Biopact - A bioprospecting expedition to Iceland's famed hot springs has yielded new strains of bacteria with potential of producing biohydrogen (H2) and ethanol (EtOH) fuels from biomass and waste materials containing carbohydrates. The report about the discovery of the new thermophilic microbes appeared online as an open access article in Energy & Fuels, a bi-monthly journal. This is yet another illustration of how investigating life in extreme environments may yield applications in the emerging bioeconomy.

In the study, Perttu E. P. Koskinen and colleagues point out that ethanol and hydrogen are two leading eco-friendly candidates for supplementing world supplies of oil, coal, and other conventional fuels. Research suggests that there would be advantages in producing those fuels by fermentation with bacteria capable of withstanding higher temperatures than microbes now in use.

Knowing that thermophilic, or heat-loving, bacteria inhabit Iceland's hot springs, the scientists bioprospected scalding-hot geothermal springs in different parts of the country for new ethanol and hydrogen-producing bacteria. After screening samples, including those from springs that approached the boiling point of water, the scientists enriched promising microorganisms that can produce the compounds from glucose or cellulose at high temperatures. The enrichments included those with unusually high yields of hydrogen or ethanol from carbohydrates.

Hydrogen- and EtOH-producing enrichment cultures were obtained from various hot spring samples over a temperature range of 50–78 °C. The temperature dependencies for the most promising enrichments were determined with a temperature-gradient incubator. One of the enrichments (33HL) produced 2.10 mol of H2/mol of glucose at 59 °C. Another enrichment (9HG), dominated by bacteria closely affiliated with Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus, produced 0.68 mol of H2/mol of glucose, and 1.21 mol of EtOH/mol of glucose at 78 °C.Hydrogen and EtOH production by 9HG was characterized further in a continuous-flow bioreactor at 74 °C. The highest H2 and EtOH yields of 9HG were obtained at pH 6.8 ± 0.3. Lactate production decreased the H2 and EtOH yields in the continuous-flow bioreactor, and the yields were lower than those obtained in the batch fermentations.

In conclusion, the thorough batch screening of Icelandic hot spring samples indicated promising enrichments for H2 or H2 plus EtOH production from carbohydrate materials.

In July, the Iowa Legislature awarded the Tallgrass Prairie Center $330,000 to conduct research on the feasibility of utilizing prairie hay for electrical generation. The study will look at ways to integrate conservation and restoration of grasslands with bioenergy production.

Michele Suhrer and Cassy Bohnet who are working on the project, say they will plant four different mixtures of prairie species on 100 acres of land rented from the Black Hawk County Conservation Board. The research will determine which mixtures produce the most energy efficient and sustainable prairie hay. Suhrer says the prairie hay can be grown on marginal land, possibly saving Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land from being turned back into row crop production.

Dave Williams, project manager at the Center, says that by planting a diverse mix of tall perennial prairie grasses around row crops, soil erosion, runoff of pesticides and fertilizers can be reduced. Wildlife habitats can be restored or improved along with delivering other environmental benefits.

Last year, the bioenergy community was given a boost by the results of a study in Science on polycultures of multiple grass, wildflower and prairie species. The researchers, led by David Tilman, found that such plantations of mixed native energy crops can be carbon-negative, restore biodiversity, can grow on degraded land, and provide substantially more biomass for biofuels than the most promising monocultures. A bioeconomy based on mixed prairie grasses can restore the beauty of a lost landscape and helps soak up the vast amounts of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution.

Known as the 'Tilman study' on 'low-input high-diversity grassland bioenergy systems', the findings showed that the polycultures yielded not less than 238 per cent more useable biomass than a single crop of switchgrass (long seen as the leading energy crop in the U.S.). Biofuels derived from the colorful fields resulted in 51 per cent more energy per acre compared to corn, the most widely used biofuel crop. Inputs of energy, fertilizer and herbicides were much lower as well. And because the perennial species store atmospheric carbon deep in their roots, they become part of a carbon-negative energy system.

The Tallgrass Prairie Center's bioenergy project will draw on the results of this study to see whether they can be replicated.The various mixtures of perennial prairie species to be test planted by the Tallgrass Prairie Center will take about three years to mature, after which they are ready for harvesting. Then two years will be devoted to research optimal harvesting techniques, and to interpret agronomic data.

According to Suhrer and Bohnet, most farmers already have the basic haying equipment to harvest the biomass, so that will be the least problematic area of study. Comparing and analysing productivity of different grass mixtures and their combustion characteristics will require more intensive work.

Cedar Falls Utilities will test burn the prairie hay to analyse its suitability as a biomass feedstock for the production of green electricity.

The Tallgrass Prairie Center is a strong advocate of progressive, ecological approaches utilizing native vegetation to provide environmental, economic and aesthetic benefits for the public good. The center is in the vanguard of roadside vegetation management, native Source Identified seed development, and prairie advocacy.

The center primarily serves the Upper Midwest Tallgrass Prairie Region, but is a model for similar efforts nationally and internationally.

The TPC aims to develop research, techniques, education and Source Identified seed for restoration and preservation of prairie vegetation in rights-of-way and other lands. The center was stablished at the University of Northern Iowa in 1999 as the Native Roadside Vegetation Center.

The center has some major programs running: the Prairie Institute, the Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management Program and the Iowa Ecotype Project.

What if farmers decide against crop rotations and plant corn on the same fields, year after year? Or, what if farmers begin growing biomass crops such as switchgrass for the production of ethanol from plant fiber?

Will soil lose fertility? Will erosion increase? Will the amount of energy needed to produce biofuels go up or down? Will farm income increase or decrease? Will the bioeconomy be sustainable?

Robert Anex, an Iowa State associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and associate director of Iowa State's Office of Biorenewables Programs, is working to answer those and other questions about the transition to an agriculture that produces biomass as well as food and fiber.

One answer is that American agriculture is likely to change.

"It may well be that the development of biomass-based crops production systems can have as profound an impact on agriculture and its environmental footprint as it does on energy security and the global climate," Anex and co-authors Andrew Heggenstaller and Matt Liebman of Iowa State's agronomy department and Lee Lynd and Mark Laser of Dartmouth College wrote in a recent paper. "Whether this is a positive impact or a negative impact will depend largely on how biomass feedstocks are produced and converted, and the extent to which these two activities are integrated."

Their paper, "Potential for Enhanced Nutrient Cycling through Coupling of Agricultural and Bioenergy Systems," was recently published online by Crop Science, the official publication of the Crop Science Society of America.

The paper reports that as much as 78 percent of the nitrogen fertilizer needed for crops could be recovered from an integrated biological and thermochemical process that converts switchgrass to ethanol. The study says such nutrient recovery and recycling could significantly improve the sustainability of biomass production and the amount of energy required to produce ethanol from plant fiber.

The researchers say the nutrient recovery could happen this way: Plant fiber would be converted to liquid fuels by pre-treatments and fermentation. The co-products of fermentation would be dried and heated to turn the solids into gases. The gasification would leave plant nutrients in the resulting ash and ammonia. The nutrients in both streams could be recovered and returned to the fields that produced the biomass.

And that potential for nutrient recycling means there's potential for a new kind of agriculture feeding a sustainable bioeconomy.

"By creating a large, new domestic demand for agricultural products, the advent of commercial-scale conversion of biomass into ethanol and other industrial chemicals is likely to have a strong influence on the design of agricultural systems," the researchers wrote. "The possibility of recycling nutrients from the biorefinery to the agricultural system that produces the feedstock may allow substantial improvements in both sustainability and production efficiency."

But, sustaining biomass production is a complex system that depends on many variables such as soil type and slope, soil organic matter and the amount of biomass actually harvested.

To help farmers begin to understand how collecting biomass from their fields may affect soil fertility, erosion, energy needs, labor and the bottom line, Anex and a team of Iowa State researchers have added bioeconomy elements to I-FARM, a Web tool that helps farmers simulate and plan various changes to their operations.

I-FARM is free and can be found at http://i-farmtools.org. Its focus is on the upper Midwest, but weather and soils data from 28 states are accessible from its database.

In one simulation, the I-FARM research team (Anex, Ed van Ouwerkerk, an Iowa State research associate in agricultural and biosystems engineering; Tom Richard, an associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Penn State University; Amritpal Kang, an Iowa State graduate student; and Brian Gelder, an Iowa State postdoctoral research associate) studied the effects of harvesting corn stalks and leaves on three farms in northwest Iowa's Palo Alto County. One grain farm harvested no stover, one harvested 1,809 dry tons of stover a year and the other harvested 3,077 dry tons a year.

The simulations found the farm that harvested the most stover also needed the most fertilizer, had the most erosion and barely returned sustainable levels of organic matter to the soil. That farm also recorded the highest net farm income before taxes.

Anex's study of the sustainability of the bioeconomy is being supported, in part, by grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.

The studies are helping researchers answer some questions about the sustainability of agriculture in a bioeconomy, Anex said. But there are still lots of questions about how everything in a new agricultural system would fit together.

"Despite the promise of alternative crops and cropping systems as well as the nutrient recovery and recycling concepts examined here, there are still many questions that remain about their practical implementation," Anex and the other researchers wrote in their paper. "The issues that have been addressed here and the questions that have been raised are only a small subset of those that must be addressed if we are to usher in a new and beneficial agricultural revolution."

Copyright 1995-2007. High Plains Publishers, Inc.

The Government emphasise use of non-edible oils such as Jatropha curcas, Pongmia pinnata oils, etc. for production of bio-diesel and use of forest & non-forest wastelands for plantation of non-edible oil seed bearing plants.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has sponsored Reasearch and Development projects on bio-fuels to some leading R&D Institutions. Process parameters for production of bio-diesel from JatroPha curcas (Ratanjot) and Pongamia pinnata (Karanja) have been optimized; field trials on diesel car have been carried out with different levels of blend of bio-diesel produced from Jatropha and Pongamia with diesel.

The vehicle response has been found to be comparable with diesel vehicles. A 200 liter capacity per batch bio-diesel reactor has been designed, fabricated and developed. The MNRE has prepared a Draft National Policy on Bio-fuels, which is under consideration of Govt. of India.

The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has provided financial support to nine States in 2005-06 for raising of about 18 crore seedlings of Jatropha and Pongamia and to 18 States in 2006-07 for raising of another about 18 crore seedlings of these plants. The proposal of the MoRD for establishment of the National Mission on Bio-diesel and launch of its demonstration phase (Phase-I) is under consideration of Government of India.

Department of Bio-Technology has initiated a Micro-mission programme on production and demonstration of superior quality planting material of Jatropha based on oil content of 30-35% and seed yield of 3-5 tonnes per hectare. They have raised 22.48 lakh plants under nursery at different places and have initiated R&D projects for improvement of oil quality and seed yield and identification of superior varieties.

The Ministry of Agriculture through National Oil Seeds and Vegetable Oils Development (NOVOD) Board is promoting Jatropha and Pongamia under the Scheme of Integrated Development of Tree borne oil seeds. The NOVOD Board has undertaken model plantation of Jatropha in about 10,000 hectare area and Karanja in about 1400 hectare area for producing parent material for undertaking large scale plantation. NOVOD Board have identified elite planting material of Jatropha and pongamia under their R&D programme and have preserved the germ plasm. Besides, NOVOD Board has sanctioned model plantation of Jatropha in 1445 hectare and Karanja in 55 hectare during 2007-08.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), under All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on agro-forestry, have initiated efforts in respect of Jatropha for collection of germ plasm, evaluation trials for growth, seed yield and oil content, hybridization, reproductive biology, agri-silvicultural trials, molecular characterization, biochemical activities and farmers training. ICAR has identified a Jatropha variety for commercial cultivation.

Presently, the activities initiated on research & development for development of superior quality planting materials and bio-diesel production technologies, testing of diesel engines using bio-diesel and their demonstration have been initiated.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of New and Renewable Sources, Sh Vilas Muttemwar. in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

Copyright: Press Information Bureau

Biofuel, which can be produced from plants, is considered a means to reducing greenhouse gas emissions as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Speaking on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, MP Jay Hill says the Peace region is the largest producer of grains and oilseeds in B.C.

He says $1.2 million of the investment will include research on crops including ethanol feedstock for biofuel production, hard white spring wheat, shorter season flax, barley and pea varieties.

The rest of the money will be used by the B.C. Grain Producers' Association to develop a business plan to construct a biodiesel production facility.

Copyright © 2007 The Canadian Press

A few years ago, the idea that corn prices would suddenly jump higher after steadily declining for about 50 years would have been met with disbelief and laughter. Today, no one is laughing. Instead, many people are concerned that the increasing demand for corn grain as a raw material for ethanol will significantly increase the price of food for both people and animals, and even cause some people to go hungry.

What is sometimes forgotten in this "food vs. fuel" debate is that ethanol and other biofuels can be made from many other materials besides corn grain and food crops. Making biofuels from cellulosic matter (grasses, straw, hay, woody plants and trees, stems and stalks, as well as some urban wastes) will help eliminate the food vs. biofuel debate. We can and will have food and fuel.

