http://msbusiness.com/blog/2013/08/06/county-takes-out-usda-loan-to-buy-lans-for-wood-pellet-plant/
by Associated Press
Published: August 6,2013
LUCEDALE — George County supervisors have signed off on $1.3 million
in U.S. Department of Agriculture loans to pay for land where a new wood
pellet plant will go.
The Mississippi Press reports that the USDA rural development
loans will be used to purchase the property that will expand the George
County Industrial Park.
Green Circle Bio Energy Inc. announced in June that the $115-million plant will produce up to 500,000 tons of pellets per year.
Wood pellets are shipped overseas to European utilities plants to use
as biomass energy that complies with their stricter sustainability
guidelines. The pellets are made from a mix of soft and hard woods.
George County secured a $1 million loan with no interest and a
$283,000 loan with 1 percent interest.
They are both five-year notes.
“It took almost 10 months to get here,” Community development and
communications director Ken Flanagan told supervisors yesterday. “With
any luck, this fall we’ll get everyone together for a groundbreaking.”
The money will mostly be used to purchase the land, he said, and lease payments from the company will pay the note.
Any money left over from the loans will be used for road work.
Flanagan said the county will also be responsible for upgrading
wastewater lines, and upgrading drinking water and process water to the
site, among other infrastructure work.
That work will be funded through additional loans and grants that will be announced later, Flanagan said.
County leaders have said the mill will create 126 new full-time jobs
in George County and others at the Port of Pascagoula in Jackson County.
The facility is expected to be operational by spring 2015.
Green Circle is wholly owned by the JCE Group, a privately owned
international investment company headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Showing posts with label USDA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USDA. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Database of Woody Biomass Energy Gets Upgraded, Expanded
http://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/Database-of-Woody-Biomass-Energy-Gets-Upgraded-Expanded-203303151.html
Posted By Mark Vruno | 04/16/2013 6:32:00 PM
GREENVILLE, SC – A three-year-old database of industrial and selected community-scale users of wood-to-energy facilities across North America has been updated and expanded, reports the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (Endowment). The improved site -- www.wood2energy.org -- is a searchable database open to anyone with interest in the state of wood-to-energy conversion at a national, state/provincial or local operating level.
Through the Woody Biomass Joint Venture – a partnership between the USDA Forest Service and the Endowment – recent updates to the Wood2Energy database ensure that it serves as the most comprehensive and up-to-date source of users and processors of wood for energy, e.g., electric facilities, thermal installations, pellet mills, etc.
Partners thoughout the biomass industry as well as state and federal agencies have worked to improve the usability and accuracy of the database and recently began including thermal installations, such as schools and government offices.
Wood2Energy project manager Mladen Grbovic says it now has reviewed and updated for accuracy more than half of the existing U.S. facilities. “The systems will only get better as people share information and their experience with accessing the system," Grbovic adds.
Carlton Owen, the Endowment president, noted, “This type of information is vital to making sound planning and business decisions for expansion of wood as an energy source while protecting sustainability of North America’s rich forested estate.”
Posted By Mark Vruno | 04/16/2013 6:32:00 PM
GREENVILLE, SC – A three-year-old database of industrial and selected community-scale users of wood-to-energy facilities across North America has been updated and expanded, reports the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (Endowment). The improved site -- www.wood2energy.org -- is a searchable database open to anyone with interest in the state of wood-to-energy conversion at a national, state/provincial or local operating level.
Through the Woody Biomass Joint Venture – a partnership between the USDA Forest Service and the Endowment – recent updates to the Wood2Energy database ensure that it serves as the most comprehensive and up-to-date source of users and processors of wood for energy, e.g., electric facilities, thermal installations, pellet mills, etc.
Partners thoughout the biomass industry as well as state and federal agencies have worked to improve the usability and accuracy of the database and recently began including thermal installations, such as schools and government offices.
Wood2Energy project manager Mladen Grbovic says it now has reviewed and updated for accuracy more than half of the existing U.S. facilities. “The systems will only get better as people share information and their experience with accessing the system," Grbovic adds.
Carlton Owen, the Endowment president, noted, “This type of information is vital to making sound planning and business decisions for expansion of wood as an energy source while protecting sustainability of North America’s rich forested estate.”
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The Root of Georgia’s Pellet Boom
http://www.biomassmagazine.com/articles/8795/the-root-of-georgiaundefineds-pellet-boom
Over 24 million acres of biomass, an attractive
business climate and suite of incentives is keeping Georgia in the
project spotlight.
The
late Ray Charles once said an old, sweet song kept Georgia on his
mind. Today, it’s the growing biomass production industry that is
keeping pellet producers from forgetting the Empire State of the South.
Georgia’s forestry industry had every right to sing the blues during the Great Recession. In the years between 2006 and 2010, the industry lost 41,235 direct and indirect employees, dealing a horrible blow to Georgia’s second-largest industry and the 47 counties that are dependent on the state’s forests, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission.
