Green Options » bioenergy

The Other “Party of No”

Steve Savage — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:18:49 +0000

The Obama administration is struggling to follow through on promises with regard to health care and climate change because of a Republican party that seems to have no interest in constructive efforts to solve problems for the American people. But the Republicans are not the only “Party of No” that will make it difficult for Obama to deliver on his promises. Soon after he came to office, the President gave a speech to the National Academy of Sciences pledging to have an administration that supports and listens to science (something that was notably lacking during his predecessor’s term). The scientific community was very encouraged, but we also knew that many of Obama’s supporters are themselves highly selective in their support of science, and so it would take some real courage to follow through on the pledge. Nuclear power is the most prominent ”test case” underway, but there is a much less publicized ”politics vs science” test underway right now for the USDA.

The Question Before The USDA

The question is: will the USDA authorities allow a permit for Arborgen to conduct field tests including flowering for a GMO Eucalypus hybrid? These are trees that have been genetically engineered to be tolerant enough to frost to someday become a new bioenergy and pulp crop for the Southeastern US. The purpose of the test is to get real-world data on an important question: does this new crop have any potential to become an invasive species? Invasiveness is a very real phenomenon, but what we already know about these trees suggests that invasiveness is very unlikely.

This particular hybrid is widely grown in Brazil and has shown no tendency to spread outside of the plantations on which it is grown. This tree has also been modified so that it does not make pollen. The hypothesis that this tree will be a well-behaved crop is quite reasonable, but in science you test your hypothesis. That is what these field tests are intended to do – on a small scale (300 acres over 7 states) and with close monitoring. If the trees show a tendency to spread, it would not be hard to get rid of them on this scale. The USDA is not being asked to make a final determination about whether to allow this to become a commercial crop, it is just being asked for permission to do the next logical scientific step. The second public comment period on this question recently closed, so now it is up to the regulators to decide.

Bunny BioEnergy? Rabbits Killed During Cull Heat Homes in Stockholm

Jace Shoemaker-Galloway — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:12:37 +0000

In order to protect the trees and shrubs from damage in area parks, thousands of rabbits are culled in Stockholm neighborhoods every year. Last year alone, nearly 6,000 rabbits were killed during the annual cull. The rabbits are shot by specially hired people armed with a “special rifle.” The rabbits are usually killed at the first crack of dawn, as they peek out of their rabbit holes.

Read more of this story »

ISO Efficient Bioenergy: Ethanol Verses Bioelectricity

Michael Ricciardi — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:08:36 +0000

With the fluctuating price of oil, a finite resource, and concerns over CO2 emissions, many energy companies and developers have turned to utilizing biomass as alternative fuel (biofuel). This trend is actually taking two pathways: using biomass to convert to ethanol to power automobiles (which has been around for awhile now), and, converting biomass to electricity to power electric (or hybrid) vehicles (a more recent alternative). The question of which path is most efficient, sustainable, and less carbon-intensive is a vitally important one in terms of this nation’s “energy future”.

Read more of this story »

Biofuel Update With Emerson Process Management

Tom Schueneman — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:39:57 +0000

Earlier this year we caught up with Alan Novak, Director of Alternative Fuels for Emerson Process Management, to discuss last December’s BioEnergy Summit.

In that post we touched on how, depending on your perspective, biofuel and bioenergy production represent either unmitigated hype and controversy on the one hand, or the potential promise and hope for a sustainable clean energy future based, in part, on an abundant renewable fuel source on the other.

Read more of this story »

Advanced Biofuels Will Create Thousands of Jobs and Add Billions to U.S. Economy

Tom Schueneman — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:26:35 +0000

Thousands of new jobs will be created throughout the economy as advanced biofuel production capacity continues to expand.

This according to the Biotechnology Industry Organization as they presented key findings from a Bio Economic Research Associates (bio-era™) research report entitled U.S. Economic Impact of Advanced Biofuels Production: Perspectives to 2030.

The research analyzed how the growth of the advanced biofuels industry will impact four areas critical for recovery of the U.S. economy: job creation, economic output, energy security, and investment opportunity. The report forecasts that 190,000 new direct industry jobs will be created, with $37 billion dollars in direct economic growth, by 2022.

The impact throughout the economy could be as much as $148.7 billion, creating 807,000 jobs within the same 2010-2022 period.

Read more of this story »

Emerson Process Management’s Alan Novak Sets Optimistic Tone for Advanced Biofuels Industry

Tom Schueneman — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:46:49 +0000

Cellulosic ethanol is, for some, the holy grail of alternative fuel, while others remain resolutely unconvinced, claiming such confidence in the potential of biofuel as a fool’s errand (or worse).

Beyond these entrenched extremes, ranging from wild optimism to abject skepticism, comes the real heavy lifting – understanding there are significant hurdles inherent in getting second generation biofuel from the lab into full-scale sustainable commercial production, but seeing those hurdles as challenges to be overcome, not as roadblocks from which to retreat, and working to bridge the gap from current reality to potential promise.

Read more of this story »

University Launches Sustainable Food Degree Program

Gina Munsey — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:03:10 +0000

“I’m going to engage in hands-on organic gardening and culinary studies while immersed in the world of local and sustainable food systems.” If a college student told me this, I would assume that he or she planned to step away from the classroom and take a hiatus from secondary education.

But for Montana State University students, this seemingly implausible scenario is the real deal. Last month at the launch of the spring semester, MSU unveiled the brand-new Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems undergraduate degree program.

Read more of this story »

Green Electricity, Powered by the African Bush!

Sam Aola Ooko — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:44:41 +0000

It sounded to me like the biblical story of Moses and the Burning Bush. As an African who maintains a second home (nearly all of us do) somewhere deep in the African bush, what more use of the bush could I think of other than to put my livestock to graze in the scorching sun whole day, then return home with a few dry wood sticks to light up the yard fire under the twilight moon while ebbing away at my favorite roast corn cob? Or where the wild animals make their homes?

Aha, the African Bush! Savor a-bush-to-electricity energy project in the African hinterland! What’s the connection? Well, it controls the wildlife habitat in a positive way that ensures an ecological balance in the Namibian bush, provides a source of livelihood to surrounding communities by opening more space in the farmlands as a way of community conservation and powers local homes and businesses by feeding the electricity grid!

I like what they called the project: CBEND or Combating Bush Encroachment for Namibia’s Development because an 1MW electricity plant will be entirely powered by harvested invader bush and the electricity produced will be supplied to the national grid using technology dubbed wood gasification.

Ten million hectares of land containing up to 10,000 bushes per hectare will be freed to produce between 5 to 25 tons of biomass per hectare in a bush thinning process that allows re-growth from the roots with a repeat maturity period of 10 to 15 years. This translates to 125 million tons of biomass or 500 TWh.

Read more of this story »