The federal government and private industry have pledged more than $1 billion to support research and development to make producing biofuels from cellulose more efficient and economical. Cellulose helps Michigan

As crude oil prices surge to new highs, it becomes easier for cellulosic biofuels to compete economically with petroleum fuels. Cellulosic raw materials already are much less expensive than petroleum.

Through plant breeding and genetic research, as well as studies to better understand plant metabolism and other mechanisms, the cost of cellulosic raw materials will continue to fall. At the same time, this research also will allow these raw materials to be produced in an environmentally sound manner that protects soil and water quality and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Research on processes to convert cellulosic biomass into fuels will further reduce fuel costs, as will the practical experience that we'll gain at the large-scale cellulosic ethanol plants now being built.

As we learn how to make ethanol from grasses and other cellulosic materials more efficiently and on a commercial scale, we'll also learn how to use the protein and calories in these plants as feed for animals. More than 80 percent of U.S. agricultural land is used to grow animal feed, not human food. Being able to produce both biofuel and animal feed from a crop that's not currently used for human food or animal feed also will help lower corn and other feed grain prices because animal producers will have more options for their livestock.

A recent study by a group of engineers and animal scientists from Michigan State University and Dartmouth College (including myself) shows that integrating production of animal feed protein with the production of ethanol allows cellulosic ethanol to be made for about 50 cents per gallon.

In the future, it's reasonable to expect that fuels derived from imported oil will be replaced by biofuels made from cellulosic materials. These cellulosic biofuels will be less expensive, better for the environment and much better for U.S. national security than petroleum fuels. We don't have to choose between food and fuel. We will have food and fuel, and both of them will be more plentiful and less expensive than what we have now.

Bruce Dale is professor of chemical engineering and materials science, and associate director of the Office of Biobased Technologies at Michigan State University. He is also editor-in-chief of the journal Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining. E-mail comments toletters@detnews.com.

© Copyright 2007 The Detroit News

This industrial sweet potato doesn't look, or taste, much like the Southern classic, but can produce twice the starch content of corn, the leading source of ethanol. More starch means more sugars that can be fermented into biofuel.

"These are not your grandmother's sweet potatoes," says Craig Yencho, an N.C. State associate professor of Horticultural Science, who is leading a project to develop alternative uses for the vegetable. "The industrial sweet potato is edible, but not palatable."

While the table version is orange inside and becomes sweet during baking as enzymes break down starch into sugar, the industrial sweet potato typically has a purple or white skin and white inside with a much higher starch content that limits its sweet taste.

North Carolina produces about 40 percent of the U.S. sweet potato crop. The industrial sweet potato could help diversify the state's farm income.

The biggest challenge is lowering production costs to take advantage of that higher starch content. Sweet potatoes traditionally are planted by hand using transplants.

"But if we could plant them the same way you plant an Irish potato – by planting cut 'seed' pieces and mechanically planting them into the ground, we could cut planting costs in half," Yencho said.

"The ethanol production from sweet potatoes then becomes much more cost effective and feasible. Not only would these sweet potatoes be a much more viable ethanol source than corn, but because they are industrial sweet potatoes, we wouldn't be taking away from a food source," said Yencho, who is currently in China helping the world's No. 1 producer of sweet potatoes tap the crop's biofuel potential.

While the best of conventional breeding techniques have been used to develop N.C. State's industrial sweet potato, Yencho is also teaming with colleague Bryon Sosinski on an unconventional approach to further boost sugar – and thus ethanol – yield. By using bacteria from deep-sea thermal vents they are creating an industrial sweet potato that practically processes itself into ethanol.

"Our ultimate goal is to develop a self-processing sweet potato," says Dr. Yencho, noting that the special genes could reduce the cost of enzymes that are used by biofuel processors to break down the starch in corn to sugars which are then converted into alcohol by fermentation. Sosinski hopes to move into greenhouse trials next year.

Ultimately, N.C. State scientists believe the industrial sweet potato can compete with corn – now much cheaper to produce – as a viable alternative source of ethanol. Corn is by far the leading source of ethanol, but corn- based biofuel has come under increasing attack by poverty-fighting and other groups who argue, among other things, that diversion of corn crops for biofuels aggravates world-hunger problems. At the same time, Congress and state legislative leaders concerned about dependence on imported oil are pushing for increased use of biofuels.

"There isn't one magical crop that will solve our energy problems, but the industrial sweet potato can play an important role, especially in the southeastern U.S. where the crop is grown," says Dr. Yencho.

Moreover, he adds, research into the sweet potato can further enhance its value as a nutritional food staple while simultaneously finding new ways the crop can help replace petroleum as source for industrial products ranging from plastics to natural colorants and high-value specialty chemicals. And in their zeal to mine the tuber's variability, Yencho and his team of N.C. State researchers have created a hybrid intended for neither food nor fuel – the non-bearing "Sweet Caroline" variety developed strictly for ornamental use.

© 2007 Noria Corporation

CHICAGO - The global spotlight has turned from corn and wheat to soybeans, with prices expected to test an all-time high next year fueled by the volatile mix of a weak dollar, demand from China and a growing thirst for alternative fuels.

An ethanol boom has buoyed corn and global drought problems have lifted wheat prices. But soybeans lost acres to those crops last year, just ahead of a boom in demand for soy's use as a biofuel, livestock feed and food ingredient.

In particular, China's voracious appetite for soybeans to feed its meat and food industries - accounting for more than half of all U.S. soy export sales this season - has shown no sign of slowing, analysts say. Many traders feel the sky is the limit for that demand as China faces production and irrigation problems.

Throw in biofuels demand - specifically, biodiesel made from soyoil - and the soy market has a second wild card of possibly unlimited demand. Another factor is the sinking dollar, which is making dollar-based soybeans cheaper for export.

"To a greater extent than we've seen in a long time, macroeconomic factors are playing a significant role in commodity prices," said Bill Lapp, president of Advanced Economic Solutions and consultant to food industries.

Many analysts see CBOT soybeans rising to $12 a bushel by early next year, with the potential to test the all-time high of $12.90 posted in June 1973.

On Wednesday, spot-month January (SF8: Quote, Profile, Research) closed 5-3/4 cents higher at $10.96-3/4 per bushel.

It is likely that CBOT soyoil will test its record top of 51 cents a lb notched 33 years ago, especially if crude oil - a market that soyoil mirrors given the expanding biodiesel industry - continues its rally. CBOT January soyoil (BOF8: Quote, Profile, Research) ended 0.17 cent lower at 46.58 cents a lb on Wednesday.

But that mix of bullishness has also fed price volatility as traders ask how many soybeans will be used for food, versus how many for production of biodiesel. They also wonder where all these crops will be grown, and how high a price it will take to ration demand.

"No one really knows where the price of soybeans is going to go because there are so many different variables that are involved," said Steve Freed, analyst at ADM Investor Services. "If you're a consumer or a speculator, you're long beans. And the objective is a lot higher than we are now."

But analysts also said another factor in the grain markets - Wall Street hedge funds and other "hot money" speculators - will continue to create volatility that could fly in the face of fundamentals.

As of Nov. 20, such funds held 46 percent of the long positions in CBOT soybeans and 41 percent of soyoil.

Food + Fuels + Fears = Inflation

This month CBOT soybeans jumped above $11 a bushel, a level not seen since the 1970s, a time of historic inflation.

In the United States, the Consumer Price Index for food is up almost 6 percent for the first nine months of 2007.

"Food inflation is real .... it's at a 25-year record," said Lapp of Advanced Economic Solutions, referring to the CPI. Soaring U.S. crop prices have driven up world prices since the United States is the leading global grains exporter. And even higher prices could be on the cards.

"It just looks like we're going to draw down the entire surplus in soybean stocks in one crop year," said Anne Frick, oilseed analyst with Prudential Securities. "We're looking at some real constraints even to try and maintain bare minimum pipeline stocks for a second consecutive year in 2008/09."

Analysts will key on China's continuing appetite for soy, South American weather as the just-planted soy crop matures in early 2008, and the battle for acres. USDA will release U.S. farmer seeding intentions at the end of March.

"The problem is that we have limited acreage and a fight for acreage. It's not just between beans and corn, it's really between oilseeds and grains worldwide," Frick said.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis)

© Reuters2007

LONDON - Acta says a transport system fuelled by hydrogen is a decade closer after striking a deal with an Asian firm, described by the UK chemicals company as one of the world's largest corporations and which analysts say is a carmaker.

If the development project goes well then large numbers of cars could drive on hydrogen in "10 plus" years, as opposed to 20-30 years, Acta's chief operating officer said on Wednesday.

Acta is different from rivals in that it believes that ammonia will be used to create hydrogen in cars which would cut carbon dioxide emissions and remove the need for bulky hydrogen storing-tanks in the vehicles. Acta makes chemical catalysts that help create hydrogen from ammonia and ethanol in vehicles.

The filling stations of the future will be pouring out ammonia, not gasoline, Acta hopes. Although without another chemical to suppress the smell, you will need a mask.

Acta points out millions of farmers already handle ammonia, spraying it as fertilizer, and there are ammonia filling stations across the United States.

Even people working within the industry say large numbers of hydrogen-powered cars are at least 30 years away. The main problem is supplying hydrogen to the cars, which requires an overhaul of filling stations and infrastructure as well as the work that still needs doing on the engines.

"Most car companies see ethanol as a sticking plaster for carbon emissions while truly green motoring solutions are found," said Acta's Chief Operating Officer Toby Woolrych by phone on Wednesday. Ethanol is a biofuel which comes from crops such as corn and whose increased use has pushed up food prices.

Although Acta's catalysts work with ethanol, ammonia is its big hope.

"Ethanol has a very important place as a percentage addition to gasoline, but it isn't a long term solution," Woolrych said.

Acta said it will get 600,000 euros ($883,700) from its contract with the Asian firm for the first four months, and expects this rate of payment over the subsequent 12 months if the project goes well.

Woolrych hopes its partner -- with whom it has worked for nearly 2 years - will showcase the technology in 2008.

"If this unblocks the hydrogen supply problem we expect them to push this hard and fast," he said.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

© Reuters2007

The United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) report was officially presented in Brasília with president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva being the host. Not coincidentally, Brazil is the leader in the use of sustainable biofuels. Lula is known for his vision which says biofuels can boost both poverty alleviation in the developing world on a massive scale, as well as providing energy security and independence from catastrophic high oil prices.

With the Human Development Report, the UNDP joins a large series of energy, climate and development experts in demanding a removal of the trade barriers imposed by the US and the EU on efficient biofuels from the South, such as Brazilian sugarcane ethanol. Organisations and institutions supporting the same call include: the UN's FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation), the UNIDO (UN Industrial Development Organisation), the GBEP (Global Bioenergy Partnership), the OECD, the WorldWatch Institute, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and many others.

In an analysis of potential climate change mitigation options, which include bioenergy and biofuels, the authors make a case for a 'Biopact' of sorts - the win-win situation in which countries from the South utilize their comparative advantages to make carbon reducing fuels to supply the less efficient North.

International trade could play a much larger role in the expanding markets for alternative fuels. Brazil is more efficient than either the European Union or the United States in producing ethanol, Moreover, sugar-based ethanol is more efficient in cutting carbon emissions. The problem is that imports of Brazilian ethanol are restricted by high import tariffs. Removing these tariffs would generate gains not just for Brazil, but for climate change mitigation. - UNDP, Human Development Report 2007/2008

The suggestion was made based on the knowledge that such biofuels from South emit far less carbon dioxide than biofuels made in the North. The case of sugarcane ethanol is given as an example: it emits 70 to 80 percent less greenhouse gases than fossil fuels, while ethanol made from corn offers only a 10 to 20 percent reduction. Moreover, ethanol from the (sub)tropics, which can be made from a vast range of highly efficient crops, has a much stronger energy balance. For cane ethanol this is up to 8 to 1, for corn ethanol barely 1 to 1 (some scientists have even found it to be negative). Finally, unlike biofuels made from crops like corn or rapeseed, these fuels have had no impact on food prices. Brazilian ethanol production is at all time highs, whereas sugar prices have declined.

Scientists have found the technical potential for sustainable biofuels in the South to be very large. Researchers from the International Energy Agency's Bioenergy Task 40 have found that, by 2050, Africa and Latin America alone could produce more than 500 Exajoules of exportable bioenergy, after meeting all food, fiber, fodder and forest products needs of growing populations.

The United States and the European Union have imposed barriers on Brazil's ethanol, which almost doubles the price to consumers in those countries, according to Brazilian producers.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a document attached to the report that the use of ethanol in transportation reduces carbon gas emission by approximately 25.8 million tons per year in his country.

"Our aim is to increase the supply of biodiesel by 5 percent in Brazil up to the year 2013," said the president.

The report highlighted the fact that Brazil holds the fifth lowest emissions rate per capita among the 70 countries with the highest human development indices. In 2004 its carbon footrpint was was 1.8 ton per inhabitant, 60 percent lower than the world's average of 4.5 tons and more than 10 times lower than the average American, Australian or Canadian.

