Wisconsin's Bio Energy Forum

We Moved

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Dane) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 06:33:00 +0000

We have moved our blog into a website at www.bioenergyforum.com
Stop by to read about bio-energy in Wisconsin
Find local renewable energy events

Ideas for Eau Claire Innovation

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:42:00 +0000

Hey. I love farms and rural areas, and I live in the city. I'm part owner of a local food coop and member of our community in many ways, raising kids, serving on the Transit commission, and staying active in ag and environmental issues.

I would like to support some green, local initiatives, but haven't found any real local, stunning ideas to grab onto. Are any of these biomass burning methods legal or desirable in the city? What sorts of projects are worth pursuing, as individuals but more as businesses, small industry and collectively through government?

I was supportive of biodiesel for our bus fleet, but have lost enthusiasm for it due to lack of infrastructure and local feedstocks I support (I do not like GM soy biodiesel, but slightly prefer it to petrodiesel). We will certainly get new diesel electric hybrids in our new fleet, but biofuel sources remain off the table - should they?

There is a lot of natural gas being burned for heat, what can replace that in a city? I have asthma that can flare up from neighbors woodburning (and my own, when I bake bread in the cob oven). I like that wood is local, though, and can be done sustainably. What would work?

Leave comments with ideas please!

Fuels for Schools

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Dane) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:08:00 +0000

Focus on Energy has just released a new report which analyzed the feasibility of woody biomass heating systems for schools in Wisconsin. Turns out there are already a dozen schools doing this with half here in our own backyard in NW WI. To link to the report see their case studies page linked here.

Looking at Finland

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:14:00 +0000

(Note: I would like to hear more discussion on here about local initiatives. I am not really too knowledgeable with the regional or statewide things going on, but hopefully readers will not tire of me looking into things happening overseas as well.)

I would also like to read more on this blog about what the academic sector and economic development sector in rural areas thinks about the renewable energy/bio-energy issue. We have several UW universities and technical colleges in this northern half of the state and economic development corporations/agencies throughout also, and it seems that they would have a lot to offer. Research has shown that a region will have a lot better chance at becoming an innovative region and/or create a clustering of an industry if academics plays an equal role, in addition to the government and private sector (triple helix). In looking (quickly) at bioenergy and how things are done in Finland, I came across the following:

(The first picture of a forested area in Finland. Note the different maturity of the sections of the forest. The second picture is a map of the EU (old era) and forested areas. There are smiliar attributes in our Great Lake region or Midwest.)

"In Finland, there are seven univiersities engaged in energy and bioenergy technology and in reinforcing knowledge-based knowhow for this field. The R&D efforts of the universities and industry combined with the enormous practical use of bioenergy in Finland have made the country the world leader in biomass combustion technology, for example in the manufacture of fluidized bed boilers suitable for burning a wide range of biomass materials. Today, the product range includes power and heating plants and cogeneration plants from farm size up to the world's biggest construction. Advanced wood fuel harvesting, transport systems and technologies have also been adopted." (Seven universities!?!?!)

"Another renewable sector where Finland is among the world's leaders is wind power technology. Finnish industry manufacturers all the key components, including generators, gears, steel for the towers, fiber glass reinforcements for the blades, and also ice-free wind sensors and anti-icing systems for blades in arctic wind turbines. "The value of annual exports of wind power technology has increased 5-fold since 1996, to almost EUR 200 million. Furthermore, the industry has produced a domestic wind turbine and exports the technology," says Mr. Bengt Tammelin, Executive Director of the Finnish Wind Power Association." (Perhaps I am totally wrong, but it seems that we are really missing out in the market of building renewable energy products.)

To put some of this in context, Finland has a population of 5.3 million and Wisconsin 5.5 million and Finland is roughly twice the size of Wisconsin. I know that there are numerous different variables (energy prices, taxing structure, etc), however I would be really interested in what the academic sector thinks it could/should be doing to help, specifically in R&D. Perhaps it is happening. I do not know.

