool to meet the needs of the biomass industry as it develops," he said, "to be able to inventory substantial volumes of materials on site."
 
 Ultimately, Vines said, Angelina Fuels will need to have six of the John Deere slash bundlers in operation to meet its needs.

Angelina Fuels begins bundling slash for Aspen Power

Web exclusive posted Nov. 21, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. CST 

 
 Vancouver, British Columbia-based Nexterra Energy announced Nov. 19 that the company has been selected by Kruger Products Ltd., a Canadian tissue manufacturer, to supply a biomass gasification system to its tissue mill in New Westminster, British Columbia. The system will utilize local wood waste and displace the use of approximately 445,000 gigajoules (124,000 megawatt-hours) of natural gas annually, which is equivalent to the amount of natural gas needed to heat 3,500 Canadian homes per year. 
 
 Nexterra's turnkey gasification system converts biomass into a clean burning syngas that can be fired directly into a boiler in place of natural gas. The system features a fixed-bed updraft gasifier. Fuel is bottom-fed into the gasifier. According to Nexterra's Web site, combustion air, steam and/or oxygen are introduced into the base of the fuel pile. Partial oxidation, pyrolysis and gasification occur at temperatures from 1,500 to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. The biomass is converted into syngas and non-combustible ash. 
 
 The gasification system installed at the Kruger mill will produce 40,000 pounds per hour of process steam. By offsetting the use of natural gas, the system is expected to lower the mill's energy costs by millions of dollars each year. In addition, greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by more than 22,000 metric tons (24,000 tons) each year. 
 
 According to Raymond McAllister, Nexterra's director of communications, the project has been underway for a few months, and is well into the engineering phases. Construction is expected to begin in early 2009 and is scheduled to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2009.

Kruger Products to use Nexterra gasification system

Web exclusive posted Nov. 21, 2008 at 12:27 p.m. CST 
 
 Buffalo Grove, Ill.-based Indeck Energy Services Inc., a privately held developer, owner and operator of renewable and conventional energy projects, broke ground Nov. 20 on a wood pellet production plant in Magnolia, Miss. 
 
 The company expects the Indeck Magnolia Biofuel Center to be operational by September 2009. 
 
 The company received its final air permit for the plant from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality on Sept. 5, and immediately began marketing and pre-selling its residential-grade and industrial-grade pellets.
 

 Indeck Energy said it already has a number of letters of intent for sales amounts exceeding the plant's 90,000 ton annual nameplate production capacity. Indeck Energy Manager of Business Development Nunzio Maniaci said the presales have been primarily in the northeast United States, including New England, New York, and Pennsylvania.
 
 Although in the future Indeck Energy anticipates significant bulk sales to European markets, it expects local and regional sales to residential and industrial customers will be key to the long-term success of the venture.
 
 Maniaci said Indeck Energy has a long-term contract with a large local wood provider. "All the wood will come from a 50-mile radius of the plant," he said.
 
 Indeck Energy currently has a wood pellet plant under construction in Ladysmith, Wis., which received its final permit on June 17. That plant is expected to be in operation by July 1, 2009.

Indeck Energy breaks ground on Mississippi plant

Web exclusive posted Nov. 24, 2008 at 10:27 a.m. CST 
 
 Honeywell International Inc. announced Nov. 18 that it has won an $11 million contract to provide process control hardware and software to Nuon, a Dutch energy company, for use at Nuon's Magnum plant. The facility is a 1,300-megawatt per hour combined-cycle power station under construction in Eemshaven, Netherlands, which will supply electricity to approximately 2 million homes. 
 
 An engineering and design study initiated by Honeywell was completed in 2007. Honeywell's Experion Process Knowledge System will monitor and control the Magnum plant. Experion feeds data from critical plant subsystems directly to operators, giving them the necessary information to make real-time decisions that can improve plant safety, reliability and efficiency. Honeywell will also implement its Safety Manager at the facility to establish safety practices, such as process and emergency shutdowns, equipment protection, as well as fire and gas monitoring. In addition, Honeywell will supply equipment for the operator control room and provide a range of hardware and software engineering and consulting services to Nuon, including an operator training simulator. 
 
 The Nuon Magnum plant is being built in two phases. In the first phase a gas-fired power plant is being built and is expected to begin delivering power in 2011. The second phase of construction includes the implementation of coal and biomass gasification technology, as well as carbon capture technology. Once completed, the plant will be able to convert coal, biomass and natural gas into clean power. 
 
 According to a Nuon spokesman, phase one started in 2008 and will finish in 2011. Phase two is expected to be complete by 2013. The spokesman said the kind of biomass utilized at the plant will depend on the outcome of trials being conducted at Nuon's Buggenum plant in the province of Limburg, Netherlands, where the company is researching pre-combustion carbon dioxide capture.

Honeywell to supply technology to Dutch power plant

Web exclusive posted Nov. 24, 2008 at 1:46 p.m. CST 

 
 Massachusetts-based Verenium Corp. announced the departure of Chief Financial Officer John A. McCarthy Jr. on Nov. 18, which is effective immediately. Jeffery Black, Verenium's vice president and chief accounting officer, will serve as interim CFO while the company seeks a replacement. 
 
 Black has served as Verenium's vice president and chief accounting officer since 2005. Prior to joining Verenium, he was executive director and corporate controller at Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. 
 
 Verenium is working to commercialize its proprietary technology for the production of cellulosic ethanol. The company is also involved in the development of high-performance specialty enzymes for applications within the biofuels, industrial, and health and nutrition markets. The company possesses integrated, end-to-end capabilities in pre-treatment, novel enzyme development, fermentation, engineering, and project development.

Verenium appoints interim CFO

Web exclusive posted Nov. 24, 2008 at 2:47 p.m. CST 
 
 On Nov. 17, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed off on an executive order to increase the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard, once again setting the bar for other states to follow.
 
 California's previous RPS was already the most stringent in the country, demanding that state utilities generate at least 20 percent of their energy from renewable resources by 2010. The latest version increases that to 33 percent by 2020. Schwarzenegger said it's an aggressive target and will require a new look at some of the state's environmental regulations in order to achieve the goal. "This executive order will clear the red tape for renewable projects and streamline the permitting and siting of new plants and transmission lines," he said. "With this investment in renewable energy projects, California has a bright energy future ahead that will help us fight climate change while driving our state's green economy."
 