With the economy currently rebounding, however, the U.S. Southeast, especially Georgia, has become a hotbed for biomass projects. Georgia’s forestry industry is showing signs of stabilization as of 2011, due in part to the biomass industry. Herty Advanced Materials and Development Center, a "new product accelerator" aligned with Georgia Southern University, currently has 32 bioenergy projects, proposed or in operation, ranking it second in the nation––behind California with 33––according to Jill Stuckey, director of external relations. These projects are investing millions of dollars in rural communities hit hard by the recession and employing dozens of local residents, she says. Germany-based RWE Innogy located its wholly owned subsidiary Georgia Biomass LLC, one of the largest pellet plants in the world, at Waycross, Ga.
Neighboring states are experiencing slower development––Florida currently has 15 bioenergy projects and Alabama has eight. So what makes Georgia the Graceland of southern bioenergy? James Roecker, CEO of Georgia Biomass, says RWE’s decision to locate the company’s first U.S. facility in Georgia was influenced by several factors, largely, Georgia offers an abundant fiber supply in close proximity to the coast. “[And] the Savannah harbor we are utilizing has good capability to handle and ship wood pellets in bulk, and has proven capability and facilities to store and ship other bulk products,” he adds. There is also an established rail corridor that connects the fiber basket with the harbor, plus the city of Waycross has a healthy business climate and provided access to good labor talent, he says. “We received exceptional support from the local, economic development organization, the county, and the state of Georgia.”
Though it isn’t the sole factor, as evidenced by Roecker’s statements, an abundant—and growing—biomass supply is playing a major role in what’s being perceived as a pellet and biomass project boom.
More Biomass, More Business
Georgia has an estimated 24 million acres of trees, which have been growing roughly 30 percent above usage for the past few years, according to Craig Scroggs, a USDA Rural Business and Cooperative specialist. The state forestry commission says that of the 24 million acres, 92 percent is in private hands and ready for commercial use, the highest in the U.S.
Recognizing the value of its largest natural resources, Georgia takes great strides in sustaining its forested lands. According to the forestry commission, the state's forested land has remained stable since the 1950s, and has a greater volume than in the 1930s. Forest loss due to expanding cities is offset by converting old farm lands to forest, the commission says. By responsibly managing its green sea, the forestry industry provides the perfect nest for bioenergy projects and other wood-related businesses. “We have more biomass than anyone in the nation except for Oregon—we plant trees like Iowa plants corn,” Stuckey says.
The business environment is the second reason pellet producers are making Georgia their home. State and local governments cooperate with existing and interested parties to create incentives and an efficient planning process, and it’s that business/government synergy that’s making things happen.
One example is Georgia’s Quick Start program. The program provides free workforce training to qualified businesses in the state, and each training program is tailor-made to the specific company. The program trained 80 employees at Georgia Biomass, and Roecker says the training included team dynamics, problem solving, communications and plant operations. He adds that he has received very favorable feedback from the involved employees.
One Stop Shop, a program established by Herty in 2005, is another tool pellet companies are utilizing. It acts as a networking forum for new and expanding businesses, and includes matching companies to universities and state and federal offices to expedite permitting and explain state and federal policies and procedures. Stuckey says other states have tried to duplicate the program, but was unaware if they were as successful. The Herty program has brought in billions of dollars of new companies to Georgia, and more are coming in, she says.
Herty’s newest pilot pellet mill, at Savannah, Ga., also demonstrates the cooperation between state organizations and private businesses. On Feb. 5, Herty announced the opening of the fully integrated pilot pellet mill, which will provide a facility for producers to validate process technology testing different pellet designs. The plant allows producers to lower risk by testing a pellet design without having to interrupt a plant’s production line.
Georgia also offers tax credits to taxpayers and biomass projects. Taxpayers are eligible for credits when they transport or divert wood waste to biomass facilities on a per-ton basis, and biomass projects are eligible for a clean energy property tax credit. The credit is available to businesses installing renewable energy products and can cover up to 35 percent of the cost.
Even the USDA invests in biomass projects in Georgia. Scroggs says that in 2012, the USDA Rural Development guaranteed a $9.6 million loan for SEGA Biofuels to retool its facility to produce a more desirable wood pellet, and other USDA programs utilized were the Rural Energy for America Program, Woody Biomass Utilization Grant, and the Advanced Biofuel Producer Program. To date, the USDA has invested up to $450 million in biomass projects in the state.
Although Georgia has the natural resources and the government and private programs that assist getting steel in the ground, the existing infrastructure is the last crucial piece of the biomass boom.