Here are a couple of links that educate on forests in Finland.

http://www.mmm.fi/en/index/frontpage/forests.html

http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25853

On the bright side of this cloudy day, at least we have a better bioenergy website:

http://www.finbioenergy.fi/

time to move is now...partnership idea

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:17:00 +0000

International Herald Tribune
Two studies conclude that biofuels are not so green after all
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/07/healthscience/biofuel.php

Honestly, I am not a bio-fuel hater by any means. I just find it extremely interesting that this is news in Europe, and big news at that (since the EU is requiring a percentage of energy coming from bio-fuels in the future). I would REALLY like to see a cooperative effort of our state to look at what progressive bio-energy projects are happening in the Nordic countries, primarily Finland, Norway, and Sweden, when it comes to bio-energy from wood. How about some sort of partnership with a region in one of those countries? I know that they are really ahead of the game. I would not mind doing some initial research on that. I really have a feeling that this whole corn and soybean thing is going to turn around (not be as popular and/or lose some steam) in the near future (next five years or so) and we need to be already pushing our greater region (maybe northern WI or NW WI) as a source for renewable and indigenous bio-fuel. I can only imagine that this would help stimulate some of the smaller local economies as well. The local organic cherry on top would be to limit (or eliminate) dollar leakage from these regions and have the industries that profit from this be local.

Quick note update. I just read on the blog below that yesterday 10 of the most prominent environmental scientists in the U.S. sent a letter to President Bush urging him to re-think U.S. biofuel policy. Interesting.

http://blogs.iht.com/tribtalk/business/green/index.php

Milk used to heat Swedish castle

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:45:00 +0000

You have to love this. Things like this are no longer the future. They are the now.
From The Local

Milk used to heat castle
Warm milk is being used to heat up Wapnö castle outside of Halmstad in Sweden. The heating system uses energy from the milking of the castle's 1,000 cows. Wapnö castle's herd produces some 30,000 (8,000 gallons) litres of milk per day. The milk leaves the cows at a temperature of 37 degrees centrigrade and is quickly cooled to 3 degrees to preserve its quality. In a drive to be more environmentally-friendly Wapnö castle has developed a way to collect the energy used in the cooling process to heat up the castle and other buildings.

Lennart E Bengtsson, Wapnö MD understands the surprised reactions saying that "sure it is difficult to believe, but there is energy left over when cooling the milk from 37 to 3 degrees centigrade. We collect that energy."The excess energy is currently used to heat hot water and the staff room but is in the process of being connected to the central heating system and will be used to warm up the castle and workshop buildings.The new system will replace the 15-17 cubic metres of oil previously used to heat up the castle. "The oil-fired boiler in the castle will now be removed and scrapped," Bengtsson says.

http://www.thelocal.se/9850/20080202/

Energy and County Government

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Dane) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:01:00 +0000

Barron County recently appointed an energy policy work group. A co-worker suggested I contact Tony Mancuso, Property Management Director for St. Louis County,MN, to see what they have been up to for several years. Well, it turns out they've been up to alot. We talked on the phone last week and I wanted to share a list of the ideas and suggestions Tony had for other units of government working on energy improvement.
Tip#1: Purchase a low cost utility tracking program to find out how much energy you are using now. Not only does this allow you to benchmark where you are at now, but will allow you to evaluate the effectiveness of future investments. For example, he was able to prove that the County's investment in insulating and adding new windows to the "Motorpole" Building halfed the heating bill for the building. He said you don't need a real expensive tracking program with all the bells and whistles. He estimated this cost at $700
Tip#2: Education is very important. You have to constantly educate people about what you are doing and why. Tony emphasized the importance of gathering and sharing information to report back to elected officials and the public to maintain support for effeciency and renewable energy investments. The message that seems to work: conservation is a no brainer - new more efficient equipment will last a long time; result in lower maintenance costs; and often pays for itself quite easily. The message also seems to be more effective when its couched in terms of reducing "pollution" rather than talking about "global warming" which not every elected official has bought into.
Tip#3 While St. Louis County has done some renewable energy projects including wind, Tony called energy conservation measures the "meal ticket" which actually pays the bills. He emphasized that while renewable energy projects may also be worth pursuing, conservation measures have a much faster payoff and thus a better return on investment.

Does anyone know of energy policies enacted by local units of government in Wisconsin or elsewhere? If so, please leave a comment with some ideas - Thanks

Methane Digesters Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:24:00 +0000

I had the opportunity yesterday to attend the Role of Methane Digesters on Small and Medium Sized Livestock Farms conference yesterday in Stevens Point. I thought the conference was good. I was disappointed in the weather, since that Secretary Nilsestuen was not able to attend. I have heard him a couple times now and he seems like a very informed and progressive leader. Not to mention, you can tell he loves the state.