 Acceptable forms of renewable sources for the state's standard include biomass, solar, wind, anaerobic digestion and landfill gas. The California Energy Commission is charged with implementing the program and plans to create a "one-stop" permitting process in order to reduce the application time for proposed projects. Among the current pending projects are several that involve biomass-based energy production which are scheduled to go on line by the end of 2009. A complete list of existing and pending projects can be viewed at <a href="http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/puc/energy/electric/renewableenergy/">www.cpuc.ca.gov/puc/energy/electric/renewableenergy/</a>.
 

 As of November, 28 states have enacted some type of RPS and several more states have set renewable energy goals. Missouri was the most recent state to pass a renewable energy mandate that will now require its state utilities to produce 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2021.

California enacts ambitious Renewable Portfolio Standard

Web exclusive posted Dec. 4, 2008 at 1:52 p.m. CST 
 
 India-based renewable energy company Orient Green Power Ltd. announced Nov. 25 it has raised $55 million in funds to establish and acquire power generation assets based on renewable sources such as biomass, cogeneration, wind, hydro and biogas. Orient Green Power said it aspires to build over 500 megawatts in assets over the next five years.
 
 Olympus Capital Holdings Asia led the funding with an investment of $35 million in the renewable energy company. Orient Green Power founders Shriram EPC and Bessemer Venture Partners each invested an additional $10 million, allowing Orient Green Power access to equity totaling $75 million, when previously raised funds are included.
 
 The company currently operates two 7.5 MW biomass plants in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, India, as well as multiple wind farms in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. According to Orient Green Power, it's in the process of implementing a 7.5 MW poultry litter-fired biomass power plant in Andra Pradesh and a 15 MW hydroelectric project in Orissa. It also has plans to construct several more biomass power plants, ranging from 7.5 MW to 10 MW, in several Indian states.
 
 The company ahs designed each of his projects so that they can sell power under long-term Power Purchase Agreements. 
 
 T. Shivaraman, founder of Orient Green Power and managing director of Shriram EPC, said the company remains solidly convinced about the business prospects of renewable energy ventures. "Toward that end we have invested tremendous financial and human resources to establish a versatile and robust operating model, and I am glad to share that we have already made noticeable on-the-ground progress in this direction," he said.

Orient Green Power raises $55 million

Web exclusive posted Dec. 5, 2008 at 9:41 a.m. CST 
 
 In February, the first tenant is expected to move into a new bioplastics business incubator in Waterloo, Iowa, and bioplastics developer MCG BioComposites LLC is looking for more interested businesses. MCG BioComposites has been contracted to provide marketing and industrial recruitment services for <a href="http://www.cedarvalleytechworks.com">Cedar Valley TechWorks</a>. Sponsored by the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance, TechWorks will be developed as a virtual and physical regional center for the development of bioproducts and bioenergy industries.
 
 "The TechWorks concept has been in development for over five years in partnership with Deere & Co., which provided the land, buildings and various resources and has an interest in the project to explore additional opportunities in the commercialization of biomass into bioproducts, bioprocesses and bioenergy," said Sam McCord, president and chief executive officer of MCG BioComposites. "This project will provide new jobs related to applying science through research and development, establishing of incubators for new businesses of the bioeconomy leading to commercialization and eventually new manufacturing operations of bioproducts."
 
 One of the projects underway is the development of a bioplastics pilot-scale production facility and testing laboratory at TechWorks. An entrepreneur or development company will be able to produce their bioplastic formulations, make sample parts and test the physical properties, McCord said. MCG BioComposites works with a number of clients to access such services and will become one of the tenants at TechWorks. MCG BioComposites staff, along with John Deere technical staff will help tenants with the testing and commercialization of their biomass applications. "There even is the potential that John Deere can become the entrepreneur's customer," he added. 
 
 In addition to providing an entrepreneur incubator, TechWorks will recruit existing plastics manufacturers who could use the facility for the development of bioplastic replacements. 
 
 The first tenant ready to move into the facility is the University of Northern Iowa's Ag-based Lubricant Center, McCord said. There is room to house12 to 15 businesses in the first 150,000 square-foot building, with a second building available for an equal number of business as TechWorks grows. 
 
 When John Deere moved into a new advanced manufacturing center at another location in Waterloo, the company donated more than 40 acres and several buildings to the Waterloo Development Corp. 
 The Waterloo Development Corp. joined forces with groups in Cedar Falls, Iowa, seven miles away along the Cedar River to create the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance. The alliance formed Cedar Valley TechWorks in 2006, laying the groundwork for the development of the TechWorks campus. In addition to the technology center for research, development and commercialization efforts, TechWorks will include an agriculture museum and exhibit center.

Bioplastic, bioenergy center opens in Waterloo, Iowa

Web exclusive posted Dec. 5, 2008 at 9:51 a.m. CST 
 
 The value of forestry land in the United Kingdom has more than doubled in the past five years and land values remain strong, due in part to a growing biomass market, which is beginning to have a positive impact on woodland values. Those findings are included in "The 2008/09 Forest Market Report" published by UPM Tilhill, a U.K. forestry, woodland management, timber harvesting and landscape construction company, and Savills, a U.K. real estate service provider. The report covers properties larger than 25 hectares (approximately 62 acres).
 
 "Wood-fired plants at Shotton, Teesside and Lockerbie, alongside new projects underway such as Tullis Russell in Fife and Drax in North Yorkshire, are beginning to generate a real and sustainable source of income for woodland owners," the report stated. "Oil prices are likely to remain high, adding further economic justification to using wood as a source of energy, in addition to any carbon benefits."
 
 According to the report, investors who have owned woodlands during the past five years have enjoyed capital growth of more than 100 percent, with the average price reaching GBP £3,596 per hectare (US$2,150 per acre). This is despite a downturn in construction and associated falls in timber prices as many sawmills reduced capacity or shut down. Meanwhile, demand for pulpwood exports to Scandinavia and Finland remain strong.
 