Efficient biofuels have played an important role in this achievement.

For the first time in the history of the Human Development Index, Brazil ranks amongst the countries with a "high development" status. Its economic growth however has a low carbon profile, making the country an example for others to follow.

New Jersey's garbage, landfill gases and other waste could one day generate enough electricity to power a million homes, according to a report released by the state Board of Public Utilities.

That waste and other "biomass" - which includes corn, paper, grass clippings and used cooking grease, among others - could even be used to generate 300 million gallons of fuel for transportation every a year. That's roughly 5 percent of New Jersey's needs, the report said.

With the right technology and state incentives, this could all happen by 2020, according to the report.

The conversion to bioenergy would not only put New Jersey's waste to good use, it would reduce the dependence on foreign oil. That would in turn reduce the emission of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels, the prime suspect in global warming.

"For the first time, we have an extremely detailed understanding of our bioenergy capabilities," said Margaret Brennan, who directed the biomass study for the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. "This gives us something to strive for. Before, we didn't know what the potential was."

Most of the waste generated in the state is municipal waste, and most of that is concentrated in northeastern and central Jersey, the report said.

"Conversion of solid waste to clean energy could become the major source of renewable energy," the report noted.

Reaching that potential requires implementing the technologies, collection systems and infrastructure over the next 13 years, Brennan said.

"That really requires a significant investment and commitment to do it," she said, declining to put a dollar amount on the cost. "The state would need to provide some sort of economic incentives for the biomass companies to locate here and to encourage the refinement of the technologies."

One encouraging finding was that many of the biomass-processing plants could be about the size of a warehouse and could be located on landfills, reducing potential siting problems, Brennan said.

BPU Chief of Staff Lance Miller said he was optimistic the new technologies could be developed in a timely fashion: "As we approach $100-a-barrel oil, the cost-effectiveness of these technologies becomes much better," he said.

He said that although the state already converts solid waste to energy through incineration and through the collection of methane gas in landfills, a lot of energy now goes to waste.

"If we were to extract the potential before it goes into a landfill, it would be a good thing to do," he said.

The BPU is working with the Department of Agriculture to use marginal farmland to grow so-called energy crops like corn to convert to biofuels, Miller said.

Robert Ceberio, executive director of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, said his agency was already beginning to see a move toward bioenergy and was looking at ways to encourage companies to pursue it.

"For example, we're seeing companies that have an interest in the collection part of restaurant grease and oils for the purpose of biomass refinement," he said. "I think we're right at the edge of this becoming more and more popular. The technology is coming a long way."

The 2020 timeline to implement the study's findings is in keeping with the target date for Governor Corzine's efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 20 percent. The state's Global Warming Response Act, which became law this summer, also calls for an 80 percent cut in greenhouse gases by 2050. Those are the nation's most aggressive targets for cutting heat-trapping emissions.

To meet those goals, state officials have been working on a New Jersey Energy Master Plan, with a draft of the expected next month.

According to Miller, the BPU had been focusing its efforts on assessing and developing New Jersey's wind and solar energy potential, and the biomass study looked at another potential weapon in that arsenal.

The biomass report also includes a "biomass calculator," an interactive online database that examines various waste materials and where they are generated so that biomass processing can be located as close to the waste stream as possible.

New Jersey is said to be the first state to create such a calculator.

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc

A Portuguese oil company, Galp Energia, plans to announce November 27, 2007 that it is building a 6,500-barrel-a-day plant to make diesel fuel from vegetable oils using a method akin to refining oil.

The method, developed by UOP, a subsidiary of Honeywell, and Eni, the Italian energy company, adds hydrogen to oils derived from food crops to create a substitute that the companies describe as superior to ordinary diesel fuel.

The long-term goal is to modify the process to use oil from algae or from jatropha, a hardy shrub from Central America whose oil has long been burned in lamps and used to make soap.

Using algae, jatropha or oilseed crops like canola as a source of diesel would reduce carbon dioxide buildup in the atmosphere from diesel engines by 50 percent to 70 percent, according to Jennifer Holmgren, director for renewable energy and chemicals at UOP. The company argues that its method produces a fuel superior to the standard biodiesel already being made in places like the American Midwest.

Ms. Holmgren said that with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a Pentagon agency, UOP was pursuing a modification that would produce jet fuel from the same feedstock. With airlines under pressure to reduce their output of global warming gases, the fuel could find a ready market.

At 6,500 barrels a day, the Portuguese plant is tiny by petroleum standards but large by the standards of renewable fuels. To be located in Sines, a port south of Lisbon, it will be the second such unit; Eni is building one in Livorno, Italy.

The Galp unit will help meet a renewable fuel quota set by the Portuguese government. The cost of producing diesel with its technique will be higher than the cost of producing standard diesel, said Ms. Holmgren, who would not be more specific. She said the new diesel would be competitive when produced on a larger scale.
Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

The news comes as India's new President Pratibha Devisingh Patil stressed the country's need to boost energy security through renewables so as to ensure a continued economic growth rate of 10%. She said India today generates 11,000MW of renewable electricity, the bulk coming from wind power. Around 3.9 million family type biogas plants have been set up in rural areas, and a National Policy on Biofuels is under consideration. During the 11th plan, renewable power capacity addition will be to the tune of 14,000MW and will cover 10,000 villages.

The US Department of Energy wants to contribute to these ambitions by helping India making the switch to bioenergy, biofuels and bioproducts. EERE runs a biomass programme that works with industry, academia and their national laboratory partners for research in biomass feedstocks and conversion technologies.

EERE is now in preliminary discussions with India's Department of Planning, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the Department of agriculture for planning initiatives to make India counted among the emerging 'bioeconomies'.

By biomass economy, we mean an industry that produces renewable biofuels, bioproducts and biopower, enhances energy security, reduces [...] dependence on oil, provides environmental benefits including reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and creates economic opportunities across the nation. - Mark Ginsberg, EERE Board of Directors

EERE has been involved with Indian institutions and bodies since a few years and has funded projects to the tune of US $6-7 million through the Asia Pacific Partnership (APP).

It has been assessing wind, thermal and geo-thermal projects for the Maharashtra government and for MNRE. The department has been conducting the assessment through satellite mapping and on-site resources

Ginsberg added that the concept of zero-energy buildings, which does not consume any power should be looked upon by all developing countries. His views were echoed by BM Singh, executive director of India's Oil & Natural Gas Corporation who stressed that sustainable development will occur without compromising on the environment.

The conference, organised by the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), had speakers including Micheal Atchia, former director the UNEP, PN Roy Chowdhury, principal secretary of the Forests and Environment Department (government of Gujarat), and Rajendra Shende, head of the UNEP's OzonAction Programme.

ST. PAUL - Minnesota sits at an energy crossroad. Ethanol and wind-power pioneers gave Minnesota a good start. But visions of a better future bubble up in scientists’ and political leaders’ heads - energy plantations, using every bit of a plant for power and new ways of harnessing the wind.

Minnesotans are ready for a new energy future, one that uses much more homegrown resources than today’s oil-dependent economy.“We have reached a turning point,” Gov. Tim Pawlenty said in an interview. “The public’s awareness of this, the public’s appetite for this, the public’s demand for this is strong and increasing. And the markets are responding in astounding ways.”

Energy options abound.

“Can there be a silver bullet or will there be, by necessity, silver buckshot?” asked Dick Hemmingsen, director of the University of Minnesota’s Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment.

The answer appears to be buckshot. Some experts, for instance, predict fuel pumps with 10 options, ranging from gasoline to hydrogen.

That day is not here. Pawlenty predicted it will be 15 years before the energy future arrives, but he and others said technology is advancing fast and potential profits mean businesses may find new ways to use Minnesota resources sooner rather than later.

A Minnesota-based energy drive began decades ago, and really caught fire in 1992. Twin Cities’ air was so polluted that federal authorities ordered all gasoline sold in Minnesota’s largest metropolitan area that winter to contain some oxygen to ease the problem.

Minnesota farmers provided the solution with corn-based ethanol, which when mixed with plain gasoline lowered pollution.

Five years later the Legislature required gasoline statewide to contain 10 percent ethanol. After several years of struggling to build the state’s ethanol industry, the mandate 10 years ago fueled a massive growth, leading many politicians to claim Minnesota was becoming “the Saudi Arabia of the Midwest.”

Lots of talk followed about using Minnesota’s crop, wind and other resources to help the country become “energy independent.” That rhetoric, while still heard from some quarters, has faded a bit.

During a recent “Washington Journal” appearance on the C-SPAN cable television service, Pawlenty fielded an Alabaman’s charge that energy independence is not possible for decades.

“I always say it is important that we should move towards energy independence rather than say in the next two years we are going to be energy independent because that is unrealistic ... ” Pawlenty said in a measured tone. “Over time, we certainly can make progress toward that goal.”

Realism that time is needed to reach anything approaching energy independence is taking hold in Minnesota, along with the understanding of an ever-increasing role for corn, soybeans, wind, wood, even turkey manure. All parts of the state can get into the energy act.

But that is the future. Now is a transition time.

Ethanol plant construction has slowed. In northwestern Minnesota’s Erskine, for instance, economic fears influenced Agassiz Energy last month to indefinitely postpone plans to build a corn ethanol plant.

“With today’s market conditions, we can’t make any money,” said Agassiz Energy President Don Sargeant, citing high corn prices and relatively low ethanol prices.

On top of money questions, many of the more than 100 people attending an October Erskine meeting said they were concerned about environmental impacts from ethanol plants, the primary of which is ethanol plants use lots of water.

In Benson, Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co. decided in September to delay an expansion of its corn ethanol plant, noting increased construction costs and a flooded ethanol marketplace.

Pawlenty said the ethanol boom, which he called “a gold rush,” is making a market correction: “It’s like everything else - there is a huge buildup in the ethanol market. They have to take a little pause and a little breather until they restabilize. Some people would say they were overbuilding.”

Wind power also faces a hurdle that slows its development - there are not enough transmission lines to move the juice from where it is produced, mostly in southwestern Minnesota, to where it is needed, mostly in the Twin Cities and farther east.

Companies manufacturing wind turbine parts, such as southwest Minnesota’s Suzlon Energy, are seeing a growing demand for wind energy and a long list of wind farm projects are under construction.

Major new wind projects will struggle unless there is investment in new transmission lines, which face regulatory challenges and in some cases stiff opposition from environmental groups.

The energy speed bumps do not affect Deputy Commerce Commissioner Ed Garvey’s enthusiasm for Minnesota’s energy future.

“We are the shining star of the whole planet on energy issues,” he said.

Maybe so, maybe not. In wind power, for instance, California and Texas dominate. And Iowa, much maligned by many Minnesotans, produces three times as much ethanol, and the Hawkeye state is ramping up to have an ethanol plant in every one of its 99 counties.

Corn-based ethanol costs too much to produce, and more research is needed before the next generation is available. Known as cellulosic, the new ethanol would be made out of grass, wood chips, garbage, crop residue and other cheaper and more environmentally friendly feedstocks.

Minnesota was the first state to mandate that all gasoline contain at least 10 percent ethanol. And before any other state adopted a similar standard, Minnesota’s leaders decided to up the bar to require that 20 percent of the state’s gasoline sales be ethanol.

Minnesota has a third of the country’s 1,300 E85 pumps that provide customers with an 85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline blend for cars that can burn it.

Soybean-based biodiesel is being produced in Minnesota, the only state to require that most diesel fuel contain 2 percent of that crop-based fuel.

Western Minnesota is among the windiest areas of the country, and wind farms are sprouting up as fast as the corn that grows around them.

Also in western Minnesota, the Fibrominn facility produces electricity by burning turkey manure, abundant in that poultry-producing area.

“Clearly, there is a vision that we all basically have,” Garvey said.

“Energy plantations” is a vision of Dave Zumeta, Minnesota Forest Resources Council executive director. Those plantations would be places where prairie grass or fast-growing trees provide raw materials for ethanol and electric-generating plants.

There is plenty of land for the plantations - 16 million acres of former forest land across the state that after it was cleared for farms was discovered to be less than suitable for traditional crops. Zumeta said much of that land would be ideal for the new crops.

“We are not there yet, technologically,” Zumeta admitted. “But there is a lot of money chasing this.”

One of the big changes, experts predict, is that all of Minnesota will be part of the energy future. Crop-based fuel plants, such as those that produce ethanol, mostly are in southern and western Minnesota. So are wind farms.

“The energy industry will be more evenly spread out,” Zumeta said.

Plants, which scientists like to call biomass, will be a big part of this energy future.

“There are biomass resources all over the state,” Assistant Commerce Commissioner Mike Bull said.

That will lead to a major change for Minnesotans, added Assistant Agriculture Commissioner Joe Martin: “You will live closer to an energy facility than you do now.”

(Grand Forks Herald reporter Kevin Bonham contributed to this story).