I would like to take just a couple minutes to highlight a few things.
- Depending on who you talk with, Wisconsin has between 18 and 21 digesters. All of which produce electricity, except for the ones on Baldwin and Emerald Dairy. Actually, we lead the nation in digesters. 2nd - NY and PA with 16 and 4th - CA. We also lead the nation in energy produced from them, more than double what is produced in the second leading state, CA.
- There are about eight digesters in process of being constructed, of which none are northwest of a line from Grant County to Shawano County.
- It seems like a big issue is how much a farmer/producer can get per kwh. At this time, it is around $.05, with Ontario being around double that, and places in Europe being double (if not more) again.
- There was a lot of discussion on complete mix digesters, which is when you can add additional organic matter. Regarding organic matter, liquid cattle manure (25 cubic meters/ton) has the least potential of biogas yield, with baking waste having the highest (657 cubic meters/ton).
- Discussion also went towards what you can do with extra heat, water, etc. Some of which was discussed in the posts about Emerald Dairy. However, there was talk about ideas of cheese and yogurt operations on sight where digesters give them heat and water and those operations give them organic material.
- Bio-methane was talked about alot and that again, Sweden and Germany are the tops at this. Note that California has signed an agreement with Sweden to work with them on bio-methane.
- I ate lunch next to a guy from a company out of Vermont who make digesters and he said that they have pilot projects that are working now with dairies with 80 cows. Personally, that is needed here, due to the fact that 72% of all the herds in Wisconsin are under 200 cows.
- Discussion about community digesters came up. Note, this is happening a lot in Sweden also. I heard that it might be happening soon in Barron County.
- Finally, John Vrieze offered to pay for the plane tickets and hotel expenses for anyone willing to head out to the state of Washington and learn how university students there were able to build a devise that is much more (I am pretty sure this is right) efficient in the production of on-site bio-fuel and help him implement it on his dairies in St. Croix County. Just to let you know, he was serious.

State of the State address

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:12:00 +0000

http://media1.wi.gov/DOA/Viewer/Viewers/Viewer240TL.aspx?mode=Default&peid=6d16fadf-1692-411d-8985-1516073bf8f3&pid=8966b6a0-a09c-49f4-adda-0d48685b87ee&playerType=WM7#

If you go to minute 20, it is close to the beginning of when Governor Doyle starts talking about renewable energy in his State of the State address. Rice Lake is mentioned.

Biofuels, ever changing.

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:18:00 +0000

I guess this is a quasi part two of an entry from a couple weeks ago that I did...

The more I have been reading about different policies around the world, it is obvious that nations that have implemented renewable energy policies and programs a lot earlier than we have here in Wisconsin and the U.S. as a whole are starting to discuss the negative impacts of certain bio-fuels. Without getting too deep here, it seems that perhaps we should be looking ahead of what our next steps might be. I am not sure how everyone else feels, but I would guess that we are a couple steps behind the more progressive areas in the world when it comes to renewable energy. Perhaps our next steps are a couple steps behind what is currently being discussed in Europe, Asia, South America, etc. I will give a case in point. The Governor's plan to
- Generating 25% of our state’s electricity and transportation fuels from renewable resources by 2025
- Capturing 10% of the emerging bioindustry and renewable energy market by 2030
- Lead the nation in groundbreaking research that will make renewable energy more affordable and will create good paying Wisconsin jobs

How will biofuels play a role in the first one. Should we be promoting corn? What are the local and global impacts from it? In five years, will it even be a market. And that leads into the next question/statement and the last two goals which relate to bioindustry and renewable energy market and research. If we are thinking globally, we are currently being informed that certain biofuels are not as "good" as others. Should we (as a state and as a NW Wisconsin region) not be looking for the next global market that people will be looking to invest in? Perhaps we are. I am not sure. Needless to say, I think it is VITAL that we as a region and a state focus on the best possible local inputs for local outputs. What percent of the Wisconsin's goal of 25-25 can come from this part of the state? Are we going to compete with the southern part of the state for this 25-25? Our wood vs. their corn. In regards to synchronic time, what is our horizon of expectation? I hope we as a state are in the same segment of now as the rest of the world and will not learn lessons that others are currently learning and continue to lag behind in innovation.