 "Forest investment won't escape the downturn in construction and associated falls in timber price," the report said. "If this is anything other than a fairly short-term blip, the value of mature woods with immediate fellings will fall, but the picture for younger woods remains optimistic."
 
 "In a year which has seen oil prices reach record levels, the economy slip towards recession and the nationalization of three major banks, forest owners are really bucking the trend," said Simon Hart, woodland investment adviser for UPM Tilhill. "The report shows how forests and woodlands can be seen as a safe haven in these uncertain economic times." There are signs that woodland owners, who have seen strong rises in value and optimistic forecasts, are taking a long-term view with no rush to sell, as transactions were down on 2007 levels, the report said.

Biomass demand boosts U.K. woodland values

Web exclusive posted Dec. 5, 2008 at 9:59 a.m. CST 
 
 New York-based Green Energy Resources Inc. is looking to acquire a company to help it move from a listing on the Pinksheets for "the greater stability of the Bulletin Board." The move would create a fully reporting and audited company.
 
 Discussions are underway with two potential acquisitions, according to a company spokesman. Green Energy Resources is an 11-year-old waste wood supplier that has expanded its European export market into supplying the U.S. renewable energy market with wood chips and pellets. 
 
 In April, Biomass Magazine reported on Green Energy and its ventures. Read <a href="http://www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=1600 ">"Green Energy Resources expands supply services."</a>

Green Energy Resources seeks acquisition

Web exclusive posted Dec. 8, 2008 at 4:51 p.m. CST 
 
 Vancouver, British Columbia-based Dynamotive Energy Systems Corp. has entered into a commercial agreement to support the development of a pyrolysis plant in China. The plant will use Dynamotive Energy Systems' proprietary technology, which uses medium temperatures and oxygen-less conditions to turn dry waste cellulosic biomass into BioOil used for power and heat generation. BioOil can be further converted into vehicle fuels and chemicals. 
 
 The plant, which will be located in the Henan province of China, will be developed by Hubei Xinda Bio-oil Technology Co. Ltd. in cooperation with Great China New Energy Technology Services Co. Ltd., which is the exclusive licensor of Dynamotive Energy Systems' technology in China. 
 
 Under the agreement, Dynamotive Energy Systems will provide process, engineering and technical support for the development of the facility for a fee of $2.3 million. Hubei Xinda will be responsible for construction. Dynamotive's agreement with Great China New Energy Technology Services also allows Dynamotive Energy Systems to own up to a 20 percent interest in the venture. 
 
 The agreement with Great China New Energy Technology Services and Hubei Xinda is the first in a number of potential agreements that are expected to be done in the region. According to a press release issued by Dynamotive Energy Systems, Great China New Energy Technology Services is obligated to develop a minimum of 15 plants in the region within five years. Minimum licensing fees have been set at $1 million per developed plant. 
 
 Ping Yan, Hubei Xinda's president and general manager, said his company has secured more than 900,000 dry tons of corn stover, which will be sufficient to supply 10 plants during the first stage of development. Hubei Xinda has also secured the funds needed to build the first facility, he added. 
 
 According to Dynamotive Energy Systems spokesman Delphin Thebaud, Hubei Xinda is currently completing the engineering phase of the project. Once engineering is complete, the plant is expected to take 18 to 24 months to construct. The facility will produce 11.2 million gallons of BioOil per year, which will be used to displace heating oil in industrial applications. 
 
 Two facilities currently utilize Dynamotive Energy Systems' pyrolysis technology. Both are located in Ontario, Canada.

Pyrolysis plant to turn biomass into BioOil in China

Web exclusive posted Dec. 5, 2008 at 10:05 a.m. CST 
 
 Virtual Media Holdings Inc. announced Dec. 2 that the company's biomass cogeneration power system has been approved by the California South Coast Air Quality Management District, which is the pollution control agency for Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, as well as Los Angeles. In September, Virtual Media Holdings announced it had acquired Biomass Secure Power Inc., a company that develops co-generation biomass fueled power plants. 
 
 According to a statement released by Virtual Media Holdings, discussions between the company and the South Coast Air Quality Management District also included a program to remove underbrush in California wild fire prone areas. The underbrush would be processed and used as fuel to power a biomass facility in southern California. 
 
 Jim Carroll, Biomass Secure Power's chief executive officer, said details of the California co-generation facility will not be released until the project is finalized, which he estimated will be in March 2009. 
 
 "It's been approved for us to build a biomass cogeneration system [in California], and we'll be proceeding with it in the spring," Carroll said. In addition to underbrush, the facility is expected to utilize other feedstocks. However, Carroll was unable to disclose specific details on the feedstocks at this time. 
 
 According to Carroll, the company's technology involves preparing the biomass material into a very fine dust, which is combusted in a way similar to how No. 3 fuel oil is burned. The fuel fires a boiler, which creates steam that powers turbines and generates electricity. The biomass fuel produces higher British Thermal Units and drastically reduces the ash that is produced, Carroll added.

Company to build cogeneration facility in California

Web exclusive posted Dec. 5, 2008 at 10:07 a.m. CST 
 
 Georgia-based Great Lakes Biogas Technologies has entered into an agreement with Canada-based Zero Waste Biogas Systems Inc. to market its waste compaction technology.
 
 Bruce Coxhead, chief operating officer of Great Lakes Biogas Technologies and president and chief executive officer of Zero Waste Energy Systems, said the Revolution Compactor will now be exclusively licensed to Great Lakes Biogas Technologies. The company will strive to globally market the technology, which has been present in Canada for five years.
 
 The Revolution Compactor is designed to remove liquids and air from waste prior to being loaded and transported, considerably reducing transportation costs and the need for landfill space. It has a 50 to one compact ratio for plastics, according to the company.
 
 Coxhead said the compaction technology was developed in the United Kingdom. The company has performed 320 installations in several fortune 500 companies in the U.K. and France. 
 
 Earlier this year, Great Lakes Biogas Technologies received a license to market Zero Waste's high-energy output thermophilic anaerobic digestion technology, which was originally developed by EEC Energy Ltd. in Canada. Coxhead said coupling the two technologies, in some applications, could be highly beneficial. 
 