Ideal Infrastructure
The cohesion between road, rail, and shipping terminal creates the ideal logistic scenario for producers. As of 2007, Georgia is crisscrossed with over 117,000 miles of public roads, including 18,000 miles of state highway and 1,000-plus miles of major interstate highway. A $119 million expansion of the Jimmy DelLoach Parkway is one of the most recent updates to the state's road system. Set to come online in late 2015, the project is a four-lane extension from Interstate 95 to less than a mile from the Port of Savannah, and aims to make port traffic more efficient and less congested.
With more than 5,000 miles of rail, Georgia’s railroad system could stretch from Chicago to Moscow, attracting many pellet producers to locate their facilities on or near this major line of transportation. Georgia Biomass and SEGA Biofuels are located on the CSX mainline to the Port of Savannah. At the ribbon cutting for Georgia Biomass, Hans Bünting, CEO of RWE Innogy, said the partnership between CSX rail yards and the port in Savannah was one of the most important factors in choosing a location for the project.
Although Georgia’s 100-mile coastline is shorter than its northern and southern neighbors, it is home to the fastest growing deep-water ports in the U.S, and their capabilities are being upgraded. The ports in Savannah and Brunswick are in the process of expanding or renovating their facilities. According to the Georgia Port Authority, Gov. Nathan Deal allocated more than $134.4 million and proposed another $46 million to deepen the Port of Savannah to accommodate super-sized container ships. The GPA predicts the expansion project will prepare the area for larger container ships and lower transportation costs.
Mostly known for its automobile import and export facility, the Port of Brunswick is also receiving a makeover from the state. In order to meet the growing demand for local biomass fuels, the GPA has upgraded the East River Terminal at the Port of Brunswick, which increased output to 1 million tons annually.
Economics 101 says with a boom, there must be a bust. As more and more biomass projects locate to Georgia, it seems that it is only a matter of time before pellet producers have to compete with each other, as well as other forestry-related industries, while remaining sustainable. Scroggs said although biomass production levels have been 20 to 30 percent higher than usage, tremendous growth in the pellet industry in Georgia will move the state towards a one-to-one production-to-usage ratio in the near future.
“The pellet industry is here now and has been really successful and really fast growing,” Stuckey says. While the pellet industry is a wonderful placeholder for the next 10 to 15 years, she adds, where the real future lies will be with companies that can afford to pay more for biomass feedstock to efficiently create crude oil products for drop-in fuel replacements, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. To avoid future feedstock conflicts, Herty is looking at other types of plants that grow faster than pine trees, such as miscanthus and the paulownia tree to create a more sustainable environment, as well as testing different pellet consistencies with Herty’s pilot pellet mill.
Roecker, too, is optimistic about the future. “We strategically located our Waycross facility to be in a fiber basket that is not shared by others in our industry or by sawmills along the coast,” he says. “Based on the studies we have participated in, all indications are that fiber supply will be plentiful for the foreseeable future.”
Author: Chris Hanson
Staff Writer, Biomass Magazine
701-738-4970
chanson@bbiinternational.com
Georgia’s forestry industry had every right to sing the blues during the Great Recession. In the years between 2006 and 2010, the industry lost 41,235 direct and indirect employees, dealing a horrible blow to Georgia’s second-largest industry and the 47 counties that are dependent on the state’s forests, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission.
With the economy currently rebounding, however, the U.S. Southeast, especially Georgia, has become a hotbed for biomass projects. Georgia’s forestry industry is showing signs of stabilization as of 2011, due in part to the biomass industry. Herty Advanced Materials and Development Center, a "new product accelerator" aligned with Georgia Southern University, currently has 32 bioenergy projects, proposed or in operation, ranking it second in the nation––behind California with 33––according to Jill Stuckey, director of external relations. These projects are investing millions of dollars in rural communities hit hard by the recession and employing dozens of local residents, she says. Germany-based RWE Innogy located its wholly owned subsidiary Georgia Biomass LLC, one of the largest pellet plants in the world, at Waycross, Ga.
Neighboring states are experiencing slower development––Florida currently has 15 bioenergy projects and Alabama has eight. So what makes Georgia the Graceland of southern bioenergy? James Roecker, CEO of Georgia Biomass, says RWE’s decision to locate the company’s first U.S. facility in Georgia was influenced by several factors, largely, Georgia offers an abundant fiber supply in close proximity to the coast. “[And] the Savannah harbor we are utilizing has good capability to handle and ship wood pellets in bulk, and has proven capability and facilities to store and ship other bulk products,” he adds. There is also an established rail corridor that connects the fiber basket with the harbor, plus the city of Waycross has a healthy business climate and provided access to good labor talent, he says. “We received exceptional support from the local, economic development organization, the county, and the state of Georgia.”
Though it isn’t the sole factor, as evidenced by Roecker’s statements, an abundant—and growing—biomass supply is playing a major role in what’s being perceived as a pellet and biomass project boom.