Here is a quote from Norbert Wiener (The Human Use of Cybernetics, 1950) that I think is important to think about.
"I repeat, feedback is a method of controlling a system by reinserting into it the results of its past performance. If these results are merely used as numerical data for the criticism of the system and its regulation, we have the simple feedback of the control engineers. If, however, the information which proceeds backward from the performance is able to change the general method and pattern of performance, we have a process which may be called learning"

Critique Mounts against Biofuels
By Charles Hawley in Berlin
The European Union has announced plans to increase the use of gas and diesel produced from plants. But the critique against biofuels is mounting. Many say they are even more harmful than conventional fossil fuels.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,530550,00.html

another example

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:28:00 +0000

I just got back from a meeting this morning with a company that is looking into Technology Zone tax credits. They are in the process of getting into the bio-energy sector. I cannot go into too much more detail right now, but this is another perfect example of existing conditions in our part of the state and a company taking advantage of that to implement creating bio-fuels. Hopefully, as this proceeds, I can do a write-up about the company and what they are going to be doing.

Near and Far

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:43:00 +0000

Here are two things I would like to share this sunny and cold morning from the Chippewa Valley.

1st.
An article from the International Herald Tribune. This is a great article. One of the few things that I took from it, is the importance of local bio-fuels and limiting the negative impacts that can be associated with certain types bio-fuel. Also, they talk about wood and grasses being possibly the best types of bio-fuel. I know I am preaching to the choir here, but that is us. That is our backyard. That is what we are bringing to the table. I don't know how feasible this would be (or if it has been done), but right now, I am envisioning a map that shows the amount of wood and grass currently being used for bio-energy for the state. Also, a map similar to the Farm Fresh Atlas that shows what is currently going on in God's Country in the different aspects/stakeholders in the bio-energy economy .
EU considers banning the import of certain fuel crops
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/14/business/biofuels.php?page=1

2nd.
The link to the Midwest Value Added Agriculture Conference. There are breakout sessions relating to bio-energy.
http://www.rivercountryrcd.org/valad.html

By the way, who voted against the Packers on the Packer Poll on the main website? Heck, being originally from Illinois, I voted twice for the Pack. Vote early, vote often.

Emerald Dairy Tour II

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:51:00 +0000

Thanks Pete for putting this up on the blog. I was getting ready to type something up, and saw that you did it. The tour was just amazing. A couple more points that I would like to add.

1. John also discussed the idea of having a carbon footprint on the packaging of dairy products. Personally, I think this would be huge for the farmers and producers that would want to take part and the state as a whole. More and more people are looking at how what they do and what they eat impact the environment. Wisconsin dairy is already known around the world (we produce more types of cheese than France), and placing the environmental impact of producing that block of cheese, gallon of milk, etc. would put Wisconsin so much farther ahead of its competition. California, take that. As was stated yesterday, imagine what the carbon footprint would be for cheese grown in many parts of California as opposed to Wisconsin. I have read about discussions about this very topic in Europe. Innovative and dynamic indeed and we, right here in western Wisconsin, are ready to lead the way. This is a perfect example how paying attention to impacts on the environment can stimulate economies.

2. The company Integrated Separation Solutions is working collaboratively with John with the separation of the manure and getting the different end products after the majority of the solids are produced for the bedding. We met a couple gentlemen from ISS that were up for the week from Madison keeping track of the data from the system at the dairy. They stated that right now, this product would be viable for dairies that have 700 cows or more (between John's three dairies there are 2700 cows). I think we all agree that it would be great to see this get even lower, and I am sure it will as the result of the ongoing project at Emerald Dairy, as this is the only operation like this happening in the world right now.

Stay posted for other previews and post visit commentary about the other case studies...
Wow.

Emerald Dairy Tour, St. Croix County Wisconsin

noreply@blogger.com (Pete Kling) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:35:00 +0000

I toured the Emerald Dairy yesterday with John Vrieze and was again reminded that I’ve got an interesting project right in my back yard.