 "The compactors are used for specific purposes, such as at a soda manufacturer or shampoo company," Coxhead explained. "The compactor separates the liquid stream-which may be used as feed in the anaerobic digester-from the packaging, which may be polyethylene or polypropylene. It also does product destruction, such as destroying off-spec car parts for a car manufacturer so they don't end up being retrieved from a dumpster and sold on the black market." 
 
 The anaerobic digestion technology has a very modular design, and is ideal for several industry applications such as dairy/beef cattle farming and the vegetable industry, Coxhead said. "Any that have an organic byproduct can use this digester on-site, and generate methane gas for supplementing their own natural gas," he said. "They can also make electricity-or if they large a large volume, put the electricity back on the grid." 
 
 Coxhead said Great Lakes Biogas Technologies hopes to expand the technologies worldwide. "We want to reach industries we haven't served before, and increase awareness of recycling in Canada and the United States, especially in reducing the amount of liquids going to landfills," he added.

Great Lakes Biogas receives technology license

Web exclusive posted Dec. 5, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. CST 
 
 Tennessee-based Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced the release of a new report, prepared in conjunction with U.S. DOE's Industrial Technologies Program, detailing potential benefits from increased U.S. proliferation of combined-heat-and-power (CHP), also referred to as cogeneration. 
 
 The report, titled "Combined Heat and Power: Effective Energy Solutions for a Sustainable Future," provides an in-depth look at opportunities and challenges to more widespread national use of CHP, and sets the stage for future policy dialogue aimed at promoting this clean energy solution.
 
 The report asked the question, "What if 20 percent of generating capacity came from CHP?" If this could be achieved by 2030, the benefits would be many, according to the report. One major environmental advantage would be a 60 percent reduction in projected carbon dioxide increases between now and 2030, which ORNL stated would be equivalent to removing 154 million cars from the road. 
 
 A 20-percent generating capacity from CHP would also lead to a fuel savings of 5.3 quadrillion British thermal units, which the report stated is approximately half of the total energy currently consumed by U.S. households. It would also create one million new green-collar jobs and $234 billion in new investments across the United States. 
 
 Currently CHP use in the United States helps avoid more than 1.9 quadrillion Btus in fuel consumption, reducing carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to taking more than 45 million cars off the road. 
 
 The report can be viewed on the Department of Energy's Industrial Technologies Program Web site, <a href="http://www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/distributedenergy/">http://www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/distributedenergy/</a>.

ORNL report details CHP benefits

Web exclusive posted Dec. 5, 2008 at 10:41 a.m. CST 
 
 Princeton, N.J.-based power generation company NRG Energy Inc. intends to integrate biomass as a fuel source into its existing Montville Generating Station in Uncasville, Conn. The addition of biomass would fuel approximately 30 megawatts of the unit's 82-megawatt electrical generating capacity. 
 
 The company said it intends to use plant matter such as wood chips to help produce electricity. The Uncasville facility, which is currently fueled by oil and natural gas, would help reduce the facility's net carbon footprint. At press time, Biomass Magazine was unable to reach NRG Energy to ascertain a timetable for when the project would begin. 
 
 The Montville Generation Station biomass project is NRG Energy's fourth "RepoweringNRG" project in the state of Connecticut. 
 
 "Using biomass, together with fossil fuels, in our existing fleet is one of the quickest and most efficient ways to reduce carbon intensity," said Michael Liebelson, chief development officer of low carbon technology for NRG Energy. "When this biomass project comes on line, it will be another step in helping Connecticut reach its goal of creating 20 percent Class 1 renewable power generation by 2020."
 
 This summer, NRG Energy added 40 megawatts of ultra low sulfur distillate fuel power generation at its Cos Cob site in Fairfield County, Conn., bringing the plant's total output to 100 megawatts, while reducing overall emissions from the site. Additionally, NRG Energy and The United Illuminating Co., through their GenConn partnership, are developing a combined total of 400 megawatts of new peaking generation at NRG Energy's existing sites in Middletown and Milford, Conn.
 
 NRG Energy owns and operates 48 power plants that provide approximately 24,000 megawatts of generation capacity, which is enough to power nearly 20 million homes. NRG Energy is also a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a group of business and environmental organizations that call for mandatory legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 
 
 For more information on NRG Energy and its projects, visit <a href="http://www.nrgenergy.com/index.htm">www.nrgenergy.com/index.htm</a>.

NRG Energy to add biomass at Connecticut facility

Web exclusive posted Dec. 5, 2008 at 10:51 a.m. CST 
 
 The 74-acre, 300,000-square-foot Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Fla., is planning to build a new hands-on educational exhibit about energy that will feature renewable energies and be built around a proposed six-megawatt biomass gasification plant to provide power for the museum.
 
 According to Wit Ostrenko, president of the Hillsborough County, Fla.-owned MOSI, the museum plans to submit a request for proposals from developers who would be interested in building a gasification plant at the proposed $14 million Energy Center exhibit which will occupy a 10,000-square-foot building on 3 to 5 acres on the museum campus. The gasification plant will include an educational component so that visitors can see and understand how the gasification plant works and how biomass gasification is more beneficial than burning fossil fuels.
 
 "We're looking for a company that needs to demonstrate that they have the technology to do this," Ostrenko said, "and then we have a million people a year coming here from all over the world coming to see their power plant." Ostrenko said the feedstock for the plant will be 150,000 tons of waste wood per year supplied by Hillsborough County and possibly the City of Tampa.
 
 Ostrenko said the Energy Center is an idea that has been tossed around for 30 years. "In 1976-‘77, we started doing alternative renewable energy projects at the science center in Miami and it was doing really well," he said, "until the bubble burst-and the energy crisis went away. There was no longer any interest in doing that." However, the idea "has got a lot more legs now," Ostrenko said. "I don't think anybody is letting go of the fact that even spending $1.75 on a gallon of gas, a lot of that money is going to other countries."
 
 MOSI has a committee that is dedicated to seeing the Energy Center happen. "We looked at it practically," he said. "We consume one megawatt of power that costs us almost $700,000 per year. So how can we get rid of that $700,000 per year bill?"
 