© 2007 Forum Communications Co. Fargo, ND 58102

BRUSSELS - The European Commission will propose rules requiring biofuels used in the European Union to produce at least a 10 percent saving of greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels, an EU official said on Thursday.

Leaders from the 27-nation bloc agreed in March to set a binding target for biofuels to make up at least 10 percent of petrol and diesel used by vehicles by 2020, a big rise from current levels of about 1.5 percent.

That goal is part of an overall aim of increasing consumption of energy from renewable sources across the bloc to 20 percent by the same year.

But the EU executive, under pressure from environmentalists, has said it would set specific criteria on biofuels used to meet that target to ensure that they are environmentally friendly.

Ewout Deurwaarder, an official in the Commission's energy division, said one of those criteria would include proving that the biofuel did not emit more climate-warming greenhouse gases than oil.

Specifically, the Commission floated a proposal of requiring biofuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 10 percent on a "lifecycle basis," meaning from production to actual use, Deurwaarder said.

A consultation process conducted by the Commission showed support for an even stricter emissions requirement, he told a conference. "It will very likely be higher than that," he said.

Other criteria would include avoiding growing biofuel crops on wetlands and other areas that naturally store carbon. The terrain should also not be home to large amounts of plants and animals that would lead to biodiversity loss if converted to farm land.

The new criteria would apply both to biofuels grown within Europe and those imported from other nations.

The rules will be part of draft legislation on climate change and renewable energy due to be presented on January 23.

The Commission had not made a final decision on the "sustainability" scheme, Deurwaarder said. It will aim to create a simple system that takes into account World Trade Organization requirements and other practical issues.

The rules would encourage the use of second-generation biofuels, possibly by giving them extra weight towards EU nations' targets and allowing them more state aid support.

Such biofuels are derived from waste such as straw or wood chips and so do not compete with food sources. They are not commercially produced yet.

How to define a second-generation biofuel was still up for discussion, Deurwaarder said, though the Commission was leaning towards a system based on types of raw materials.

(Editing by Anthony Barker)

© Reuters2007

Europe's largest fuel consumer agreed on the measures after consultation with the agriculture, automotive and oil industry. The move is seen as a strategy to speed up the development of next generation biofuels. Germany is at the forefront of developing biomass-to-liquids fuels and new types of biodiesel based on hydrogenating plant oils. The country's land devoted to dedicated energy crops will be doubled and possibly tripled.

Launching the Roadmap Biokraftstoffe, Minister of the Environment Sigmar Gabriel and Minister of Agriculture Horst Seehofer stressed that only biofuels will be taken into account that are sustainably produced and reduce greenhouse gas emissions considerably.

The new, ambitious targets for biofuels look as follows:

For bioethanol, the target is now set at a 10% blend into gasoline by 2010, which poses no problem for use in current gasoline engines. The addition of bio-based Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE) to gasoline will be promoted as well. E10 will become the new German norm and will be made available to consumers in at least 1,000 stations by the year 2016.

For diesel, a mixture of 7% biodiesel and 3% hydrogenated vegetable oils by 2010 is set as the new goal. Hydrogenated plant oils are also known as 'green diesel', or 'H-Bio', and draw upon advanced bioconversion methods found in the petroleum industry.

Between 2010 and 2020, the Agriculture and Environment Ministeries want the increasing shares - to reach 20% of all transport fuels by 2020 - to come from synthetic biofuels. Such biomass-to-liquids (BTL) fuels are obtained by gasifying biomass and then liquefying it via the Fischer-Tropsch process, a technique originally developed in Germany. This allows the use of cellulosic biomass from dedicated energy crops and from agricultural, industrial and forestry waste.

Cellulosic alcohols (ethanol, biobutanol) obtained from the biochemical transformation of biomass will be promoted over the same period.

Biomethane for transport will also be encouraged. The fuel is obtained after upgrading biogas made from the anaerobic digestion of biomass.

According to the Ministry for Agriculture, Germany currently only devotes 13% of its arable land to dedicated energy crops. This share will at least be doubled by 2020 and perhaps tripled if research indicates this is feasible and if market conditions and EU measures permit this, Seehofer said.

Sustainability and certification

A system will be implemented that computes the total greenhouse gas emission profile of imported biomass. The Environment Ministry says only those biofuel feedstocks will be allowed that result in a net reduction of emissions. The Germany government is working on the development of national, EU-wide and international certification mechanisms and sustainability criteria to be applied to international biomass trade.

Taxation

When it comes to biofuels taxation, Seehofer said he is trying to scale back and halt further taxes for biodiesel, which recently lost its tax-free status. Because of the new tax, German biodiesel producers are closing or stopping production. Industry groups estimate Germany's once-booming biodiesel industry is producing at about 20 percent of capacity following the government's taxing of green fuels. A second round of tax increases on biodiesel is on the statute book and scheduled to be imposed in January 2008. The government has so far refused industry calls to reconsider this.

Asked at the presentation in Berlin about the planned tax rise on biodiesel, Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer said this was still being discussed. "I am fighting to keep the competitiveness of biofuels," Seehofer said. "There is still no agreement." But a finance ministry spokesman said the tax rise would go ahead. A new report on biofuels to be presented by the government would show subsidies and special tax breaks were too high, the spokesman said.

Techno-neutrality and costs

Reacting to the news of the increased biofuels targets, Matthias Wissmann, chairman of the German Federation of the Automobile Industry, said: "we have set in motion a transition towards second-generation biofuels, which are virtually carbon-neutral and to not have any effect on food prices." The high quality standard of synthetic biofuels gives it a competitive edge over first generation fuels, for which standards may be increased.

The managing director of Germany's Mineral Oil Trade Association, Klaus Picard, said he was pleased to note that the German government has remained technology-neutral and does not choose one production process over another to reach the goals. This allows producers to compete and to reach the targets with the smalles cost load for consumers.

However, Environment Minister Gabriel stressed that that the massive increase in biofuels does not relieve the vehicle industry of its obligation to build more efficient cars. Improved engines and more efficient vehicles is a key part of transiting to a low-carbon economy, he said.

Minister Seehofer pointed out that the use of biofuels in the past year had already reduced Germany's carbon dioxide emissions by 12,7 million tons.

The organisations that participated in the consultation on biofuels that led to the new targets include the following: Verband der Automobilindustrie, Mineralölwirtschaftverband, Deutscher Bauernverband, Interessengemeinschaft mittelständischer Mineralölverbände and the Verband Deutscher Biodieselhersteller.

The £35million pilot project, a joint venture between Talisman Energy (UK) and Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), involves two turbines.

In the green energy awards, Talisman and SSE Generation have been nominated for the best renewable project award sponsored by ScottishPower Renewables.

REpower UK of Edinburgh, whose turbines are being used on the Beatrice scheme, is on the shortlist for the best new business award sponsored by All-Energy.

First Minister Alex Salmond has been nominated for the best politician award sponsored by the British Wind Energy Association for his championing of grid issues over the past two years, especially raising the issue of zonal losses.

Stewart Milne Timber Systems has been shortlisted for the best renewable innovation award sponsored by Scottish Enterprise for setting the standard for both energy efficiency and micro-renewables energy systems integration in residential homes. Winners of the sixth annual awards will be announced at a ceremony on Thursday, December 6, the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Scottish Renewables chief executive Jason Ormiston said: "Scotland is well on its way to becoming a world leader in renewable energy and these awards recognise those business and individuals who are at the forefront of this exciting industry.

"The shortlist is drawn from all sectors of the renewables - onshore and offshore wind, marine, solar and bioenergy - and illustrates the strength in depth in Scotland.

"It is only fitting that the industry takes time each year to reflect and honour these green energy trailblazers."

Paul Cowling, head of business development at npower renewables, the headline sponsor of the awards, said: "These awards are a true celebration of the dedication and drive of all those involved with the renewable energy industry across Scotland.

"Scotland is well on the way to meeting its renewables energy targets, and this is testament to the excellent work undertaken by many organisations and individuals involved in the renewable energy sector.

"It is important that this momentum is maintained, and that Scotland evolves and adapts as rapidly as our industry is responding to climate change, to ensure that we have a planning system in place that delivers the best projects expediently, and a grid system that physically allows us to utilise the full potential of Scotland's natural energy resources.

"The Scottish Green Energy Awards will not only showcase the achievements of the renewable energy industry in Scotland to date, but also its potential to deliver so much more."

© Associated Northcliffe Digital

HAIRY HILL, ALBERTA - Growing Power Hairy Hill ("GPHH") is developing Canada's first Integrated BioRefinery(TM), a facility that will produce Green Power, BioFertilizer and Fuel Ethanol. On Friday, November 16, 2007, Growing Power Hairy Hill held an Official Sod-Turning Event to formally kick-off the project.

Attending the event were Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach, local MLA and Minister for Municipal Affairs and Housing Ray Danyluk, MP Leon Benoit, Two Hills County Reeve Allan Sayler and numerous investors, dignitaries and officials.

Premier Stelmach spoke of the importance of rural economic diversification, value-added agriculture and renewable energy in the province, following MLA Danyluk's announcement of nearly $4 million in provincial funding for the project which is expected to generate significant economic spin-offs.

Growing Power was especially pleased to celebrate the beginning of this project with our investor and grain supplier, Providence Grain Group Inc. of Fort Saskatchewan.

Growing Power General Manager Mike Kotelko said "this event is very important to Growing Power as we develop this first Integrated BioRefinery. We have been working closely with regulatory agencies and permitting is well underway. Our construction plans are being finalized and we are poised to take advantage of an economic window of opportunity for the benefit of our investors, and an environmental opportunity for the benefit of all."

Above is a diagram view of the GPHH Integrated BioRefinery(TM). The energy needed for ethanol production is produced in the BioUtility(TM) from biogas produced in the anaerobic digesters at the IMUS(TM) facility. Wet distillers grains from the ethanol plant are consumed by cattle at the nearby feedlot. The cattle, in turn, produce manure that is used to generate biogas. This is a marvelously efficient process requiring very little non-renewable energy.

Speaking to more than 3,000 delegates at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum conference, Mr. Pirret outlined the Shell strategy to enable more sustainable transport through three avenues: partnership with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM); developing fuels, lubricants and other products that can deliver cleaner, more energy-efficient transport; and working with consumers to help them improve their vehicle fuel efficiency.

Mr. David Pirret, Executive Vice President, Lubricants, Shell International Petroleum Company Ltd. Said, “At Shell we have long recognized the conflict between the need for mobility and the toll it is taking on our planet. We believe to resolve it, we must all face up to the truth that while demand for energy is growing at an increasingly rapid rate, access to conventional oil supplies is declining and there is an increasing need to keep energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emission at acceptable levels.”

Creating OEM partnerships

With partners such as Renault-Nissan, Volkswagen and Mercedes, Shell has been developing advanced lubricants to meet OEMs’ specific requirements. One result of the OEM partnership is the development of LowSAPs, or low sulphated ash, phosphorous and sulphur lubricants that can optimize the efficiency of the engines’ after-treatment systems.

In China, Shell has built partnerships with more than 40 major auto manufacturers, including Volkswagen, Renault-Nissan, Shanghai General Motors, Suzuki and FAW, in an effort to provide the best lubricant and fuels products and services to Chinese consumers.

Leading the market for better fuel economy

At the same time, Shell is also committed to helping motorists change their driving habits to improve fuel economy, and ultimately reduce the demand for energy. In a survey of 3000 people conducted by Shell in 11 countries, only 40 percent of those surveyed have made attempts to improve the fuel economy of their cars.

In China, formula Nemo, which is designed to clean and protect the engine, is added to every litre of fuel sold at Shell retail stations.

Sourcing for alternative fuels

To ensure that there is a steady supply of fuel for future generations and to reduce CO2 emissions, Shell is continuously looking for better ways to extract oil from unconventional sources like sand and shale, and develop alternative fuel sources.

Gas-to-liquid Fuel, or GTL is one example of an alternative fuel source that Shell is developing. GTL Fuels can be delivered using existing fuel infrastructure and can be used in conventional diesel engines without the need for modification. Shell expects that it will become the first company to produce GTL Fuels and lubricants on a large commercial scale with its plant in Qatar at the end of the decade.

We have concluded a six-month trial of Shell synthetic GTL Fuel, on Shanghai’s Euro II standard buses. Test results of the engine emissions by the State Vehicle Test Centre showed that Shell GTL Fuel can reduce particles matters by 35%, NOx by 15%, CO by 13% and CO2 by 4% compared with conventional Euro II diesel. It demonstrates that GTL is a good alternative fuel for mega cities’ public transport.

Shell is also exploring and developing second-generation biofuels. Produced from agriculture waste and materials containing cellulose, second generation biofuels do not depend on food crops and thus resolves the dilemma of burning food for fuel. Only last week, Shell announced an agreement with Codexis Inc. to develop new super enzymes to convert biomass to fuel in a five-year research collaboration project. The research focuses on adapting enzymes to improve the conversion of a range of raw materials into high-performance fuels. At the same time, Shell is working with Iogen in Canada and CHOREN Industries in Germany to develop a full-scale commercial plant and the world’s first demonstration plant respectively. The demonstration plant is expected to come on line this year.