The dairy produces methane that is delivered via truck to a national pipeline that just happens to run through Baldwin(some interesting homeland security issues regarding the pipeline that runs from Gulf of Mexico to Minneapolis). He’s even exploring the possibility of installing a local pipeline for area producers to send their biogas to a shared ‘gas cleanup facility’. John also has installed what he calls a ‘water treatment plant’ that removes much of the water from the manure saving him pumping costs and producing large volumes bedding material, fertilizer, and of 120 degree distilled water. He’s now experimenting with using some of these bi-products to grow algae to press into biodiesel and is even looking at other adjacency niche markets such as aquaculture (raising Tilapia) or vegetable production (use water to heat green houses). We’ll be developing a case study of this operation with the help of Eric Anderson at West Central WI Regional planning.

Anyway, John’s always got a lot to say and he's is very connected politically in the state and nation. His overall goal is to have a zero carbon footprint for his facility and the products it produces and position the dairy industry to take advantage of the coming carbon economy.

renewable energy stocks

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:05:00 +0000

Good cloudy, foggy, and gloomy Monday morning to everyone. When is the last time we saw the sun in the Chippewa Valley?

Anyway, I was watching a few different morning news shows this morning down in the gym and I thought, I wonder if there are any websites that show the activity of the stocks for bio-energy companies. I will not pretend to be a player in the world of stocks, but we all know that stock prices show a lot in regards to how an industry is doing. I thought it might be a good link on the main website or on the blog. Here are a couple. The first one has the current prices and how they are doing. The second has links to a variety of companies.

https://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/progressiveinvestor.stocks

http://www.renewableenergystocks.com/Companies/RenewableEnergy/stock_list.asp

Go Packers!!

Harnessing the power of parsley

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Dane) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 05:41:00 +0000

Another gem forwarded along by Roger Kasper. It brings up a great point - let' not forget about the rest of the "bio" out there beyond soybeans and corn - whether we're talking bioenergy or bio-based products. What other waste streams does Wisconsin have alot of? I know that Wisconsin has alot of food processing for one - not to mention potatoes, cranberries, onions, and other vegetables (Are cranberries a vegetable?)

SOURCE: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/home/chi-parsley_cleanerdec30,1,5311134.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
By Susan Clotfelter, New York Times News Service
December 30, 2007

If you've got the grime, a spray bottle with a surprising ingredient has the time.

I've got the grime, for sure: dogs with muddy paws and drooling lips; a vegetable garden that sends soil into the kitchen along with the produce.

But a cleaner with parsley? It's good to see the herb bust out of its garnish rut, but into a role as magical cleaning elixir? Skepticism bloomed.

Earth Friendly Products' Parsley Plus All-Surface Cleaner smells a lot more like an umbrella drink than a fresh bunch of parsley. That's not surprising since its ingredients include "purified water, biodegradable coconut-based surfactant and parsley essence."

I couldn't decide whether the aroma made me crave a salad or a day at the beach. But the overall effect was fresh, clean and not annoying in the least.

It's also nice to have an all-purpose cleaning spray whose origins are botanical rather than numerical. On just about every kitchen surface where I'd have used Formula 409 years ago, including an antiquated '70s kitchen faucet, Parsley Plus ruled. It even cut the sticky film on the range hood, although it also cut through the already-peeling paint. It left stainless steel with a lasting sparkle.

For the bathroom-floor tile, I just spritzed it on, then pushed a damp rag around with my bare feet. Dust bunnies and lotion spills, begone.

Parsley Plus sells for about $5 at selected stores or see http://www.ecos.com/pages/parsley.html for a store locator.

Michigan Tech - Michigan State Biofuels Partnership

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:07:00 +0000

This is from a couple months ago, but I wanted to share it. Andrew, perhaps this would be a good article for the website.

Michigan Tech-Michigan State Biofuels Partnership
November 19, 2007--First they went to Sweden together with the governor. Now Michigan Technological University and Michigan State University are teaming up to further support the developing renewable fuels industry in the state.

"Finding alternative sources of energy and fuel is going to be critical for our nation and can mean thousands of jobs for Michigan citizens," said Gov. Jennifer Granholm. "Our state has the assets to be a leader in this sector, and we are looking to our universities to provide the knowledge to get us there. I'm delighted Michigan Tech and Michigan State are going to be working together on research to refine fuel from forest products.

"The universities each have strong biofuel programs. That expertise will be combined to create new collaborative research, outreach and economic development programs centered on fuels and energy made from forest biomass. The programs will be overseen by an eight-member Renewable Fuels Working Group made up of four scientists from each university.