 Other plans for the Energy Center include tapping methane gas from a nearby landfill, Ostrenko added.

Museum to feature biomass gasifier in energy center

Web exclusive posted Dec. 5, 2008 at 11:12 a.m. CST 
 
 A project to maximize the recycling of household waste in the United Kingdom has contracted with Kirk Environmental Ltd. to build two anaerobic digesters. The consortium of Global Renewables Ltd. and Bovis Lend Lease U.K. contracted with Kirk Environmental to build the plants for Lancashire County Council. 
 
 The biogas projects at Leyland and Thorton will reduce landfill needs by treating household waste in anaerobic digesters to produce biogas for electrical generation. They are part of a larger project being developed by recycling company Global Renewables, with Bovis Lend Lease providing project management and construction services. Fully enclosed waste receiving centers will handle pre-sorted recyclables in a materials recovery facility and garden and kitchen waste in a dedicated composting facility. Residual waste will be treated with Global Renewables' trademarked UR-3R Process to recover inorganic recyclables from organics. Percolators treat the remaining organic portion, with the solids sent to the composting facility and liquids to the anaerobic digesters. The Leyland facility will treat 305,000 tons of household waste per year and the Thorton facility will treat 276,000 tons.
 
 Kirk Environmental began work on the anaerobic digester system in October with completion scheduled for mid-2009. The contract is estimated at $2.9 million and involves installing 22 tanks, two of Kirk's trademarked Biodome Gas Holders and ancillary equipment. With more than 100 years of experience in steel manufacturing, Kirk specializes in anaerobic digestion tanks. According to the company, its Biodome Gas Holder is unique in the industry, with a high strength, double membrane gas holder that can be designed as a free standing unit or installed on top of steel and concrete tanks.

An overhead view of one of two waste treatment centers under construction in Lancashire County, United Kingdom./PHOTO: GLOBAL RENEWABLES LTD.

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U.K. facility to recycle, compost, generate biogas

Web exclusive posted Dec. 8, 2008 at 9:45 a.m. CST 
 
 The U.S. EPA published the third annual Methane to Markets (M2M) partnership report in November. Launched in 2004, M2M is a public/private partnership that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the promotion of cost-effective, near-term recovery and use of methane. 
 
 According to the report, titled "U.S. Government Accomplishments in Support of the Methane to Markets Partnership," the partnership has expanded from the original 14 partner nations to 27 partner countries. More than 800 project network members have also been recruited from all around the world. 
 
 In 2007, the United States provided $10.2 million in support of the program. Since the partnership's inception, the United States has committed a total of $28.5 million to a range of projects. According to the report, once fully completed, these projects will reduce annual emissions by an estimated 24 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2E). In addition, between 2005 and 2007 the United States leveraged more than $271 in private and public sector contributions, and has initiated direct assistance agreements for methane recovery and use projects in Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Korea, Kyrgyz Republic, Mexico, Mongolia, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. 
 
 It's estimated that within 10 years the partnership could potentially reduce methane emissions by an estimated 180 MMTCO2E, which is equivalent to recovering more than 760 billion cubic feet of natural gas and the annual emissions from 50 million cars. This reduction in emissions can also be compared to eliminating the annual emissions from 76 500-megawatt coal-fired plants. The report said that if achieved, these reductions could lead to stabilized or declining levels of global atmospheric concentrations of methane. 
 
 The M2M partnership focuses on developing projects in the areas of agriculture, landfills, coal mines, as well as oil and gas systems. Even though cost-effective methane emission reduction technologies are currently available to aid in capturing and using methane emissions in each of these areas, use is not widespread. Financial, institutional, informational, and regulatory barriers in many countries impede project development. The partnership is working to identify and address these barriers. 
 
 Since its formation, the partnership has tracked the development of more than 140 methane emissions reductions projects in M2M partner nations and has held 41 events in 13 nations. The first Partnership Expo, held in Beijing in 2007, brought together more than 700 members of the international methane community and showcased more than 90 potential methane capture and use projects from around the world. A second Partnership Expo is planned for 2010.
 
 "The U.S. Governments Methane to Markets Partnership Accomplishments" report was developed collaboratively by the EPA, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. DOE, the USDA and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. 
 
 M2M partner nations include, the United States, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Ecuador, European Commission, Finland, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Mongolia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Vietnam. 
 
 For more information on the M2M partnership, visit <a href="http://www.methanetomarkets.org">www.methanetomarkets.org</a>. A full copy of the third annual M2M partnership report is available online at <a href="http://www.epa.gov/methanetomarkets/pdf/2008-accomplish-report/m2m08_usg_report_08_scrnrez.pdf">www.epa.gov/methanetomarkets/pdf/2008-accomplish-report/m2m08_usg_report_08_scrnrez.pdf</a>.

Report outlines U.S. role in reducing global methane emissions

Web exclusive posted Dec. 9, 2008 at 12:42 p.m. CST 
 
 A new report from the <a href="http://www.worldwatch.org/">Worldwatch Institute</a>, titled "Low-Carbon Energy: A Roadmap," was released in early December. Author of the report, Worldwatch Institute President Christopher Flavin, stated that increased biomass power production and more combined heat and power (CHP) systems are integral to retiring "hundreds of coal-fired power plants that now provide 40 percent of the world's power by 2030, eliminating up to one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions while creating millions of new jobs." 
 
 The institute calls this modern-day evolution the decarbonization of the global energy economy. "We no longer need to say ‘in the future' when talking about a low-carbon energy system," Flavin said. "These technologies – unlike carbon-capture facilities – are being deployed now and are poised to make the most carbon-intensive fossil fuels obsolete." 
 
 CHP and biomass are not the only weapons needed in the fight against climate change – solar and wind power, green building practices and more will also be pivotal requisites – but both biomass power and CHP are important components of a larger decarbonization strategy needed to "stave off the greatest human-caused threat our planet has seen," Flavin said. 
 