The third fuel source that Shell is developing is hydrogen. Shell has recently partnered with General Motors to understand the challenge of producing, distributing and using hydrogen to power cars of the future.

Today, we have officially opened the first Hydrogen station in Shanghai. It will provide compressed gaseous hydrogen for a fleet of fuel cell cars and buses operating in the Shanghai region. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCV) have the potential to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions. Emissions from FCV tailpipes are almost zero, significantly contributing to improved local air quality.

“The biggest challenge we face is the effect of CO2 emissions on climate change. While the alternative fuels that Shell is developing can contribute to lower CO2 emissions, making sustainable mobility a reality will require not only individual efforts, but also a collective integrated approach – a partnership of all stakeholders, from companies and governments, to the everyday motorist,” said Mr. Pirret.

Copyright: Shell

Spain - Spain-based Abengoa Bioenergy Corp., one of the world’s leading producers of starch-based ethanol, is developing and demonstrating new biomass technologies at its biomass-to-ethanol pilot plant that recently opened in York, Neb., adjacent to its existing 56 MMgy corn-based production plant.

Researchers at the $35 million biomass facility will exclusively research and develop ethanol production processes using lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock. The company intends to invest more than $500 million in its biomass-to-ethanol development efforts in the next five years. “We see cellulosic [ethanol] as the next big opportunity, and we’ve been developing technology to take advantage of that,” said Gerson Santos-Leon, director of Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Abengoa Bioenergy that was formed in 2003. “This has been in our plans for the past 10 years. It’s really one more milestone in our strategic plan.”

The company held its grand opening ceremony in York in October. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman attended and highlighted the importance of reducing reliance on imported oil, combating pollution, and creating economic opportunities in rural and urban Nebraska.

According to Santos-Leon, the York facility will research and test proprietary technology for its proposed commercial-scale biomass-to-ethanol facility in Hugoton, Kan. Abengoa will use a $76 million grant it received from the U.S. DOE earlier this year to move forward with that plant, which will process 770 tons of cellulosic crop residues such as switchgrass, corn stover, and sorghum and wheat straw into 11.4 MMgy of ethanol. The plant’s on-site gasification module will produce renewable power for the company’s adjacent enzymatic hydrolysis facility and proposed 88 MMgy corn-to-ethanol plant.

The investment for the Hugoton projects would exceed $300 million. According to Santos-Leon, construction is expected to be complete by 2010 with production starting by 2011.Both of Abengoa’s biomass-to-ethanol facilities play a fundamental role in the DOE’s Biofuels Initiative with the goal of reducing gasoline consumption by 20 percent in 10 years.

Abengoa has made several business moves lately. In September, it announced the sale of its 27 MMgy ethanol plant in Portales, N.M. At press time, the transaction was being managed by Minneapolis-based investment banking firm Goldsmith Agio Helms/Lazard Middle Market. Abengoa also purchased Dedini Agro, Brazil’s largest ethanol and sugar producer, for $700 million. The acquisition broadened Abengoa’s international model, which includes business in the United States, Brazil and Europe.
© 2007 BBI International Media

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 14, 2007) - Inniskillin Wines and StormFisher Biogas are pleased to announce a partnership to create renewable electricity from the winery's grape by-products.

Inniskillin's grape pomace, which is comprised of grape skin and seeds, will be used to generate clean, renewable electricity. About 1,000 to 2,000 tonnes of by-products that were previously destined to a landfill will be given a new use as a fuel. As such, the methane gas that is produced by the decomposition of grape pomace will now be captured and used to generate power for homes in the Niagara region.

"This partnership is a win for residential power consumers, a win for Inniskillin, a win for StormFisher and a win for the environment," said Bruce Nicholson, senior winemaker at Inniskillin. The partnership demonstrates how sustainable business practices can benefit the environment and communities while improving the bottom line by giving new use to what was once a waste product.

Vincor Canada, Inniskillin's parent company is committed to sustainable business practices and was eager to play a role in renewable energy production. "We love working with partners such as Vincor Canada, that really understand socially and environmentally sound business practices mean profitable business practices," said Ryan Little, StormFisher's vice president of business development. Vincor Canada and StormFisher are exploring potential expansion of this arrangement to Vincor's other winemaking facilities on the Niagara Peninsula.

StormFisher produces renewable energy from food and beverage processing by-products when it is digested in industrial tanks and either used to generate electricity or processed as natural gas. Much of Europe's food and beverage processing by-products are used to generate biogas, and the process is rapidly gaining favour in North America.

The World Economic Forum and the World Energy Council view energy poverty as an important development issue. As both institutions work with many of the same member companies on energy poverty, it was recognized that a partnership is beneficial to develop a shared expertise of the topic. As part of the agreement, the two institutions will jointly work on the Energy Poverty Action (EPA) project.

EPA is a private sector initiative which delivers business expertise and best practices to reduce energy poverty by developing innovative, scalable and replicable electrification projects. It was initiated at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2005. One key concept is empowerment of local user groups to take charge of, and responsibility for, the management of local energy systems.

“The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can only be achieved if people have basic access to energy,” said Christoph Frei, Senior Director, Head of Energy Industries & PACI, World Economic Forum. “Partnering with the World Energy Council further strengthens the brand and visibility of EPA. This is important to get the right attention of many more potential donors and financiers.”

“The World Energy Council’s goals are defined as the three As: Accessibility, Availability and Acceptability,” said Gerald Doucet, Secretary-General, World Energy Council, London. “For us it is key to promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all people.”

The three initiating partners of EPA, British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (Canada), Eskom (South Africa) and Vattenfall (Sweden) are committed to developing two initial projects in Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The EPA objective is the successful completion of the first projects and the replication of business driven alliances with commitments to new projects by involving additional business partners. At this year’s World Economic Forum on Africa, the Development Bank of Southern Africa commenced hosting of the EPA Management Unit (EPAMU) to promote this objective. EPAMU, in collaboration with the Forum, acts as a matchmaker between leading companies, governments, local entrepreneurs and communities, national and international finance institutions and donors to enable project financing and execution to address the challenges of energy poverty.

The CEOs of the three initiating partners, namely Bob Elton from British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, Jacob Maroga from Eskom and Lars Josefsson from Vattenfall have welcomed the partnership with the World Energy Council. “This collaboration will help to scale up our efforts by gaining access to many more organizations whose objectives are to reduce energy poverty in the developing world,” said Lars Josefsson.

BERLIN - Beer and oil may not mix, but in Germany there's a direct link between hefty increases in the cost of a barrel of each. Just as the price of oil approaches the milestone $100-per-barrel mark, the beer industry in Germany is bracing for a 10 percent to 15 percent price increase early next year and as much as 40 percent over the next five years.

The reason for the price boost at beer taps: biofuels.

To reduce Europe's dependency on oil, the European Union is paying generous subsidies to farmers who grow crops used in the production of biofuels.

As a result, many farmers have switched from growing barley-used to make malt, the main ingredient in beer-to crops such as rapeseed and corn. This has driven up the cost of barley to more than $410 from $190 a ton last year.

Germans have deep feelings for their national beverage. Consumers keep close watch on the price of beer much the way Americans are acutely sensitive to fluctuations in the price of gasoline.

"Of course I'm not happy about a price increase, but it won't stop me from drinking my daily after-work beer. Or two," said Stefan Haase, 44, an advertising executive in Berlin.

"But there are many unemployed in Germany, and for them the evening beer in the neighborhood pub is their only social contact. A price increase would be traumatic for these people," he said.

5 million acres for biofuel

Beer drinking may be deeply ingrained in German culture, but the biofuel juggernaut appears to be unstoppable. Of Germany's 30 million acres of agricultural land, 5 million are now dedicated to growing biofuel crops. Barley production fell 5.5 percent in 2007.

The trend is similar across Europe, and the result was a million-ton shortfall in this year's malting barley crop.

"It's not only the price. Availability is also a problem. We have to do something to make sure that our brewers have enough barley," said Peter Hahn, director of the German Brewers Association.

"Basically, we oppose subsidies [for biofuel crops]. We think subsidies always produce bad results for any industry," he said.

Mexican tortillas also affected

Germans are not alone in seeing the quest for clean energy increase the cost of kitchen staples.

Mexicans are paying significantly more for tortillas these days as the demand for ethanol in the United States drives up the global price of corn, from which tortillas are made.

For the German beer industry, the expected price increases come at a crucial time. Germans still guzzle a lot of beer-about 30.6 gallons per capita, an amount second only to the Czechs-but beer consumption has been declining since 1995.

"The traditional German beer drinkers, they've gotten old and they don't drink as much these days. And young Germans have a different attitude [toward beer]; they have a lot of other choices-wine, the energy drinks, the alcopops," Hahn said.

Germany ranks third in beer production, behind China and the U.S., but the German beer market is highly segmented.

Unlike the U.S., where the market is dominated by a handful of large national brewers, Germany has more than 5,000 beers produced by 1,284 brewers.

The variety reflects pronounced regional preferences in taste. Beer drinkers in northern Germany, for example, like a sharper, bitter beer, while in the south the preference is for a milder brew.

"Brand loyalty is very strong. It's almost unthinkable that a middle-age beer drinker would change beers. But again, with younger people, we are seeing a change," Hahn said.

The segmented structure of the beer market Germany and the fierce competition among brewers have kept prices low. German beer drinkers have not seen a price increase since 2002.

A half-liter glass in a bar or restaurant generally costs 3 euros (about $4.40).

"We've allowed the consumer to get used to beer prices that are too low," Jurgen Brinkman, CEO of Kulmbacher Brewery in Bavaria recently told Die Welt newspaper.

Brewers face 'intense' year

Bettina Poettken, who works in marketing for the Radeberger Group, Germany's largest beer producer, said 2008 will be an "intense" year for German brewers.

"It will be hard for the higher-priced beers to keep market share; and at the low end the competition will be even harder," she said.

Marketing strategies in the German beer industry remain conservative.

Advertising emphasizes the brew master's skill, the purity and quality of the ingredients, the aesthetics of a beer's color and head and its links to a particular region.

American-style beer commercials, heavy on lifestyle and focused on youth, wouldn't go down well in Germany, according to Poettken.

A German consumer would find this irritating, she said.

Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

UK, Teesside - - Sembcorp Industries has officially opened the UK's first large scale biomass power plant. The 30MW station is the first to produce renewable energy using naturally sustainable biomass without any input of fossil fuels.

Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks, who oversees energy policy in the UK including sustainability and the environment, presided over the opening ceremony for the £64 million (€90.7/$132.5 million) biomass power station located at the Wilton International manufacturing site in Teesside in the Northeast of England.

The opening strengthens Sembcorp’s position as a first mover in green energy, as it is the first Singapore company to own and operate a biomass power plant in the UK. The plant is itself also the UK’s first large scale wood burning power station, and will use 300,000 tonnes of sustainably harvested biomass a year to generate 30 MW of electricity – enough to power 30,000 households. Moreover, the plant is the UK’s first power plant entirely fuelled by a renewable energy source, without any inputs of fossil fuels.

The biomass for the power station comes from four separate sources:

Recycled wood (80,000 tonnes) - this is received, stored and chipped at the UK Wood Recycling site at Wilton

Sawmills (80,000 tonnes) – the wood comes to the site already chipped as offcuts from sawmills

Managed forests (880,000 tonnes) - Sembcorp is working with the Forestry Commission of Great Britain and leading forestry company UPM Tilhill to utilise small roundwood logs from north east forests – items sometimes left on forestry floor after normal tree felling operations

Specially grown energy crops (55,000 tonnes) - Sembcorp is working with farmers and other landowners locally for the supply of energy crops, specifically a type of willow known as short rotation coppice. The plant would eventually require the growth of around 7,500 acres (2830 ha) of coppice in the region.

The fuels are mixed together to create hot gases, which are then passed over water to produce steam which turns a turbine to create 30MW of electricity a year to be sold to power giant EON, the UK's largest energy company.

With the plant, Sembcorp will save an estimated 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year compared with a conventional power station – the equivalent in greenhouse gas reduction terms of taking 67,000 cars off the road. The plant’s operations will also be classed as carbon neutral and will hence avail Sembcorp of unused carbon allowances to trade as carbon credits.

In addition to carbon credits, Sembcorp’s biomass power plant is also set to generate a fresh stream of revenue for Sembcorp from the power sold, as well as from Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC’s) and Levy Exemption Certificates (LEC’s).

This new biomass power plant strengthens our capabilities in producing power using different fuels. With this plant, Sembcorp now has 3,382 MW of power worldwide in operation and in development. This investment is also in line with Sembcorp’s push to provide innovative solutions to serve our customers’ utilities needs, while delivering value to our shareholders. - Tang Kin Fei, Sembcorp’s Group President and CEO

Sembcorp’s intention to build the UK’s first 100 per cent wood-to-energy power station was formally announced in March 2005. Work on the station began later that year and following commissioning, full commercial production has commenced.