"We're very excited about this agreement," said David Reed, Michigan Tech vice president for research. "It's particularly significant that two of Michigan's leading research universities are cooperating with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation on a project supporting the economic development of this emerging industry within the state."

"Michigan State is delighted to collaborate with our colleagues at Michigan Tech to help create a bioeconomy that is based on the state's vast forest resources," said Steve Pueppke, director of the Michigan State Office of Biobased Technologies. "This is the logical way to move forward, and Michigan Tech is our logical partner. We are looking forward to creating much deeper working relationships with Michigan Tech and providing services to alternative energy companies."

Members of the Renewable Fuels Working Group are, from Michigan Tech: Margaret Gale, dean of the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science; Jeffrey Naber, associate professor of mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics; David Shonnard, professor of chemical engineering; and Barry Solomon, professor of social sciences. From Michigan State: Kyung-Hwan Han, associate professor of forestry; Daniel Keathley, Forestry Department chairperson; Ray Miller, research forester and Upper Peninsula forest properties manager; and Chris Saffron, assistant professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering;. Miller and Shonnard will serve as co-chairs of the group.

Reed, Shonnard, Pueppke and Miller also were part of the contingent that traveled to Sweden with Gov. Jennifer Granholm and members of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation in August. During the visit, Chemrec AB, a Swedish company, and the NewPage Corporation, which operates a paper mill in Escanaba, signed a memorandum of understanding to explore developing a plant to produce fuels from woody biomass at the Escanaba plant. At the signing ceremony, Granholm emphasized the importance of university support for the success of the project.

"This is a superb opportunity for us to come together and determine what Michigan needs in terms of university research, workforce education and outreach to jump-start the state's emerging forest bioeconomy," said Shonnard.

"Michigan State and Michigan Tech are natural partners in this arena," said Ian Gray, vice president for research and graduate studies at Michigan State. "The working group will identify areas where we need more knowledge and then conduct the research to create the knowledge that will lead to renewable fuel industry development in Michigan.

"For more information on the Sweden trip, visit Tech Today: http://www.admin.mtu.edu/urel/ttoday/previous.php?issue=20070907&id=3989&nav=1#1
and the Special Report: http://special.newsroom.msu.edu/sweden/index.php?home

Michigan Technological University is a leading public research university, conducting research, developing new technologies and preparing students to create the future for a prosperous and sustainable world. Michigan Tech offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering, forestry and environmental sciences, computer sciences, technology, business and economics, natural and physical sciences, arts, humanities and social sciences.

Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.

http://www.admin.mtu.edu/urel/news/media_relations/632/

New "Bio Energy" Year Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:34:00 +0000

Regarding this site and bio energy in the state and/or region, I was wondering if there are any bio energy goals for this next year. I think it would be great to think of a few and put them down here on the blog and then keep track of them during 2008. Just an idea.

Happy 2008 to everyone!

2007 Wisconsin Energy Statistics

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Dane) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 20:33:00 +0000

clipped from wibiodiesel.blogspot.com

Click on the graphic above to download the Executive Summary and report highlights.

The complete 2007 Wisconsin Energy Statistics report from the
Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence is available here

Economic Impacts of Bioenergy Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Dane) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:04:00 +0000

There has been a little bit of discussion here on the economic impacts of bioenergy growth for Wisconsin. I haven't had much luck tracking down any research on that but below are excerpts from an article in the Des Moines Register that touch on the economic impacts of increased bioenergy production in Iowa. I found this article clipped on the Truth about Trade and Technology website

“Infrastructure upgrades vital to Iowa's economic future

Iowa's economy relies on more than the state's 114,000 miles of road and 25,000 bridges to do business….its infrastructure needs are growing as Iowa adds a new generation of businesses.

For example, Iowa's ethanol plants will draw 1.4 million truckloads of corn as they close in on producing nearly 2 billion gallons annually. The amount will only climb as the nation pushes to use at least 36 billion gallons of ethanol by 2022. That amount includes 21 billion gallons of advanced renewable fuels, 16 billion of which must be cellulosic ethanol, made from such materials as cornstalks and switchgrass….Transportation officials say Iowa needs to spend $27.7 billion over the next two decades to improve deteriorating roads and bridges and prepare for future demand.”

So how is the State preparing to pay for all these improvements?