 According to the U.S. DOE, conventional conversion of fuel to electricity wastes more than two-thirds of the energy resident in the feedstock (e.g., coal, etc.) as heat released into environment, rather than being used for productive purposes. CHP makes greater use of fuel inputs by utilizing the discarded heat with potential efficiencies ranging from between 60 and 80 percent. Worldwatch Institute stated in its December 2 release, "CHP can reduce those losses to less than 20 percent and provide the United States with 150 gigawatts of generating capacity – more than nuclear power now provides." DOE supports the doubling of U.S. CHP capacity to 92 gigawatts by 2010. 
 
 The challenge to President-elect Barack Obama and his administration, the institute forewarns, is to maintain the momentum of the past few years despite a global financial crisis of epic proportions. "The new industries, which are dominated by small, under-capitalized companies, are particularly vulnerable," Worldwatch cautioned. "Their success will depend on targeted and flexible policy design in the months ahead." 
 
 In its report, Worldwatch Institute estimated that, in 2007 alone, investment in new renewable electric and heating capacity equaled approximately $71 billion; up from just $20 billion in 2002.

Worldwatch report highlights biomass power, CHP

Web exclusive posted Dec. 9, 2008 at 2:01 p.m. CST 
 
 Honeywell International, a diversified technology and manufacturing company, announced Dec. 2 that the company will provide the process control and safety systems for a new NSE Biofuels Oy Ltd. research facility based in Varkaus, Finland. 
 
 The research facility is a joint venture between two Finland-based companies, Stora Enso Oyj, a forest products company, and Neste Oil Corp. Research conducted at the facility will focus on developing a process to produce biofuels from wood residues. 
 
 The facility will utilize Honeywell's Experion Process Knowledge System, which streamlines production by allowing plants to unify process, production and business management. The system works by tying together subsystems, such as process units and safety systems. It delivers relevant information directly to the plant's operators, allowing improved decision making in the control room. The system is flexible and allows operators to modify the system according to process requirements. 
 
 Honeywell's Safety Manager platform will also be used at the facility. This system incorporates safety systems, such as fire and gas detectors, into overall control and automation strategies. Safety Manager also helps to support proper start up and shutdown sequences.

Finland plant to use Honeywell systems

Web exclusive posted Dec. 10, 2008 at 4:15 p.m. CST 
 
 United Kingdom-based Helius Energy PLC was named the Best Environmental Initiative at the seventh annual Scottish Green Energy Awards in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Dec. 4. 
 
 The awards recognize businesses and individuals who have played a key part in helping reduce Scotland's carbon footprint. 
 
 Helius Energy received the award for a small-scale combined heat and power biomass plant, which it's constructing under an agreement with The Combination of Rothes Distillers Ltd. in Morayshire, Scotland. 
 
 The 7.2 megawatt plant will be collocated with The Combination of Rothes Distillers' existing whisky distillery, and will turn "pot ale," the liquid coproduct of whisky production, into a concentrated organic fertiliser for use by local farmers. 
 
 Fired on pot ale and woodchips, the facility will generate enough electricity to power 9,000 homes. It will also provide its own heat, and relieve The Combination of Rothes Distillers of its current dependence on fossil fuels. 
 
 A Helius Energy spokesman said the plant is currently going through the planning process. "Once all necessary permissions have been obtained, the plant is expected to take some 18 to24 months to construct," he said.
 
 In October, Helius Energy announced it has signed an option to lease agreement for an 18-acre site located within Avonmouth Dock along Great Britain's Bristol Channel, which may be the future location of a proposed 100-megawatt biomass power plant. Read <a href="http://www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=2110&q=Helius%20Energy">"Helius Energy secures biomass plant location."</a>

From left to right, Jackie Bird, award presenter; Allen Scobie, Helius Energy PLC environmental agronomist; Rufus Logan, director of BRE Scotland, sponsor of the Best Environmental Initiative award./PHOTO: ROB MCDOUGALL.

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Helius Energy receives Scottish Green Energy award

Web exclusive posted Dec. 11, 2008 at 12:34 p.m. CST 
 
 A handful of biomass pellet manufacturers, agribusiness investment bankers, biomass business consultants and biomass researchers gathered at the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute office in Waseca, Minn., on Dec. 9 to meet with representatives from Hi-Tech Agro Projects Private Ltd., a biomass densification system manufacturer based in New Delhi, India. In addition, AURI researchers demonstrated the Hi-Tech Agro PL500 flat-die pellet mill they are using to test how energy crops in the United States can be made into pellets for combustion and other applications.
 
 The mill pelletized distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a coproduct of ethanol production commonly used as a livestock feed ingredient, and also DDGS mixed with wheat middlings (midds), a byproduct of flour or semolina production, which can also be used for feed. According to AURI, DDGS provides an average of 9,600 British thermal units (Btu) of energy per pound, and wheat midds provide as much as 8,200 Btu per pound. Coal produces between 7,000 and 12,500 Btu per pound, while woody biomass produces between 5,300 and 6,400 Btu per pound.
 
 According to Alan Doering, associate scientist of coproducts at AURI, the research institute has been approached by many companies seeking to pelletize biomass for cofiring with coal to produce electricity. Minnesota has mandated that all utilities produce 25 percent of their energy through renewable resources by 2025.
 
 Because every biomass feedstock is different, Doering said his lab has been testing how each feedstock must be pretreated with water or steam, and at what temperature the lignin in the biomass will form adhesion so that the biomass will pelletize. He said the lab checks the temperature and moisture content of the biomass before and after pelletizing to determine the effect of the pretreatment and milling processes in order to optimize the entire process.
 
 Doering said switchgrass requires some of the highest temperatures for pelletizing. Mixed grasses are easier to pelletize, he said, and corn stover is one of the easiest feedstocks to pelletize. Using a lot of heat and a thick dye, DDGS and switchgrass can be compressed to 12 and 11 times less volume, respectively. While corn stover pelletizes more easily and at lower temperatures, only a 3:1 to 6:1 compression ratio can be achieved, Doering said. Wood fiber compresses in the 7:1 to 9:1 range, he said.
 