The electricity generated by the plant is being sold to E.ON – the UK’s largest integrated energy company.

A coalition of world ethanol-industry leaders called on the United Nations yesterday to disavow "rogue" and "apocalyptic" statements made recently by one of its representatives.

In August, Jean Ziegler, a representative of a U.N. body that researches food issues, released a report that called for a five-year moratorium on food-based biofuel production. In that report -- citing Cuban President Fidel Castro who earlier this year said "it is a sinister idea to transform food into fuel" - Mr. Ziegler said that he was "gravely concerned that biofuels will bring sudden hunger in their wake." He later referred to the practice of using food crops for biofuels as a "crime against humanity."

In response yesterday, Bob Dineen, president of the Washington-based Renewable Fuels Association, joined a consortium of world biofuels leaders in calling on U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to review the claims made by Mr. Ziegler.

"The apocalyptic statements made by the special rapporteur, calling biofuels production a 'crime against humanity' and a 'recipe for disaster,' are not only unjustified but also unacceptable to those of us who contribute to this emerging industry and millions of people around the world who benefit from renewable biofuels every day," said the letter addressed to the U.N. secretary general, and signed by Mr. Dineen and representatives of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, the European Bioethanol Fuel Association and the Brazilian Sugar Cane Industry Association.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Ban couldn't confirm receipt of the letter last night. She said that on Sunday the secretary-general visited an ethanol plant in Brazil and at a press briefing afterward said that "it is up to national governments to responsibly balance the social costs and benefits" of producing biofuels.

The ethanol industry, which has nearly doubled production since 2005, is coming under increasing fire when it is also fighting for enhanced government support to keep the industry alive. Ethanol plants are struggling to make ends meet because ethanol prices are nearly 30% lower from earlier this year and corn prices are still relatively high.

In addition to the U.S., countries such as India and China have looked to biofuels as a way to supplement carbon-based fuels, help farmers and improve local economies. That new demand raised the prices of commodities used to make the fuel, like corn and soybeans. Livestock farmers and food companies in turn blamed biofuels for raising their production costs and translating into higher grocery bills for consumers. Other factors contributed to higher food inflation, including poor weather in key grain-producing nations and higher fuel costs.

Still, the higher commodity costs combined with a rapidly growing industry now have some environmentalists and antihunger groups concerned about possible land degradation associated with growing crops for fuel instead of food.

Contact:

lauren.etter@wsj.com

Copyright © 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

It might not be as sexy as harnessing the wind, sun and water. But electricity produced from animal waste and plant matter could become a major part of the state's renewable energy future.

Duke Energy Corp. says technology has improved to the point it plans to invest in biomass power plants, where animal waste and other organic material is burned directly or processed to generate electricity.

North Carolina - with multiple paper mills, scads of poultry farms and more hogs than people - is well-suited to be a center for the nascent biomass power-generation industry, said David Mohler, Duke's chief technology officer.

It could mean more jobs and extra investment as the plants come online over the next decade-and-a-half. It also would help N.C. hog and chicken farmers dispose of environmentally hazardous animal waste by putting it to good use, supporters of biomass energy say.

It's also required of Duke and other major utilities under a new state renewable energy law. Congress is mulling a similar requirement.

The Charlotte-based utility invited bids earlier this year with the aim of buying at least 2,100 megawatts of renewable energy - about the equivalent output of three large-scale natural gas- or coal-fired power plants. Duke says it has studied close to 100 proposals and has a short list of 10, including wind, solar and biomass projects. It plans to choose a final group by the end of the year, Mohler said.

"We're looking at a whole smorgasbord."

It's all part of the greening of Duke as it deals with the requirements of new government regulation and protests from environmental groups over coal-fired power projects in North Carolina and Indiana. Environmentalists say that carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired plants are a major cause of global warming and that Duke and other utilities instead should be focused on renewable energy and conservation.

Ivan Urlaub, executive director of the N.C. Sustainable Energy Coalition, said his group expects half of the electricity produced in North Carolina from renewable sources by 2018 to come from biomass.

He said that wood and other plant matter would be part of the equation and that a byproduct of paper mill production, called pulping liquor, can also be turned into gas and burned to produce electricity.

Hog waste gives off methane, which can be burned to generate electricity. Poultry litter is burned directly, like a fossil fuel in a power plant.

Hog waste is predicted to produce only a few megawatts. But poultry litter can fire a 50-megawatt plant, Urlaub said. That's enough electricity to power up to 60,000 homes.

Even so, biomass has an environmental downside, and the green community is divided, Urlaub said.

Biomass power plants, in general, can produce nitrogen oxide, part of the recipe for harmful ground-level ozone. And burning poultry waste, in particular, emits higher concentrations of certain air pollutants than burning coal - including higher levels of nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide, the major ingredient of acid rain, according to the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League.

Urlaub said burning the poultry litter and then cleaning the emissions is a better environmental path than relying more on coal mining, which can destroy mountain habitats.

Biomass power plants also emit carbon dioxide, a main culprit of global warming.

But Duke's Mohler pointed out that biomass has an advantage over coal; vegetation grown as replacement fuel or to feed chickens and hogs ends up absorbing carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen in return.

"It actually removes the carbon dioxide from the environment."

Electricity from plants and animals

Legislation passed earlier this year requires Duke and other major utilities to produce 10 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2018 and 12.5 percent by 2021. It sets out minimum percentages for each specific source, such as solar power and poultry litter.At least 21 states and Washington, D.C., mandate a certain percentage of electricity come from renewable energy.

In addition to biomass, Duke said it plans to focus on solar energy projects to meet the requirement and also because the technology is becoming more cost-efficient.

Other than hydroelectric power, which dates to the advent of large-scale power production, biomass is already the nation's leading source of electricity from renewable sources, accounting for about 10 percent.

According to 2003 U.S. Department of Energy figures, about 10,000 megawatts of the electricity is produced domestically, which included about 6,000 megawatts from burning plant matter. A minor portion currently comes from animal waste.

Duke currently generates less than 3 percent of its electricity from hydroelectric dams and only 3 megawatts from biomass. It buys that electricity from two landfills that use the methane from decaying garbage to run three generators. Duke's entire fleet of Carolinas power plants can put out about 20,000 megawatts. About 52 percent comes from coal and 46 percent from nuclear energy.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council:

• In the Southeast and Pacific Northwest, the lumber, pulp and paper industries supply 60 percent of the energy they need to run their factories by burning wood waste.

• More than 100 biomass plants in 31 states burn methane gas generated from landfills.

• American farmers and refiners produce almost 4 billion gallons of ethanol a year from corn energy crops. There are currently 84 ethanol plants in the United States, and 16 more in the works. The ethanol is usually blended with gasoline. All cars and trucks can use blends of 10 percent ethanol, and there are already nearly 5 million "flexible fuel" vehicles on the road that can use up to 85 percent ethanol.

Source: Natural Resources Defense Council

SAULT STE. MARIE - The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, was at the Prince Wind Energy Farm on November 8, to announce more than $53 million in funding, over ten years, for the largest wind energy project in Canada. Minister Clement, speaking on behalf of the Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, was joined by Mr. Harry Goldgut, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield Power, to make the announcement.

"We need energy to power our economy, and we need clean energy to protect our environment - that's a priority for our government and the foundation of our practical, balanced approach to climate change," said Minister Clement. "By investing in projects like this one, we are making sure that clean, renewable power from the wind, the sun and the tides will form an increasingly important part of our energy mix for the future."

The Prince Wind Energy Farm, situated on 20,000 acres of land northwest of Sault Ste. Marie, qualified for the one cent per kilowatt-hour incentive under the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power initiative. The wind farm's 126 turbines are capable of generating up to 189 megawatts of clean, renewable power, enough to power nearly 40,000 homes. Over ten years, this ecoENERGY program will provide about $53 million to the wind project and ensure that renewable energy generated at the wind farm can be delivered at competitive prices for Canadian consumers.

"As a global renewable power company based in Ontario, we are proud to be the developers of Canada's largest wind energy farm. The approximately $400-million project took a little over twelve months to construct and has now been generating clean renewable energy for the past year," said Mr. Goldgut. "The project's success is a tribute to the members of the local community, the First Nations community, our employees and construction partners, and the federal, provincial and municipal governments and their agencies."

Businesses, municipalities, institutions and organizations are eligible to apply for funding under ecoENERGY for Renewable Power, announced by the Government in January 2007. The initiative provides $1.48 billion to increase Canada's supply of clean electricity from renewable sources such as wind, biomass, low-impact hydro, geothermal, solar photovoltaic and ocean energy. It will encourage the production of up to 4,000 megawatts of new electricity from renewable energy sources - enough electricity to power about one million homes.

The Prince Wind Energy Farm is owned by Brookfield Power, the company that comprises the power generating and marketing operations of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. Brookfield Power has developed and successfully operated hydroelectric power facilities for over 100 years. Brookfield Power's portfolio comprises more than 3,800 megawatts of capacity and includes more than 155 hydroelectric power generating stations and one pumped storage facility located on 60 river systems, one wind farm, and two thermal plants, principally in northeastern North America and Brazil.

Guelph - Update report indicates strong community involvement in working towards a sustainable energy future

A number of city-wide activities and initiatives are underway to help Guelph meet the goals outlined in the Community Energy Plan (CEP).

In the past six months, cross-departmental teams of City staff have been working with Guelph Hydro, the University of Guelph, Guelph Environmental Leadership, Terra View Homes and with residents to implement projects that support the goals of the CEP.

A community update report is available online; visit guelph.ca and select the ‘community energy plan’ quick link. The report details the different projects underway in support of Guelph’s CEP, including a number of solar energy projects, integrated water and energy master plans for several geographic locations in the city, and Green Impact Guelph (GIG) – a community outreach project designed to drive energy, water and transportation reductions.

“This is truly a Community Energy Plan, not a City Hall plan,” said Mayor Karen Farbridge. “We are fortunate to have such an extraordinary level of community participation and leadership in its implementation.”

Guelph’s CEP has received international recognition and has had tremendous impact within the city of Guelph and beyond. The 25-year strategy was developed by a community consortium that included the City; gas and electric utilities; business and industry representatives; the University of Guelph; school boards; and Chamber of Commerce, with the assistance of international energy expert Peter Garforth. The Plan’s aim is to secure a healthy, reliable energy future while reducing environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions.

Mobilised under the 'Trees for Clean Energy' project, 950 small farmers are learning how to cultivate Jatropha curcas - the wild oil seed plant found naturally in the area. Jatropha has been identified to be among one of the promising crops for first generation biodiesel production.

'Trees for Clean Energy' was launched by Zablon Wagalla, a Kenyan agricultural scientist, who thought about ways to help increase the incomes of his country's small farmers while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Biofuel production seemed the most straightforward way. Through the project, youth process the Jatropha nuts into diesel fuel. The project thus helps meet local energy needs and generates income when surpluses are available. Jatropha production has the added benefit of transforming degraded land into productive farming areas. Wagalla's project is the winner of the YouthActionNet award for projects that induce positive social change.

The project is located in Kibwezi, a semi-arid district bordering the Tsavo National Park. Promoters of the project say Kibwezi is only a pilot case for the planned large scale cultivation of the plant in Kisumu, Kajiado and Kitui districts.

The goal is to put Kenya on the global map as one of the countries on the forefront in the fight against global warming, said Peter Moll, the chairman of the Biodiesel Kenya project, which has teamed up with the Trees for Clean Energy initiative.

Research has shown that jatropha is a multi-purpose plant with potential to meet a wide range of critical needs of resource-poor farmers in Africa. The most promising product of the plant is the non-edible vegetable oil seed that can be used to produce biodiesel with other byproducts being organic fertilizers and glycerin, a valuable chemical.

A recent study by the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA) - which promotes economic growth, fighting poverty, reducing hunger and enhancing resources through regional collective action in agricultural research for development - found that the jatropha offers farmers in Eastern and Central Africa an opportunity to put into use the vast areas of semi arid land.Kenya's Ministry of Energy has created a National Biosafety Committee - a stakeholders' forum to craft a policy framework for the development of biodiesel in Kenya. The committee is exploring ways of using other crops such as maize, cassava, soybeans, and sugarcane to produce biofuels. George Wachira of the Petroleum Institute of East Africa told reporters that a draft document was ready and would soon be tabled for stakeholder discussion.

Agricultural economists say Jatropha offers Kenya the potential of extending crop husbandry as an economic activity into areas that are considered marginal because it requires minimal rainfall and has minimal negative impact on the food chain.

Kenya, like South Africa and India, has set a target of 200,000 hectares under jatropha cultivation in the next 20 years. Biodiesel Kenya's field trials go on at Ntashat Ranch in Kajiado district since March 2006.