More Biomass, More Business
Georgia has an estimated 24 million acres of trees, which have been growing roughly 30 percent above usage for the past few years, according to Craig Scroggs, a USDA Rural Business and Cooperative specialist. The state forestry commission says that of the 24 million acres, 92 percent is in private hands and ready for commercial use, the highest in the U.S.
Recognizing the value of its largest natural resources, Georgia takes great strides in sustaining its forested lands. According to the forestry commission, the state's forested land has remained stable since the 1950s, and has a greater volume than in the 1930s. Forest loss due to expanding cities is offset by converting old farm lands to forest, the commission says. By responsibly managing its green sea, the forestry industry provides the perfect nest for bioenergy projects and other wood-related businesses. “We have more biomass than anyone in the nation except for Oregon—we plant trees like Iowa plants corn,” Stuckey says.
The business environment is the second reason pellet producers are making Georgia their home. State and local governments cooperate with existing and interested parties to create incentives and an efficient planning process, and it’s that business/government synergy that’s making things happen.
One example is Georgia’s Quick Start program. The program provides free workforce training to qualified businesses in the state, and each training program is tailor-made to the specific company. The program trained 80 employees at Georgia Biomass, and Roecker says the training included team dynamics, problem solving, communications and plant operations. He adds that he has received very favorable feedback from the involved employees.
One Stop Shop, a program established by Herty in 2005, is another tool pellet companies are utilizing. It acts as a networking forum for new and expanding businesses, and includes matching companies to universities and state and federal offices to expedite permitting and explain state and federal policies and procedures. Stuckey says other states have tried to duplicate the program, but was unaware if they were as successful. The Herty program has brought in billions of dollars of new companies to Georgia, and more are coming in, she says.
Herty’s newest pilot pellet mill, at Savannah, Ga., also demonstrates the cooperation between state organizations and private businesses. On Feb. 5, Herty announced the opening of the fully integrated pilot pellet mill, which will provide a facility for producers to validate process technology testing different pellet designs. The plant allows producers to lower risk by testing a pellet design without having to interrupt a plant’s production line.
Georgia also offers tax credits to taxpayers and biomass projects. Taxpayers are eligible for credits when they transport or divert wood waste to biomass facilities on a per-ton basis, and biomass projects are eligible for a clean energy property tax credit. The credit is available to businesses installing renewable energy products and can cover up to 35 percent of the cost.
Even the USDA invests in biomass projects in Georgia. Scroggs says that in 2012, the USDA Rural Development guaranteed a $9.6 million loan for SEGA Biofuels to retool its facility to produce a more desirable wood pellet, and other USDA programs utilized were the Rural Energy for America Program, Woody Biomass Utilization Grant, and the Advanced Biofuel Producer Program. To date, the USDA has invested up to $450 million in biomass projects in the state.
Although Georgia has the natural resources and the government and private programs that assist getting steel in the ground, the existing infrastructure is the last crucial piece of the biomass boom.
Ideal Infrastructure
The cohesion between road, rail, and shipping terminal creates the ideal logistic scenario for producers. As of 2007, Georgia is crisscrossed with over 117,000 miles of public roads, including 18,000 miles of state highway and 1,000-plus miles of major interstate highway. A $119 million expansion of the Jimmy DelLoach Parkway is one of the most recent updates to the state's road system. Set to come online in late 2015, the project is a four-lane extension from Interstate 95 to less than a mile from the Port of Savannah, and aims to make port traffic more efficient and less congested.
With more than 5,000 miles of rail, Georgia’s railroad system could stretch from Chicago to Moscow, attracting many pellet producers to locate their facilities on or near this major line of transportation. Georgia Biomass and SEGA Biofuels are located on the CSX mainline to the Port of Savannah. At the ribbon cutting for Georgia Biomass, Hans Bünting, CEO of RWE Innogy, said the partnership between CSX rail yards and the port in Savannah was one of the most important factors in choosing a location for the project.
Although Georgia’s 100-mile coastline is shorter than its northern and southern neighbors, it is home to the fastest growing deep-water ports in the U.S, and their capabilities are being upgraded. The ports in Savannah and Brunswick are in the process of expanding or renovating their facilities. According to the Georgia Port Authority, Gov. Nathan Deal allocated more than $134.4 million and proposed another $46 million to deepen the Port of Savannah to accommodate super-sized container ships. The GPA predicts the expansion project will prepare the area for larger container ships and lower transportation costs.
Mostly known for its automobile import and export facility, the Port of Brunswick is also receiving a makeover from the state. In order to meet the growing demand for local biomass fuels, the GPA has upgraded the East River Terminal at the Port of Brunswick, which increased output to 1 million tons annually.