 The densification of biomass has become increasingly popular in Europe during the past 15 to 20 years, according to Priya Jain, business development manager for Hi-Tech Agro in the United States. The company has built more than 300 densification plants throughout the world, particularly in Europe and India. In India, pellet mills are commonly used at textile plants to pelletize cotton plant stalks and at natural pharmaceutical companies to pelletize crop residues for combined-heat-and-power applications, she said, adding that organic waste is being pelletized on a large scale and in other municipalities in Mumbai, India. The pellet mills typically run continuously for 24 hours, up to 1,600 to 2,000 hours before a dye must be replaced or refurbished, depending on the hardness of the biomass.
 
 Jain said when the price of fossil fuels began increasing significantly in the United States, her company contacted AURI and offered to provide a pellet mill for testing. AURI acquired the mill in March. She expects that when corn cobs become more valuable in the United States due to increasing gasification and cellulosic ethanol production, more biomass options will be needed, and pelletizing helps to fulfill demand. She said her company expects to have its first pellet mill in commercial operation in the United States in 2009.
 
 According to Doug Root, senior scientist of biomass and renewable products technologies at AURI in Marshall, Minn., companies aren't coming to AURI for pelletizing information to save money. "Companies are doing this out of a desire to be green," he said. Many pelletizing operations are producing pellets that are used by the producer, but he said he would like to see pellets sold in a larger marketplace. However, the cost of transporting biomass to the pellet mill is one of the biggest barriers preventing the commoditization of pellets. Doering said having smaller, distributed pelletizing operations is the most feasible option for developing a pellet market. 
 
 Marketed by Performix Business Services LLC in Bloomington, Minn., the one-half-ton-per-hour, 25-horsepower PL500 pellet mill is the smallest of Hi-Tech Agro's pellet mills. The company offers equipment that can densify biomass into 1/4-inch to 5/8-inch pellets at rates up to five tons per hour. A one-ton-per-hour pellet mill with a steam conditioner and pellet cooler typically sells for approximately $180,000, Jain said. The company also offers briquetting, grinding and drying solutions for biomass.

Kyle Cruit, director of sales and marketing for Hi-Tech Agro Projects Pvt. Ltd., examines distillers dried grains with solubles pellets produced by the company's PL500 flat-die pellet mill./PHOTO: RYAN C. CHRISTIANSEN, BBI INTERNATIONAL.

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Researchers demo Hi-Tech Agro pellet mill

Web exclusive posted Dec. 11, 2008 at 1:23 p.m. CST 
 
 The Tennessee Valley Authority, created in 1933 under former president Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, is requesting proposals through Jan. 16 for the supply of up to 2,000 megawatts of "dispatchable" capacity and "as-available" energy from biomass and other renewable sources. 
 
 "Dispatchable" energy capacity can be scheduled by the TVA for delivery ahead of time, either by the hour or day. "As available" energy is intermittent, such as wind, solar and hydro power. 
 
 The TVA requires that proposers are capable of sustaining a guaranteed minimum run time of eight consecutive hours per day. It wants 1,000 megawatts of power generation–half dispatchable and half as-available–by June 1, 1,500 megawatts of generation by June 1, 2010, and the full 2,000 megawatts of power generation by June 1, 2011. 
 
 Biomass, landfill gas, combined heat and power, solar, wind, ocean, tidal, geothermal and other types of renewable or clean energy sources are eligible. Power must be deliverable to either the TVA transmission system or the distribution system of a TVA power distributor. 
 
 The TVA is requiring proposers to provide certain financial information so creditworthiness can be established. To view the TVA's request for proposal, visit <a href="http://tva.com/pdf/recr_rfp.pdf">http://tva.com/pdf/recr_rfp.pdf</a>.

TVA accepts renewable power generation proposals

Web exclusive posted Dec. 12, 2008 at 9:49 a.m. CST 
 
 Virent Energy Systems Inc. will have a new chief executive officer and an international award to start the new year. Virent was named a Technology Pioneer 2009 by the World Economic Forum. 
 
 The award recognized the significant contribution of Virent founder and Chief Technology Officer Randy Cortright for the company's innovation and success. Virent, which was one of 34 companies from 15 countries honored, was the only biofuels company recognized among 11 energy and environmentally focused enterprises. 
 
 Virent's novel BioForming technology converts biomass into the same range of hydrocarbon molecules now refined from petroleum to make gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and chemicals. Virent's fuels can be used in the petroleum infrastructure as stand-alone products, at high blends with petroleum fuels, or blended with ethanol.
 
 "We are deeply honored to receive this award which recognizes the potential of the BioForming technology to significantly lessen global use of fossil hydrocarbons," Cortright said. "Bringing our economic and sustainable hydrocarbon fuels to market quickly may speed the use of nonfood plant sugars as an energy source in place of petroleum."
 
 The World Economic Forum received more than 320 applications from around the world that were evaluated by 44 global technology experts. Criteria used in the selection process included innovation, the potential for substantial long-term impact, the signs of a long-term market leader, well formulated plans for future development and growth, proven practical applications for the technology, and visionary leadership driving it towards its goals. 
 
 Technology Pioneers 2009 are invited to participate in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 in early February in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, and at the annual meeting of the New Champions which will be held in Dalian, China, in September. 
 
 In January, Lee Edwards will become CEO and president of Virent. Edwards joins Virent after a 25 year career at BP PLC, most recently as president and CEO of BP Solar, a global solar technology provider with 2200 employees and $1 billion in sales. "With his background in both the petroleum industry and renewable technologies, Lee Edwards is a tremendous addition to the Virent team," Cortright said. "Lee brings significant global energy leadership skills, which will serve Virent well as we bring our BioForming technology to market."
 
 In a separate action, the Virent board appointed Jay Kouba as chairman. Serving on the Virent board since the spring of 2007, Kouba is the CEO of Tetravitae Biosciences Inc. and the chairman of Metabolix Inc.

Virent receives international award

Web exclusive posted Dec. 12, 2008 at 2:30 p.m. CST 
 
 A study released Dec. 8 projects that California will create a green economic stimulus plan that will serve as a national model through implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act. Commissioned by the Environmental Defense Fund, "Getting the Job Done Right: Employment Growth through California's Global Warming Solutions Act" was conducted by M.Cubed, a research firm that specializes in resource economics and public policy analysis. 
 
 The study examined recent analyses conducted by the California Air Resources Board and others to assess the potential economic impacts of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which mandates that California cuts its greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 30 percent by 2020. 
 
