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[E3 wise]

By Joseph Baker on February 7, 2012- Energy Boom.com

On Friday, the United States Department of Agriculture rolled out two new funding programs which it hopes will both increase the production of advanced biofuels and also promote the use of renewable energy to create the biofuel.

  Dubbed the "Repowering Assistance Program," the fund will provide up to $25 million to biorefineries for the implementation of  systems that employ biomass to produce heat or power.  Biorefineries that have been in operation since 2008 or earlier can receive up to 50% of the cost to replace or retro-fit fossil fuel systems.

  The USDA also said that $25 million is now available to advanced biofuels producers who expect to produce eligible biofuels in Fiscal Year 2012. The funds will be made available to eligible producers (cellulose, sugar and starch, crop residue, vegetative waste material, animal waste, food and yard waste, vegetable oil, animal fat, and biogas) that enrolled in the program last fall.

  This news marks the first biofuels funding support the USDA has announced in 2012. Compared to how the Agency supported biofuels in the beginning of 2011 when, in January, it announced  $410 million in financing incentives for three large cellulosic ethanol projects and for small producers in 33 states, this latest round of funding may seem small. However, placing this announcement within a view of the last 12 months, and it is clear that the USDA is throwing its support behind advanced biofuel production in the U.S.

  In May 2011, the Agency launched the first Biomass Crop Assistance Program project area in Kansas and Missouri.  This program will provide incentives for farmers who establish grass and herbaceous plant crops dedicated to energy feedstocks. Two months later, in July, the USDA added four new areas which it allotted $45 million for producers that enrolled in the program.

  Finally, in August, alongside its partners the Department of Navy (DON) and the Department of Energy (DOE), the USDA committed $170 million to be used over the next three years toward constructing or retrofitting drop-in biofuel plants and refiners to produce bio-based jet and diesel fuels.

  Yes, 2012 is a different year than 2011. Certainly, the booming years of loan guarantees and government backed support for development of alternative and clean energy have changed. Public financing for alternative energy programs could be even tougher to locate in 2012, considering it is an election year -- many eyes will be focused on how the Obama Administration is handling the public's money.

  Yet, even amongst the political banter and the fixation on the clean energy companies that have failed with government funds behind them, it may be important to look at the successes the Administration's support has spawned.

  Biofuel producer Enerkem Corporation offers a telling example. Enerkem's patented technology transforms municipal solid waste into cellulosic ethanol. The company, which is based out of Montreal, Canada where it operates a commercial demonstration facility, is currently constructing its first full-scale commercial plant in Alberta.

  In December 2009, the DOE awarded Enerkem $50 million in funding to support the development and construction of a biorefinery in Mississippi and a year later signed off on an $80 million loan guarantee for the project (which will be capable of producing 10 million gallons cellulosic ethanol per year).

  On Friday of last week, Enerkem announced it plans to go public.  The company expects its initial public offering (IPO) to raise estimated $125 million.

  Although this news may not have the Obama Administration, or those who are favor financial support from the government for clean energy companies, jumping out of their seats with smiles, it does mark a big step forward for a budding technology business capable of helping to fill the energy security gap.

Shared by E3 Wise

[jasserEnv]

Personally, I am not at all a fan of the efforts to create more biofuels as I see these actitivities as an incredibly inefficient use of resources given modern farming's heavy dependency on fertilizers and pesticides which are both themselves dependent on fuel use. At the same time, even with all the land in the US used to produce biofuel, my understanding is that there would be insufficent amounts to even come close to meeting demand.

I really think tax dollars should be using the investments for electricity based systems, electrical and wind generation as well as efforts to make electric cars as efficient as possible instead.

[mariaandrea]

I'm intrigued by Enerkem's use of municipal solid waste to create biofuel. That means that their technology, widely used, could vastly reduce the amount of waste in landfills, although frankly, it's practically an unending supply of raw material since we continue to put plenty of waste into landfills. Sounds to me like a really smart plan to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I hope it pans out commercially.

[E3 wise]

I was so hoping you guys would respond because this is a subject that I really wanted to talk about ethanol from non standard food crops (i.e. waste products and trash).