Crop improvement

Jatropha remains a typically 'underresearched', wild plant. Current jatropha trees are expected to yield around 1.7 tonnes per hectare from mature, well managed plantations. Experts think improved elite seeds could increase this to 2.7 tonnes per hectare. Peter Moll says that it could take more than 10 years to produce sufficient high quality trees to sustain biofuel production on a commercial basis.

However, recent initiatives, most notably a joint venture between oil major BP and jatropha company D1 Oils - D1-BP Fuel Crops Limited - have launched plant science programmes comprising research and development, plant science, breeding, and production and multiplication of seed and improved seedlings.

Leading biotech company Bayer CropScience too recently announced it has launched a research program into improving the shrub. When this type of organisations focuses on breeding new cultivars, using the latest techniques, it is quite probably that highly productive Jatropha emerges on the market quite rapidly.

* Ontario consumers have reduced their electricity consumption by about five percent per capita (weather-adjusted), between January and June 2007, compared to 2005.

* The Ontario government has bettered its own 2007 target of 10 percent energy savings in government buildings by an additional two percent.

However, Love believes more must be done to save a "limited and expensive resource" and reach long-term goals. Love is pushing for the government to adopt his other recommendations, including:

* The Ministry of Energy should develop a comprehensive, integrated energy conservation policy for all government departments that aligns electricity policies with other related policies; prescribed ministries should commit to energy conservation in their statements of environmental values.

* The Ministry of Energy should issue regulations under the Energy Conservation Leadership Act to designate combined heat and power projects, clotheslines and solar collectors so that they may be used where there are restrictions that would otherwise impede their use.

* The Ministry of Energy should raise the minimum energy performance standards for six appliances now exempt from provincial retail sales tax to the highest levels in North America.

Love also renewed his call, first made this summer, for the appointment of municipal energy conservation officers across Ontario: "Ensuring that every city, town and/or region has a local champion for energy conservation will help meet our goal of saving 1,350 MW by 2010 and 6,300 MW by 2025," said Love. "Some Ontario communities already have someone performing this function to some degree - every Ontario community needs one."

Love added that: "We must unify energy conservation efforts across the province to include all levels of government, institutions, businesses, and consumers." He told the senior energy industry representatives that it's time for everyone to: "Think. Believe. Act." when it comes to energy conservation--Think about conservation; Believe they can make a difference and Act to make it happen.

Municipalities interested in getting more information about the municipal energy conservation officer concept or that want to register the names of their appointees should contact the Chief Energy Conservation Officer at: CECO@conservationbureau.on.ca .

The Chief Energy Conservation Officer and Conservation Bureau are part of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), which was established to plan Ontario's new power system, to acquire new sources of power, and to promote a culture of conservation throughout the province. The Electricity Restructuring Act, 2004 requires the submission of an annual report by the Chief Energy Conservation Officer each November to review progress and to identify opportunities for further energy conservation gains. The report is available from the Conservation Bureau website:

www.conservationbureau.on.ca .

Royal Dutch Shell hopes to have a “second generation” biofuel, which can be produced from plant waste rather than food crops, on the market in five years, the company said on Tuesday.

Graeme Sweeney, the head of fuels development, set the objective as he announced an expansion of Shell’s collaboration with Codexis, a California-based biotechnology company, to work on enzymes for extracting fuel from plant matter.Separately, Range Fuels, a US company based in Colorado, on Tuesday broke ground on the country’s first second-generation ethanol plant, which will produce fuel from wood-chips and waste from Georgia’s pine forests.

It expects to have the plant in operation next year, in the first phase producing about 25m gallons of ethanol a year, or roughly 1,600 barrels per day: the size of a typical small first-generation ethanol plant.

Second-generation fuels are seen by their supporters as a solution to the problems of today’s biofuels, such as ethanol from corn and biodiesel from vegetable oil.

Jean Ziegler, an adviser to the United Nations, last month described the use of food crops for fuel as “a crime against humanity”.

Shell said its work on biofuels with Codexis, which began a year ago, had produced “positive early results”. It would give no further details, saying they were commercially sensitive.

It will take an equity stake in Codexis of an undisclosed value, and take a seat on its board.

Shell denied that the deal suggested that its work on biofuels with Iogen, a Canadian biotech company, had been disappointing.

Shell announced in April 2004 that Iogen “is successfully producing the world’s first cellulose ethanol fuel available for commercial use”, when its demonstration plant opened, but the two companies are still studying the feasibility of a full-scale commercial plant.

Mr Sweeney said: “I believe we are five to 10 years away from substantial volumes of second-generation biofuels but we will work to see what we can do to bring that forward.”

Codexis has been supplying enzymes for the pharmaceutical industry, using its technology to conduct what it calls “directed evolution”.

Alan Shaw, the president of Codexis, said: “I would like to think we can get there in five years, not 10.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

The bill filed jointly today by Gov. Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, and Speaker Salvatore DiMasi will require all diesel and home heating fuel sold in Massachusetts to contain a minimum 2 percent of renewable, bio-based alternatives by 2010, increasing to a 5 percent minimum by 2013.

While other states have biodiesel content standards, bill sponsors said, Massachusetts would be the first in the nation to set a standard for home heating oil, which is used much more widely in the Northeast.

The bill also exempts from the state gas tax ethanol derived from forest products, switchgrass and agricultural wastes. Bill sponsors said Bay State-based companies are rushing to bring to market cellulosic ethanol, a non-corn based biofuel. The tax exemption and minimum requirements would spur the development of the alternative energy industry in Massachusetts, said Patrick.

"For the sake of the environment, our economy and our national security, we must act and we must act now," said Patrick.

The tax sweeteners, officials said, are intended to touch off a race to commercialize biofuels among Massachusetts companies, which could create 3,000 new jobs in Massachusetts and pour $320 million into the economy, according to sponsors of the bill.

In addition to spurring economic development, the bill is designed to make the Bay State a leader in reducing oil dependence, said US Rep. William Delahunt (D-Massachusetts).

"This is a good day for Massachusetts," said Delahunt. "I am confident we can lead the nation. We did win the World Series and yesterday, we beat the Colts. We can do anything in Massachusetts."

According to the Northeast Biofuels Collaborative, a mid-sized ethanol plant creates about 40 full-time jobs and between 250 and 700 new full and part-time jobs "economy-wide." Refineries in Greenfield, Quincy and Pittsfield are in the planning stages, said Ian Bowles, secretary of energy and environmental affairs.

The collaborative claims "aggressive" biofuel policies would reduce foreign oil dependence by between 50 percent and 100 percent by 2025 and inject "billions of dollars" into rural and so-called cleantech economies. Increased use of biofuels would also cut down on transportation-related air pollution by reducing carbon dioxide pollution.

Ways to promote advanced biofuels, for both environmental and economic reasons, will be explored by a new task force that Patrick, DiMasi and Murray plan to launch.

Murray said if passed, the bill could also reinvigorate the agricultural economy in Bay State, where promising biofuels sources including algae, cranberry bog biomass and other crops.

Other states, including California, are also trying to grow statewide biofuels industries. Lawmakers in Mississippi and Arkansas are considering similar minimum level biofuel requirements and tax incentives.

Earlier this year, two teams of Massachusetts companies and research institutions lost out on two biofuels research grants - one sponsored by the US Department of Energy and another from BP plc - worth a total of $625 million to teams from California and Illinois.

"We'll win the next round," Secretary of Energy and the Environment Ian Bowles told the News Service.

Bowles also told the News Service state officials are looking into other ways of expanding the alternative energy market in the state, including reviewing energy rate structures and energy efficiency programs while courting clean energy companies to expand in Massachusetts.

The biofuels bill was unveiled during a news conference this afternoon attended by Patrick, DiMasi, Murray, Bowles and representatives from the Massachusetts biofuels industry.

TORONTO - AXIA SOFTWARE CORPORATION announced that it has begun the first deployment in North America of its new REVEAL(TM) asset management software at one of Canada's largest electricity distribution companies - Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited.

Designed to help infrastructure-intense industries such as power, oil and gas companies make informed decisions about the performance, reliability and security of their core infrastructure assets, including managing replacement schedules, capital expenditures and business transformation, REVEAL(TM) is the first software to bridge the information gap that oftentimes hampers corporate decision-making.

"REVEAL(TM) is the first product of its kind in the world," said Axia President and Chief Executive Officer, Graham Carter. "It provides corporate executives with an objective and systematic tool that ties asset management directly to corporate goals, and it also provides engineering staff with a tool that helpsto plan and bring forward asset management recommendations based on those same goals."

The first electricity company in North America to conduct a full trial of Axia's new software is Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited, which serves over 678,000 electricity distribution customers in Canada's largest city. "We are still in the early stages of an off-site installation," said Robert Wong, Vice-President, Business Transformation, Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited. "Our first goal is for REVEAL(TM) to help us to identify a common methodology that can be used across our entire system so that when we make asset management decisions, and ultimately financial decisions, we are always comparing apples to apples. If the trial is successful, this software could become a critical part of our capital planning process."

According to Mr. Carter, asset management is a booming business and REVEAL(TM) is poised to make strong in-roads. "Our analysis of the international power industry indicates that the market for asset management will grow from $1 billion this year to more than $20 billion in 2011. Electrical grid infrastructures are aging, particularly in North America, and executives are being challenged to make significant capital investment decisions that balance grid reliability and security with shareholder returns," said Mr. Carter. "We understand that challenge intimately, having met with many of the world's biggest power companies. They consistently state that they are being asked to do more with less and that they're looking for a solution that enables them to achieve the goals set by the regulators and shareholders in complex environments. We are confident that REVEAL(TM) responds to that need."

Homemade biodiesel can be much cheaper, if you don't mind the work involved in making it. "I take 50 gallons of rotten old vegetable oil you get from restaurants. They're happy to give it to you because otherwise they have to pay to have it taken away," Christensen said.

Necessary equipment is fairly simple. You can buy a machine for several thousand dollars that will manufacture the biodiesel conveniently. Or you can make your own biodiesel refinery, using a hot water heater and a conversion kit. Christensen said he kept his cost to about $500 total because he was given a usable hot water heater to start with.

Here's the recipe: Pour the 50 gallons of oil into the electric hot water heater. Heat the oil, add a mix of 10 gallons of ethanol and 3 pounds of lye, and let it circulate. Wait about a day, until glycerin settles to the bottom. Remove the glycerin, run the liquid through a filter, and it's ready to pump.

"It's around 70 cents a gallon to make the stuff, if you get the free oil," Christensen said. "The price is lovely," he said, but what really motivated him was the opportunity to help make a renewable energy source viable. Now, is bio-diesel the sustainable fuel of the future? Let’s look at the numbers

Fuel by the numbers

Gallons of biodiesel that can be made from one acre of soybeans: 50

Arable acres in the US: 427 million

Gallons of gasoline used by the average American driver in a year: 464

Drivers in the US: 198 million

Arable acres needed to make enough biodiesel for all of them: 1.8 billion

The short answer is NO, bio-diesel production would take up more arable land than we have and then where would the food be grown? But as a fuel for some 10-20% of drivers, seems not out of line. Now remember, bio-diesel is for diesel engines but it also can replace home heating fuel.

A new development a tiny chemical reactor that can convert vegetable oil directly into biodiesel could help farmers turn some of their crops into homegrown fuel to operate agricultural equipment instead of relying on costly imported oil. "This is all about producing energy in such a way that it liberates people," said Goran Jovanovic, a chemical engineering professor at Oregon StateUniversity who developed the microreactor.

The device - about the size of a credit card - pumps vegetable oil and alcohol through tiny parallel channels, each smaller than a human hair, to convert the oil into biodiesel almost instantly. The microreactor under development by the university and the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute eliminates the mixing, the standing time and maybe even the need for a catalyst.

The device is small, but it can be stacked in banks to increase production levels to the volume required for commercial use, he said. Biodiesel production on the farm also could reduce distribution costs by eliminating the need for tanker truck fuel delivery, part of the growing effort to meet fuel demand locally - instead of relying on distant refineries and tanker transport.

"Distributed energy production means you can use local resources - farmers can produce all the energy they need from what they grow on their own farms," Jovanovic said.

Biodiesel is a renewable, non-toxic ASTM certified non-fossil diesel fuel made from vegetable oil that can be added in any percentage where kerosene, #2 heating oil and diesel is stored. Biodiesel is NOT vegetable oil, but can be made from vegetable oil, one of several renewable sources of biodiesel. Biodiesel is very biodegradeable, and will dissolve in water almost instantly. Biodiesel is safe, with a high flash point: the temperature at which it will catch fire well above 400 degrees F.

Biodiesel is recommended for (no conversion required):

Heating, generators, incinerators, boilers, furnaces, Monitor, direct vent, space heaters, diesel engines, etc

Wherever #2 heating oil, kerosene, diesel fuel is combusted, no conversion is typically necessary and the exhaust will probably begin to smell like fried food if biodiesel is used. Now that’s a problem. Could lead to a lot of overweight folks!

100% biodiesel dissolves in water faster than salt. It’s absolutely non-toxic and reduces emissions when burned in place of petroleum-based fuel.