Economics 101 says with a boom, there must be a bust. As more and more biomass projects locate to Georgia, it seems that it is only a matter of time before pellet producers have to compete with each other, as well as other forestry-related industries, while remaining sustainable. Scroggs said although biomass production levels have been 20 to 30 percent higher than usage, tremendous growth in the pellet industry in Georgia will move the state towards a one-to-one production-to-usage ratio in the near future.
“The pellet industry is here now and has been really successful and really fast growing,” Stuckey says. While the pellet industry is a wonderful placeholder for the next 10 to 15 years, she adds, where the real future lies will be with companies that can afford to pay more for biomass feedstock to efficiently create crude oil products for drop-in fuel replacements, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. To avoid future feedstock conflicts, Herty is looking at other types of plants that grow faster than pine trees, such as miscanthus and the paulownia tree to create a more sustainable environment, as well as testing different pellet consistencies with Herty’s pilot pellet mill.
Roecker, too, is optimistic about the future. “We strategically located our Waycross facility to be in a fiber basket that is not shared by others in our industry or by sawmills along the coast,” he says. “Based on the studies we have participated in, all indications are that fiber supply will be plentiful for the foreseeable future.”
Author: Chris Hanson
Staff Writer, Biomass Magazine
701-738-4970
chanson@bbiinternational.com
Monday, March 25, 2013
Country forestry banquet set for Tuesday
http://dailysoutherner.com/community/x1221097993/Country-forestry-banquet-set-for-Tuesday
March 25, 2013
TARBORO — Persons with an interest in the timber industry will gather Tuesday at the East Carolina Agriculture and Education Center for the annual Edgecombe County Forestry Banquet.
The meal portion of the event will get under way at 6:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 7:15
Clay Altizer, Utilization Forester for the North Carolina Forest Service, and Edward Sontag, director of fiber sourcing for Envira LP, will deliver the main presentations.
As recently as the third quarter of 2011, the forest products sector in North Carolina included 2,299 manufacturing facilities and provided 67,613 jobs and an annual payroll of $2.7 billion.
The overall economic benefit to the state was estimated at $23.8 billion with a total related work force of 178,498.
Sontag will talk about the future of palletized woody biomass.
Enviva is one of the largest manufacturers of processed biomass fuel in the form of 100 percent wood pellets in the United States and Europe.
Enviva operates a pellet facility in Ashokie capable of producing 350,000 metric tons of wood pellet annually and is scheduled to bring a 500,000 metric ton plant online in Northampton at mid-year.
Woody biomass is made up of the trees and woody plants, including limbs, tops, needles, leaves, and other woody parts, grown in a forest, woodland, or rangeland environment, that are the by-products of forest management.
The National Energy Policy Act, signed into law on August 8, 2005, recognized the importance of a diverse portfolio of domestic energy. The policy outlined 13 recommendations designed to increase America’s use of renewable and alternative energy. One of these recommendations directed the Secretaries of the Interior and Energy to re-evaluate access limitations to federal lands in order to increase renewable energy production, such as biomass, wind, geothermal, and solar.
On June 18, 2003, The Departments of Energy, Interior, and Agriculture announced an initiative to encourage the use of woody biomass from forest and rangeland restoration and hazardous fuels treatment projects. The three Departments signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Policy Principles for Woody Biomass Utilization for Restoration and Fuel Treatment on Forests, Woodlands, and Rangelands, supporting woody biomass utilization as a recommended option to use to reduce hazardous fuels rather than burning or employing other on-site disposal methods.
In North Carolina, North Carolina General Statutes 105-277.2 through 105-277.7 provide an incentive for farmers and foresters to keep agricultural and forested land in those uses through property tax deferments as part of the use value program.
In order to qualify for forestry use, there must be at least 20 acres of forested land, and you must present to the tax assessor a Forestry Management Plan, showing the forested land is under a sound management program.
For more information, contact Bob Filbrun at 641-7815.
March 25, 2013
TARBORO — Persons with an interest in the timber industry will gather Tuesday at the East Carolina Agriculture and Education Center for the annual Edgecombe County Forestry Banquet.
The meal portion of the event will get under way at 6:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 7:15
Clay Altizer, Utilization Forester for the North Carolina Forest Service, and Edward Sontag, director of fiber sourcing for Envira LP, will deliver the main presentations.
As recently as the third quarter of 2011, the forest products sector in North Carolina included 2,299 manufacturing facilities and provided 67,613 jobs and an annual payroll of $2.7 billion.
The overall economic benefit to the state was estimated at $23.8 billion with a total related work force of 178,498.
Sontag will talk about the future of palletized woody biomass.
Enviva is one of the largest manufacturers of processed biomass fuel in the form of 100 percent wood pellets in the United States and Europe.
Enviva operates a pellet facility in Ashokie capable of producing 350,000 metric tons of wood pellet annually and is scheduled to bring a 500,000 metric ton plant online in Northampton at mid-year.