   First there are a LOT of ways to make bio fuels and other energy from agricultural waste and all the regular trash we make, and it’s the lack of people knowing about these things technologies that have been the biggest reason why more have not caught on.

  OK first, my first choice is not to make ethanol from corn, sugar, soy beans or any other food crop. As jasserEnv correctly pointed out that is a waste due to the amount of energy (gas, diesel) fertilizer, pesticides, water and refining energy needed. Additionally any food crop ethanol or biofuels made from food deprives people of food when record numbers of people need those crops.  Here is how I put it.  Keep agricultural food products to feed people, not make fuel products.

BUT when it comes to the agricultural waste products of these food crops like stems & husks, or forestry bio-waste, or good old regular garbage, well that kind of bio-fuel is just being thrown in landfills and we can use it to make a huge amount of energy.  In fact, and I have to find my exact source again so I can share it, in 2009 the DOE estimated that up to 27% of all the energy needed to power the United States could be met by using bio-waste and trash..  Thing is there are lots of ways to produce biofuels.

   Cellulosic ethanol was almost unknown 10 or 15 years ago. Now that’s not true, and I would caution you on going by what you read on sites like Wikipedia and others because on this subject they are pretty outdated.

  Today because of many companies revolutionary work in things like Cellulosic ethanol, waste product bio-diesel, waste product bio-reformers, and Terra-Preta, are starting to bring technology from first generation products to the mass production market.   Problem is that because most Americans think all ethanol is from food crops,(corn) and so on there has been some push back from the public and therefore also from the USDA and DOE in funding.

   However that is changing also as both have seen several American companies sell their technology to other countries willing to invest in these processes.  England, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Singapore have all gone forward with these types of projects.  Using that success producers are now returning to the United States as incentives for biofuels is restored.

  I want to say that I am not discussing any one company because I do not want people to think I am biased toward anyone in particular.  That said I am aware of many companies starting projects here in the US.  Enerkem's was mentioned in the article, and they have 3 projects in Canada and 1 in the United States under development.  The reason I like their technology is because the can are focusing on both biofuels from non recyclable and non compostable municipal solid waste (MSW) and bio-waste their web page says Any fuel, chemical and everyday product made from petroleum can be made by Enerkem from garbage. Our carbon chemistry keeps communities clean and green. http://www.enerkem.com

Now if we can get anymore interest in these types of energy sources I would love to discuss many other companies, but in the beginning let’s keep it general under the guidelines so far.

I also want to point out that a lot of this is relearning old ideas- great example Terra-Preta which can be made from lots of trash sources and it locks up CO2 in the soil as a usable natural fertilizer for plants that does not require oil.  It’s been around for thousands of years but until recently (last 15 years) has been rediscovered.

    In closing trash and garbage are filling up our landfills, there are lots of environmentally friendly ways to produce energy from them.  Keeping methane (which is 20 times more a green house gas than CO2), and other green house gases from leaking out of our landfills should be a prime concern to combat global climate change.

   If you guys have more specific questions I would love to share but I need the questions to come from you guys so I don’t seem to be pushing anyone or their technology in particular.  The trouble with being an alternative energy designer is people might think I am talking about this stuff for financial gain; I’m not, my mission here on Alt. Energy Shift is to get the message about the solutions available out there for everyone.

Health, Happiness, and Success Everyone and thanks for the responses.
E3 Wise

[jasserEnv]

E3 Wise,

Interesting discussion!

I would agree that if we can get the material from municipal waste, it is better than generating methane in the land fills. However, a good composing diversion program can generate quality compost that can be used to enrich soils while eliminating much from the landfills. At the same time, in terms of agricultural and forestry waste, I would much rather see the waste being turned back into compost for the soil. If we don't do this, I see the same problem of stripping the soil and needing fertilizers to maintain the productivity of the land. That said, there likely is some level at which we can divert materials toward biofuel generation while maintaining the soil simply because we have a net gain of solar energy that is feeding the system.

The question is what percentage is sustainable in terms of maintaining soil quality?