 According to information found on the California Air Resource Board Web site, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the act, also known as AB 32, in 2006. The legislation directs the California Air Resources Board to adopt a Scoping Plan by Jan. 1 that will define the measures and strategies to use in reducing California's greenhouse gas emissions. It includes a range of greenhouse gas reduction actions, including direct regulations, and alternative compliance mechanisms, such as a cap-and-trade system. The proposed plan was released on Oct. 15. The California Air Resources Board will vote on the Scoping plan at its meeting Dec. 11-12. 
 
 "Getting the Job Done Right: Employment Growth through California's Global Warming Solutions Act" found that well-crafted AB 32 policies can bring significant economics benefits and new jobs to California. The implementation of AB 32 is expected to increase employment in several sectors of California's economy, including biomass-based fuels. According to the study, one key AB 32 policy is a proposed increase in the Renewable Portfolio Standard from 20 to 33 percent. 
 
 Overall, the study found that AB 32 is expected to prompt alternative fuel sources, such as biomass, to replace fossil fuel-based energy. Although some alternative energy sources are currently more expensive, the study estimates that costs will decline as new technologies are developed and adopted on larger scales. In addition, alternative fuels sources tend to support more employment than fossil fuels.

California study highlights alternative energy benefits

Web exclusive posted Dec. 12, 2008 at 3:18 p.m. CST 
 
 Researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., have developed a process that uses mostly undigested manure along with some chemical fertilizers to scrub biogas produced from the anaerobic digestion of manure or sewage treatment plants and landfills. Dubbed SulfaMaster, the patented process pipes biogas through barrels containing the manure mix to remove hydrogen sulfide from the biogas. When the manure mix is spent, the sulfur can be returned to the soil.
 
 "What is really good about our system is by repeated cycles, we can get up to 25 percent of the medium as pure sulfur. That's a very high loading rate. It just depends on how much of the hydrogen sulfide you have to take out," said Gary Harman, professor of plant biology at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y., the developer of the technology. "All of this sulfur came from cows to begin with. We think what we can do-because there is nothing toxic in there-is that we can simply put it back with a liquid manure land-spreading operation. When the sulfur goes back on to the land it will, unless it is anaerobic, form sulfate, and that is where it was in the first place."
 
 Harman said the SulfaMaster process is practical for smaller biogas production operations because most methods for removing hydrogen sulfide from biogas require expensive industrial-sized scrubbers. Herman and Terry Spittler, a retired analytical chemist from Cornell, own Terrenew LLC, a company that will license the technology from the Cornell Center for Technology Enterprise and Commercialization and will market the product from the Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park in Geneva, N.Y. The development of the SulfaMaster process was funded in part by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
 
 Harman said the SulfaMaster process is related to Terrenew's other product offerings, OilMaster and MetalMaster. The company first developed MetalMaster as a way to remove heavy metals from water. "We were looking then at a lot of stuff that says you can dump sewage sludge on the ground and it's not a problem if there is heavy metals and stuff in there, because it is all so tightly bound," he said. "And so we thought, ‘Why is that?' And then we started thinking about lignin chemistry. Well, if heavy metals are that tightly bound to the lignin, then it ought to be quite useful as a filter absorbent." The company developed the MetalMaster process which uses the lignin in tree bark to remove heavy metals from water.
 
 However, livestock manure is also valuable as a filter absorbent, Harman said. Composts and municipal solid wastes have been shown to reduce the bioavailability of heavy metals when those products are added to contaminated soils or acid mine drainage waters, he said. As a result, Harman investigated whether and why manure might have value for this application. The lignin portion of plants is not digestible by ruminants such as dairy cows, he added, therefore dairy cows produce manure that's high in lignin. Harman developed the manure-based OilMaster product for Terrenew.
 
 "It's sort of the backwards way we got into the whole concept," Harman said. He chuckled that he's becoming the George Washington Carver of manure.

December 2008

Business Briefs

Algae grower acquires funding

Standard Biodiesel seeks distributors

NREL updates biodiesel guide

Norwegian paper company considers biodiesel production

PetroTech acquires PetroAlgae

Bioversel sues GreenHunter

Biodiesel plant to be built in New York City

Nevada company acquires Indonesian projects

Imperium receives funds to repay debt

Biodiesel president leads ATA

Former Shell exec joins Jatoil board

Methes appoints advisory board

Waring joins Sustainable Oils

Columns

A Cautionary Tale

Building a ‘Bioshed' Analysis

Year of the Hurricane

Dare I Say, 'Feeling Fine in '09'?

New Resource Provides Methanol Handling Guidance

Featured

Reinventing the Mill

The Next Hot Commodity?

Using Biomass to Weather Colorado Winters

Biofuels Advance

Sizing Up the Soybean Market

Transition Period

Politics, Prices and Public Support

Glycerin's Role in 2009

Bees Essential for Biodiesel

Contributions

Bioenergy in Action

December 2008.css-7jxktu{position:absolute;bottom:0px;left:0px;right:0px;height:3px;border-radius:3px;background-color:var(--chakra-colors-brandBlack);}

Business Briefs

Algae grower acquires funding

Standard Biodiesel seeks distributors

NREL updates biodiesel guide

Norwegian paper company considers biodiesel production

PetroTech acquires PetroAlgae

Bioversel sues GreenHunter

Biodiesel plant to be built in New York City

Nevada company acquires Indonesian projects

Imperium receives funds to repay debt

Biodiesel president leads ATA

Former Shell exec joins Jatoil board

Methes appoints advisory board

Waring joins Sustainable Oils

Columns

A Cautionary Tale

Building a ‘Bioshed' Analysis

Year of the Hurricane

Dare I Say, 'Feeling Fine in '09'?

New Resource Provides Methanol Handling Guidance

Featured

Reinventing the Mill

The Next Hot Commodity?

Using Biomass to Weather Colorado Winters

Biofuels Advance

Sizing Up the Soybean Market

Transition Period

Politics, Prices and Public Support

Glycerin's Role in 2009

Bees Essential for Biodiesel

Contributions

Bioenergy in Action

December 2008