“U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin and Rep. Leonard Boswell want a federal study that looks at the feasibility of building a pipeline to move ethanol to other parts of the country. Officials say U.S. ethanol is too corrosive to move through existing pipelines without extensive modifications.”

This would seem like a logical way to distribute some of the financial burden of infrastructure improvements beyond Iowa taxpayers. However, I wonder if its a bit premature to be considering investing in a massive infrastructure upgrade when the future of cellulosic ethanol production is unclear. For example, where do you site an ethanol pipeline? Since its unclear which feedstocks are going to be the main cellulosic inputs (assuming this technology does become affordable) this seems like a tough nut to crack at present.

This article also makes reference to Hendricks industries which is planning to build a wind turbine manufacturing plant apparently. I wonder if this project is still a go in light of the fact that the recently passed Energy Bill did not extend the production tax credit for wind development.

“Hendricks Industries, founded by Ken Hendricks, the Wisconsin billionaire who died last week in a building accident, wants to use Keokuk's port on the Mississippi River to move turbine towers that will be built there.The company said it will spend $22 million updating the port and $57 million to build a plant to manufacture towers that are 260 feet long and weigh about 80 tons.”

Rail service in Chippewa and Barron

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:16:00 +0000

I saw this in the paper. I would guess that this will help existing/prospective bio-energy businesses in the region. No rail service for these areas would be a huge barrior. Great news.

http://www.leadertelegram.com/story-news.asp?id=BF989V3U947
Regional rail service gets funding
Rail service in Chippewa and Barron counties received a boost from the latest appropriations bill recently approved by Congress.

The bill includes $2.45 million to help the Wisconsin West Rail Transit Authority (WWRTA) purchase and rehabilitate rail lines in Chippewa and Barron Counties. WWRTA is a joint effort by Chippewa and Barron counties created in 2001 to preserve and strengthen rail service in the counties.

The federal funds will help the authority move forward with a plan to upgrade to 25 mph the roughly 50 miles of existing track in Chippewa and Barron counties, U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wausau, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said in a press release announcing the funding.

The rail lines serve local and regional businesses such as The Turkey Store, Bloomer Plastics and ABC Truss. The businesses require access to competitively priced transportation to receive raw materials and to ship their finished products.

State Sens. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, and Pat Kreitlow, D-Eau Claire, were major backers of the funding.

Invitation from Great Plains Inst.

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Dane) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 21:23:00 +0000

We at the Great Plains Institute would like to INVITE YOU to be part of the solution by investing whatever tax-deductible contribution you can manage into the implementation of a comprehensive Energy Transition. We have worked over the past 5 years with a diverse range of interests to develop the plan for doing it: www.poweringtheplains.org!

Many of these consensus-based energy solutions have already gained the commitment of Midwestern Governors (see headline above), and with your help we can ensure their implementation. To give you some idea of what you'd be helping to make happen, consider some of the targets to which governors are now committed, thanks in part to our efforts:

Dramatic improvements in efficiency. The goal is to cut regional electricity demand by 2 percent by 2015 and reduce demand by an additional 2 percent per year after that. That may not sound like much, but it would mean that after 2015 we would collectively save billions of dollars and eliminate growth in CO2 emissions from using electricity and natural gas.

The most ambitious renewable electricity targets ever in North America. 30 percent of our energy would come from renewable sources by 2030 for the entire Midwest (equal to 83,000 commercial wind turbines or enough electricity to serve 31 million average American homes).

A 10-fold increase in the availability of domestic, low-carbon transportation fuels. This includes reducing, by half, the amount of fossil fuel used to produce biofuels (such as ethanol); and by 2025 meeting half of the region's transportation fuel demand through biofuels and other domestic, low- carbon fuels.

Potential Contribution of Bioenergy to the World's Future Energy Demand

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Dane) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 13:12:00 +0000

Below is a link to download a publication discussing potential of bioenergy worldwide and also discussion of potential impacts. After the Energy Bill was passed last night calling for a 4 or 5 fold increase in ethanol production in the US it appears likely that this issue will be with us for a while longer.

LINK to LARGE 3.2M report: http://www.ieabioenergy.com/MediaItem.aspx?id=5586
Date: Sep 2007

Description: This publication highlights the potential contribution of bioenergy to world energy demand. It summarises the wide range of biomass resources available and potentially available, the conversion options, and end-use applications. Associated issues of market development, international bioenergy trade, and competition for biomass are also presented. Finally, the potential of bioenergy is compared with other energy supply options.