Woody biomass is made up of the trees and woody plants, including limbs, tops, needles, leaves, and other woody parts, grown in a forest, woodland, or rangeland environment, that are the by-products of forest management.
The National Energy Policy Act, signed into law on August 8, 2005, recognized the importance of a diverse portfolio of domestic energy. The policy outlined 13 recommendations designed to increase America’s use of renewable and alternative energy. One of these recommendations directed the Secretaries of the Interior and Energy to re-evaluate access limitations to federal lands in order to increase renewable energy production, such as biomass, wind, geothermal, and solar.
On June 18, 2003, The Departments of Energy, Interior, and Agriculture announced an initiative to encourage the use of woody biomass from forest and rangeland restoration and hazardous fuels treatment projects. The three Departments signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Policy Principles for Woody Biomass Utilization for Restoration and Fuel Treatment on Forests, Woodlands, and Rangelands, supporting woody biomass utilization as a recommended option to use to reduce hazardous fuels rather than burning or employing other on-site disposal methods.
In North Carolina, North Carolina General Statutes 105-277.2 through 105-277.7 provide an incentive for farmers and foresters to keep agricultural and forested land in those uses through property tax deferments as part of the use value program.
In order to qualify for forestry use, there must be at least 20 acres of forested land, and you must present to the tax assessor a Forestry Management Plan, showing the forested land is under a sound management program.
For more information, contact Bob Filbrun at 641-7815.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
LSU AgCenter Commissions Advanced Biofuels Pilot Plant
http://www.biofuelsjournal.com/info/bf_articles.html?ID=129936
Date Posted: January 28, 2013
Date Posted: January 28, 2013
St. Gabriel, LA—The fledgling biofuels and bioprocessing
industry in the South took a step forward Friday, Jan. 25, with the
formal commissioning of a pilot plant at the LSU AgCenter Audubon Sugar Institute.
This indicates success in several areas, said LSU AgCenter Vice Chancellor John Russin.
The infusion of federal funding will benefit the state and the sugar industry as well as the biofuels and bioprocessing industry and the rural economy, Russin said.
“This is an amalgam of a true team effort.”
The pilot plant is part of a larger project funded by a five-year, $17.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture through its agriculture and food research initiative, said William Goldner, national program leader for sustainable bioenergy in the USDA Institute of Bioenergy, Climate and Environment.
The grant came as a result of a competitive peer review of proposals to create regional systems for sustainable production of biofuels and biobased products, Goldner said.
“We want to enhance existing agriculture and improve opportunities for rural communities.”
Dedicated to producing biofuels and biochemicals from agricultural crops and byproducts, the pilot plant is the centerpiece of the AgCenter’s Sustainable Bioproducts Initiative, said AgCenter project director Vadim Kochergin.
It will focus on processing sweet sorghum, energy cane and other grassy feedstocks into convertible sugars, fiber and bioproducts for further refining into butanol, gasoline, isoprene and biochemicals, he said.
The pilot plant is a scaled-down version of a typical sugar mill, said Juan Miguel Bueno, president and CEO of Manufacturera 3M, S.A. de C.V. in Cordoba, Mexico.
Bueno’s company fabricates sugar mills used in Louisiana, so his challenge was to design and produce the pilot plant.
“It’s exactly the same as a big mill but on a smaller scale,” Bueno said of the project that took about five months to engineer and manufacture.
“By developing new things, we can produce new energy and new resources,” he said.
The pilot plant is seen as a milestone for the project that Kochergin described as a “work in progress.”
“The facility can be scaled up to any capacity,” Kochergin said. “The focus is on primary processing of sweet sorghum, energy cane and other grassy feedstocks.
"We can facilitate projects targeting evaluation and validation of technologies as well as training of research and operating personnel.”
“This is a tremendous opportunity to identify potential feedstocks, not only for Louisiana but all of the South,” said Carrie Castille, associate commissioner for government affairs and science advisor in the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
“This project will provide long-term, lifecycle assessment for continued crop production with respect to weather,” Castille said.
Louisiana is in a unique position for feedstock production, and lifecycle assessment will provide information on how various crops perform during different weather patterns, such as drought.
“The benefits this facility will give to Louisiana landowners is forward thinking,” said Klein Kirby, chairman of A. Wilbert’s Sons, LLC, a leading Louisiana land development company.
“This is a huge tool for the Louisiana sugar industry, for the processors and for the landowners,” Kirby said.
For more information, call 225-578-5839.
This indicates success in several areas, said LSU AgCenter Vice Chancellor John Russin.
The infusion of federal funding will benefit the state and the sugar industry as well as the biofuels and bioprocessing industry and the rural economy, Russin said.
“This is an amalgam of a true team effort.”
The pilot plant is part of a larger project funded by a five-year, $17.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture through its agriculture and food research initiative, said William Goldner, national program leader for sustainable bioenergy in the USDA Institute of Bioenergy, Climate and Environment.