100% biodiesel turns into a gel at around 35F — much higher than petro-diesel. So when it gets cold out, make sure that your biodiesel tank is in a heated area. Home heaters with 275 gallon tanks in basements are in great shape to begin burning biodiesel in place of #2 heating oil.

If you’re using biodiesel in your vehicle in the winter, reduce the percentage of biodiesel in your tank to 20% (B20) or below. This will bring the gel point down to below 0F and off you go! Storing your vehicle in a garage is also a good thing to avoid frigid night temperatures.

If your engine or boiler or furnace is more than 15-20 years old, it may be necessary to replace some of the old rubber fuel lines. Biodiesel is such a good solvent that it will dissolve latex and natural rubber. For instance, a 1975 Mercedes might need a few feet of hose replaced between the metal fuel line and the engine, and between the fuel tank and the metal lines.

1980 and newer vehicles use synthetic hoses. For boating applications, make extra sure that your fuel lines are synthetic.

copyright © 2007, Ellsworth American, Inc.

"The biofuels boom will have a significant impact on N, P and K fertilizer consumption" says Integer Director, Oliver Hatfield. "Our global forecasts for 2012 show that total biofuels related NPK consumption is expected to exceed 6.4 million tonnes of nutrients. The US will consume the largest portion at 42%, followed by the EU at 31%."

"The US and EU are the largest markets for nitrogen and phosphate. This is due to the dominance of maize and rapeseed cultivations. I expect that by 2012, biofuels will make up 12% of US nitrogen fertilizer demand. Similar growth can also be expected in phosphate consumption," says Hatfield.

Brazil will consume 22% of the expected 6.4 million tonnes of nutrients. Much of this will be potash, to be applied to its vast sugarcane plantations.

"Our report looks at the influence the biofuels boom will have on the fertilizer market, by crop, by nutrient and by country. This includes the major biofuels countries, and the emerging countries. For example, Malaysia did not have a single commercial biodiesel unit until 2006. Since then, 32 new biodiesel plants using palm oil have been granted licenses. This could see production in Malaysia soar from nothing in 2005 to about 2.4 million tonnes in 2008."

Global biofuel production is expected to exceed 55 million tonnes of oil equivalent by the end of 2012. Global biodiesel production is likely to reach 15 million toe in 2012, whereas bioethanol production will be closer to 40 million toe.

"The reason for this increased production is because the use of crops for biofuels has become more economically attractive," says Integer's biofuel analyst, Andrea Valentini. "The three main drivers for this recent change are high oil prices, concerns over the effects of vehicle emissions on the environment, and governments looking for energy security."

"Governments are actively encouraging and subsidizing renewable fuels, and this will influence the demand and supply in the major biofuel consuming countries. For instance, to meet the guidelines of EU directives, Europe alone would have to produce 20 million toe of biofuels by 2010. This is a five-fold increase over current output," says Valentini.

In the US, consumption of maize for bioethanol has increased from just over 10 million tonnes per year in 2000 to almost 50 million tonnes in 2006. This is roughly equivalent to the volume of US maize exports and about 15% of national production.

Hatfield continues, "As a result, growing crops for biofuels is financially attractive for farmers worldwide. Depending on geography, these will mainly be crops like rapeseed, soybean and palm oil for biodiesel production, or corn and sugar cane for bioethanol. To meet rising demand, farmers will need to replace their traditional crops, look for new arable land or boost yield. This will certainly have a positive effect on the demand for fertilizer."

It's been a mainstay of Oklahoma's tall grass prairies since those grasses first sprouted eons ago. Plowed under for farming, switchgrass today stands at a new frontier. All that grass could make Oklahoma the Saudi Arabia of biofuels.

“There are stands of switchgrass from the old days that some agronomists have that are 18 to 20-years-old. Well that's got to be a benefit that's a big benefit,” said Dr. Joe Bouton of the Noble Foundation. “See, corn and some of the other biomass crops like sorghum have to be planted every year, and so that's a risk the farmer has to take.”

When Dr. Joe Bouton was beginning his research career in agronomy, he never imagined he'd be at the forefront of energy production. But that's where switchgrass has placed Bouton, and other scientists, at Ardmore's Noble Foundation. At the Noble Foundation researchers are doing the most cutting-edge research in the nation on making switchgrass the ethanol fuel of the very near future.

“We see it as a pretty environmentally-friendly crop. First of all it's a native plant, second of all it's a perennial that stays on the land, once you get the land covered with it we won't have the dustbowl days again, like we did,” Dr. Bouton said. “It'll cut down on erosion and like I said, there's a lot of animals, birds and all kinds of animals that can live in this stand, and if you'll work around their nesting time, on any management you do, you can actually make it very environmentally friendly. And none of it comes from the Middle East. That's the other key.”

As the nation tries to find a way to wean itself from Mid-East oil, corn has become king as an ethanol crop. But brewing fuel from corn has plenty of drawbacks.

Demand for corn drives up the price of every food product that contains it, and every animal that eats it.

Corn needs lots of water and fertilizer, and only the kernels are harvested for fuel.

Corn has to be replanted every year.

The return in fuel processed for fossil fuels used to produce it is very low.

And then there's all that tough Oklahoma switchgrass.

“We have a resource that is almost incomparable and those are our Great Plains, and the prairie grasses, the perennial prairie grasses that grow in those Great Plains are absolutely the best feedstock that you can have for a biofuels industry,” Oklahoma Secretary of Energy David Fleischaker said.

Oklahoma Secretary of Energy David Fleischaker has led the charge to bring the state's best minds together to create an Oklahoma biofuels industry. The legislature provided the initial $40 million investment for the Bio-Energy Center, a consortium of OU, OSU and Noble Foundation scientists.

In Ardmore, their charge is taking a tough plant and making it tougher, with higher yields and better disease resistance. And farmers will have to learn how to plant the grass as a crop. That's where OSU's Ray Huhnke comes in.

“The future's very bright especially for rural Oklahoma, because I can envision this distributed energy production facility that would actually be located very near smaller communities that will enhance their economic development,” said Dr. Ray Huhnke of Oklahoma State University.

But that's the stumbling block. Right now there's no farmer growing the grass, and no processor making it into fuel.

“So what's gonna come first? The biofuel plant and then they'll get a contract to grow it, then they'll grow it or will they start growing it? Then a biofuels plant will locate here because they can grow it here,” said Dr. Joe Bouton of the Noble Foundation.

All those working to get this idea off the ground came together earlier this month to figure it out. The governor showed up to give a pep talk and told The News On 6 that biofuels in Oklahoma isn't a pipe dream.

“Yes, I believe the biofuels industry can and will become a huge industry nationally, and I think Oklahoma should and will be the leader,” Governor Brad Henry said.

Imagine Oklahoma leading another energy boom. With a fuel that never runs out. It's just that in the next hundred years, the roughnecks will be driving tractors.

“We can see in Oklahoma a total economic revitalization in rural Oklahoma as we take on this new role, our growers take on this new role, of energy providers for the United States,” Oklahoma Secretary of Energy David Fleischaker said.

David Fleischaker estimates when a switchgrass plant is built, it will provide an immediate $40 million boost for any town that lands one. There are at least two ethanol-processing plants on the drawing board in Oklahoma, in Guymon and Blackwell. Neither will be processing switchgrass.

© 2007 KOTV

Since hybrid cars may be too expensive to purchase outright or too expensive to buy and insure even after the tax break that Americans receive, it still could be a whole lot less expensive to simply use another form of fuel to power your vehicle.

Many Americans are already using Ethanol instead of pure gasoline to fuel their vehicles.

It can be done safely and, more importantly, making your own fuel will only save you money from having to buy gasoline from one of the major oil companies who are already profiting three-fold from the gasoline hikes that have recently been experienced by Americas.

The type of Ethanol that is the most popular form to fuel one's vehicle is E85. This type of fuel uses one of the most natural crops, corn, but also includes water and just a tiny bit of gasoline.

There are some people in the United States who already have set up their own stills to produce E85, but if you don't, you just may be able to get your hands on some blueprints for making this type of fuel.

The first step when making ethanol is obtaining dry corn in order to make the ethanol. Corn is predominant in the States in the Midwest; therefore, most of the E85 is being produced in that area of the country. But nevertheless, corn must be bought to make ethanol. Some of it will have to be purchased in bulk, of course. But after you obtain it, you'll want to grind the corn in a type of grain mill.

An important aspect about this part of making the ethanol is very important because you don't want to grind it up too small, though; you also don't want to leave big chunks either.

The next step is to add water, along with bringing it up to the right temperature to allow for the enzyme you need to add. After you've done that, mashing and fermentation are the next steps.

Resources abound all over the place so that you'll be able to know the correct procedures on how to perform this step of the making-ethanol and E85 process. The final steps in the process of making E85 include dehydrating the whole mixture, which rids it of the water component. But after you've done all that, mixing a little bit of gasoline (2-5% to be exact) is the only other thing that you'll need.

Making your own E85 can be a lucrative and satisfying process for you. By running your automobiles on the ethanol that you have specifically created, you are ensuring that you will no longer need to depend on any gasoline company for as long as you're alive.

The ethanol and E85 mixture should definitely come to live and provide you with a moment of pride and satisfaction that you have finally made your own fuel for your car!

This is not an effortless process but the benefits can by far out weigh the work involved.

© Copyright 2006 by CarJunky

Wanted: Bacterium that can eat sugar or sludge; must be team player or electrochemically active; ability to survive without oxygen, a plus. Thus might read the bacterial "job description" posted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Washington University (WU) scientists, who are collaborating on ways to make microbial fuel cells more efficient and practical.

According to Mike Cotta, who leads the ARS Fermentation Biotechnology Research Unit, Peoria, Ill., the project with WU arose from a mutual interest in developing sustainable methods of producing energy that could diminish U.S. reliance on crude oil.

Cotta's team specializes in using bacteria, yeasts or other microorganisms inside bioreactors to do work, such as ferment grain sugars into fuel ethanol. At WU in St. Louis, Mo., assistant professor Lars Angenent is investigating fuel cell systems that use mixtures of bacteria to treat organic wastewater and catalyze the release of electrons and protons, which then can be used to produce electricity or hydrogen fuel.

In September 2006, the researchers pooled their labs' resources and expertise to undertake a three-year cooperative project. One resource they'll share is the ARS Peoria-based Microbial Culture Collection, which houses about 87,000 accessions of freeze-dried microbes from around the world.

Using the collection's database information, the team is searching for microbes that "eat" biomass sugars (e.g., glucose and xylose from corn stover) and are electrochemically active. That means they can transfer electrons from fuel cell sugars without help from costly chemicals called mediators. The electrons, after traveling a circuit, combine with protons in a cathode chamber, forming hydrogen, which can be burned or converted into electricity.

Bacteroides and Shewanella are among bacteria species used to start the process.

Hydrogen's appeal stems from its natural abundance and capacity to store and release energy in a nonpolluting manner. The challenge is commercially producing it from sources other than fossil fuels, which are in limited supply and nonrenewable. About 95 percent of U.S. hydrogen comes from petroleum or natural gas via a process called steam reforming.

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.

Crop Science Society of America - Researchers have been studying fuels from biomass for years. Now, with growing dependency on foreign oils and an energy-conscious society emerging, biofuels are fast becoming part of a fuel revolution that could reach pumps all across America.

"Production of energy, such as ethanol, from sugar is more efficient than production from grains in both cost per unit and energy efficiency," Da Silva of Texas A&M University says. "Sugarcane is ranked first among all other crops for biomass production and can be a key component of biomass supply. Technology for producing ethanol from sugarcane is well established in tropical countries such as Brazil, where energy independence has been achieved."

Dr. Jorge Da Silva, associate professor of molecular genetics and plant breeding, Soil & Crop Sciences Department, Texas A&M University, "Sweet Fuel for the U.S.", will be making a presentation on biofuels on Nov. 6.

Ethanol blends are already available at some US gas stations. However, their availability varies from state to state, depending on the volume of ethanol produced. Sources of biomass for biofuel production in each state also vary widely.

"To see it everywhere, we have to make more of it on a regional basis," says Dr. Bill Rooney, professor of plant breeding and genetics, Soil & Crop Sciences Department, Texas A&M University. "The best source for biofuel in a region is contingent on the environment, growing season, water and fertility availability, stress resistance, and processing and conversion techniques. In any location, there will be several species grown for biomass."

Approximately 20 percent of grain sorghum is now used for ethanol production. Rooney is currently developing sorghum varieties specifically for bioenergy. He will discuss this topic on Nov. 7 during his talk, "Sorghum Breeding for Bioenergy Traits."

Although there is no finite development timeline, there is clearly a race for biofuels as the cost of petroleum reaches previously unimaginable levels, reserves diminish, and environmental concerns soar. If won, this race could bring about a revolution as significant as Henry Ford's creation of the Model T car.

The talks are to be given at the International Annual Meetings of the American Society of Agronomy , Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.