Thanks to Roger Kasper, WI DATCP, for pulling out some highlights from the report below:

Select quotes to give flavor of report. Report has some charts and tables that maybe usable by those giving talks.:

"Biomass in particular can play a major and vital role in production of carbon-neutral transport fuels of high quality as well as providing feedstocks for various industries (including chemical). This is a unique property of biomass compared to other renewables (solar, wind, hydro, etc.) and which makes biomass a prime alternative to the use of mineral oil. Given that oil is the most constrained of the fossil fuel supplies, this implies that biomass is particularly important for improving security of energy supply on the global as well on a national level. In addition, competitive performance is already achieved in many situations using commercial technologies especially for producing heat and power. It is therefore expected that biomass will remain the most important renewable energy carrier for many decades to ! come."

"Targets and expectations for bioenergy in many national policies are ambitious, reaching 20-30% of total energy demand in various countries. Similarly, long-term energy scenarios also contain challenging targets. Sufficient biomass resources and a well-functioning biomass market that can assure reliable, sustainable, and lasting biomass supplies are crucial preconditions to realise such ambitions. To date, various countries have considerable experience with building biomass markets and linking available resources with market demand. Examples are found in Brazil, Sweden, Finland, Canada, and the Netherlands. Relati! vely recently, international trade in biomass resources has become part of the portfolio of market dealers and volumes traded worldwide have increased at a very rapid pace with an estimated doubling of volumes in several markets over the past few years [Faaij et al., 2005]."

Table 1 provides a synthesis of analyses of the longer term potential of biomass resource availability on a global scale. Also, a number of uncertainties are highlighted that can affect biomass availability. These estimates are sensitive to assumptions about crop yields and the amount of land that could be made available for the production of biomass for energy uses, including biofuels. Critical issues include:

● Competition for water resources:
Although the estimates presented in Table 1 generally exclude irrigation for biomass production, it may be necessary in some countries where water is already scarce.

● Use of fertilisers and pest control techniques:
Improved farm management and higher productivity depend on the availability of fertilisers and pest control. The environmental effects of heavy use of fertiliser and pesticides could be serious.

● Land-use:
More intensive farming to produce energy crops on a large-scale may result in losses of biodiversity. Perennial crops are expected to be less harmful than conventional crops such as cereals and seeds, or even able to achieve positive effects. More intensive cattle-raising would also be necessary to free up grassland currently used for grazing. (Debatable by some?!?!)

● Competition with food and feed production:
Increased biomass production for biofuels out of balance with required productivity increases in agriculture could drive up land and food prices.

alternative links

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Anderson) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:08:00 +0000

I thought I would pass along some links to some interesting bio-energy programs/projects in Europe and a website from Africa.

European Biomass Association

http://www.aebiom.org/

EUBIONET2
http://www.eubionet.net/

European Biomass Industry Association
http://www.eubia.org/

World Bio Plants

http://www.worldbioplants.com/

African Biofuels Conference

http://www.africanbiofuels.co.za/index.html

I really think the next step is for our region to get on the world stage. I envision a noticeable and clean logo for our region and getting the word out about bio-energy in our region. Why not NW Wisconsin. I remember a gentleman that was in the audience/speaker at a bio-energy conference in Rice Lake and he mentioned the idea of putting an add in the NY Times or something regarding our region and bio-energy. When would the timeframe be for something like that? Are we close? What do we need to do to get to that point? How do we get our region noticed on the global stage? How do we get people in our region excited about it, and for them to know we are a bio-energy player/giant?

Climate Change

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Dane) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 04:40:00 +0000

Thanks to Jay Moynihan for this info.

The publisher Island Press has produced a lay person's guide to the IPCC Summary Report to Policymakers. Recommended.
http://www.islandpress.org/ipcc/IPCC_03.pdf

Climate Change Strategy Training

The UW School of Engineering is holding a two day workshop/conference entitled, "Developing a Climate Change Strategy for Businesses and Public Institutions", January 23-24, 2008, in Madison. The program brochure and registration information is available at:
http://epdweb.engr.wisc.edu/Courses/course.lasso?myCourseChoice=J887