The grant came as a result of a competitive peer review of proposals to create regional systems for sustainable production of biofuels and biobased products, Goldner said.
“We want to enhance existing agriculture and improve opportunities for rural communities.”
Dedicated to producing biofuels and biochemicals from agricultural crops and byproducts, the pilot plant is the centerpiece of the AgCenter’s Sustainable Bioproducts Initiative, said AgCenter project director Vadim Kochergin.
It will focus on processing sweet sorghum, energy cane and other grassy feedstocks into convertible sugars, fiber and bioproducts for further refining into butanol, gasoline, isoprene and biochemicals, he said.
The pilot plant is a scaled-down version of a typical sugar mill, said Juan Miguel Bueno, president and CEO of Manufacturera 3M, S.A. de C.V. in Cordoba, Mexico.
Bueno’s company fabricates sugar mills used in Louisiana, so his challenge was to design and produce the pilot plant.
“It’s exactly the same as a big mill but on a smaller scale,” Bueno said of the project that took about five months to engineer and manufacture.
“By developing new things, we can produce new energy and new resources,” he said.
The pilot plant is seen as a milestone for the project that Kochergin described as a “work in progress.”
“The facility can be scaled up to any capacity,” Kochergin said. “The focus is on primary processing of sweet sorghum, energy cane and other grassy feedstocks.
"We can facilitate projects targeting evaluation and validation of technologies as well as training of research and operating personnel.”
“This is a tremendous opportunity to identify potential feedstocks, not only for Louisiana but all of the South,” said Carrie Castille, associate commissioner for government affairs and science advisor in the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
“This project will provide long-term, lifecycle assessment for continued crop production with respect to weather,” Castille said.
Louisiana is in a unique position for feedstock production, and lifecycle assessment will provide information on how various crops perform during different weather patterns, such as drought.
“The benefits this facility will give to Louisiana landowners is forward thinking,” said Klein Kirby, chairman of A. Wilbert’s Sons, LLC, a leading Louisiana land development company.
“This is a huge tool for the Louisiana sugar industry, for the processors and for the landowners,” Kirby said.
For more information, call 225-578-5839.
Friday, December 21, 2012
USDA funds MSU biofuel study
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20121222/BIZ/312220019/USDA-funds-MSU-biofuel-study?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1
All three researchers are affiliated with MSU’s Sustainable Energy Research Center, which researches and develops environmentally and economically sustainable energy technologies that promote the growth of sustainable energy industries in Mississippi and the Southeast, according to an MSU news release.
The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the $273,120 grant through its Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.
10:16 PM, Dec 21, 2012
A team of Mississippi State University agricultural economists recently received U.S. Department of Agriculture funding to study policies impacting biofuel supply chains.
Keith Coble is the principal investigator for a project to develop a model to assess how state or federal policies might affect the development of the Southeastern biofuels industry. Coble will work with fellow MSU agricultural economists Daniel Petrolia and J. Corey Miller. Their work will evaluate the effects of risk, incentives and environmental policy on economic sustainability.All three researchers are affiliated with MSU’s Sustainable Energy Research Center, which researches and develops environmentally and economically sustainable energy technologies that promote the growth of sustainable energy industries in Mississippi and the Southeast, according to an MSU news release.
The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the $273,120 grant through its Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
University of Georgia Researchers to Examine Public Opinion on Biofuels Industry in Southeast
http://www.biofuelsjournal.com/info/bf_articles.html?ID=129046
Date Posted: December 18, 2012
Athens, GA—Public opinion and local support may very well be the
linchpins that determine the future of bioenergy in the United States.
The Southeastern U.S. is poised to become a major producer of bioenergy, and a wide range of bioenergy technologies are now in various stages of development in the region.
Will residents support the new ventures?
Who will grow the biomass?
Will those in established industries fight against it?
These are but a few of the critical questions that citizens, policymakers and investors must answer if bioenergy is to become a viable alternative to fossil fuels.
Now, researchers from the University of Georgia and the U.S. Forest Service are conducting studies in locations throughout the biomass-rich Southeast to find answers to these questions and more.
They hope their unique method of investigation, using a mix of complementary ethnographic methods, will provide a detailed understanding of public opinion about bioenergy while also providing policymakers and business owners with the information they need to make sustainable energy production thrive in their communities.
"We're planning to work on the ground throughout the Southeast," said Sarah Hitchner, a co-investigator and post-doctoral research associate at UGA's Center for Integrative Conservation Research.
"A lot of people talk about biofuels as being an obvious win-win, but it's more complicated than that."
Beginning in Soperton, Ga.-formerly home to Range Fuels and now the Freedom Pines Biorefinery owned by LanzaTech-and then moving on to other areas in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and North Carolina, the researchers will participate in the daily activities of community members and conduct in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders, such as landowners, industry representatives, potential employees and county commissioners.
"A big part of this kind of research is to listen to as many perspectives as possible," said Peter Brosius, professor of anthropology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, director of the Center for Integrative Conservation Research and co-investigator in the study.
"From there you begin to see patterns emerge."
This approach, which allows researchers to develop familiarity and rapport with community members over an extended period of time, gives them a more detailed understanding of the various points of view that might not be fully captured by other less comprehensive research methods such as phone interviews or mail-in surveys, Brosius said.
"Researchers across the world have been developing technologies for the conversion of biomass resources into energy and fuels, but we don't have a very good understanding of the effects that a large-scale biomass energy industry may have on the communities involved," said Ryan Adolphson, director of public service and outreach in the College of Engineering and associate director of the Bioenergy Systems Research Institute.
Adolphson works with Georgia companies and state and federal policymakers on bioenergy industry development.
"This study will make great strides toward helping us understand those effects and assist in the development of a more effective biomass energy industry," Adolphson said.
Supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which funds research projects on sustainable bioenergy through its Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, this integrative research aims to explain not only whether people support or oppose bioenergy development, but also what led them to form their opinions and what policies, institutions and events may have influenced their decisions.
"USDA and President Obama are committed to producing clean energy right here at home, to not only break our dependence on foreign oil, but also boost rural economies," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
"These projects will give us the scientific information needed to support biofuel production and create co-products that will enhance the overall value of a bio-based economy.
"Today, with a strong and diversified U.S. agricultural sector, the American automobile industry has a greater incentive for expanding use of bio-based products while supporting good-paying jobs here in the United States."
The researchers stress that as alternative fuel and sustainable industry grow, it will become increasingly important for potential companies to identify and understand the social and economic factors working for and against new ventures.
"This research has the potential to inform the policy process, but we are also pioneering a new method that is applicable to other sustainability issues," Brosius said.
"There is a lot of activity right now in bioenergy with different plants being opened and a lot of proposed plants using a combination of private investment and government incentives to get started," said John Schelhas, a research forester with the U.S. Forest Service and project co-investigator.
"We're looking at specific sites where bioenergy development is taking place, and we're interested in talking with community members and landowners who have various degrees of investment and interest in bioenergy."
Ultimately, the researchers hope that this project will not only yield important information about the future of bioenergy in the South but also serve as a springboard for future research designed to examine the social complexities of bioenergy development by investigating diverse perspectives and interests within the communities in which these new and proposed facilities are embedded.
"It's essential to understand the way people perceive, understand and talk about biofuels as bioenergy industries develop in this region," Schelhas said.
"And it seems like we will be able to provide more clarity about that."
For more information, call 706-542-5222.
The Southeastern U.S. is poised to become a major producer of bioenergy, and a wide range of bioenergy technologies are now in various stages of development in the region.
Will residents support the new ventures?
Who will grow the biomass?
Will those in established industries fight against it?
These are but a few of the critical questions that citizens, policymakers and investors must answer if bioenergy is to become a viable alternative to fossil fuels.
Now, researchers from the University of Georgia and the U.S. Forest Service are conducting studies in locations throughout the biomass-rich Southeast to find answers to these questions and more.
They hope their unique method of investigation, using a mix of complementary ethnographic methods, will provide a detailed understanding of public opinion about bioenergy while also providing policymakers and business owners with the information they need to make sustainable energy production thrive in their communities.
"We're planning to work on the ground throughout the Southeast," said Sarah Hitchner, a co-investigator and post-doctoral research associate at UGA's Center for Integrative Conservation Research.
"A lot of people talk about biofuels as being an obvious win-win, but it's more complicated than that."
Beginning in Soperton, Ga.-formerly home to Range Fuels and now the Freedom Pines Biorefinery owned by LanzaTech-and then moving on to other areas in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and North Carolina, the researchers will participate in the daily activities of community members and conduct in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders, such as landowners, industry representatives, potential employees and county commissioners.
"A big part of this kind of research is to listen to as many perspectives as possible," said Peter Brosius, professor of anthropology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, director of the Center for Integrative Conservation Research and co-investigator in the study.
"From there you begin to see patterns emerge."
This approach, which allows researchers to develop familiarity and rapport with community members over an extended period of time, gives them a more detailed understanding of the various points of view that might not be fully captured by other less comprehensive research methods such as phone interviews or mail-in surveys, Brosius said.
"Researchers across the world have been developing technologies for the conversion of biomass resources into energy and fuels, but we don't have a very good understanding of the effects that a large-scale biomass energy industry may have on the communities involved," said Ryan Adolphson, director of public service and outreach in the College of Engineering and associate director of the Bioenergy Systems Research Institute.
Adolphson works with Georgia companies and state and federal policymakers on bioenergy industry development.
"This study will make great strides toward helping us understand those effects and assist in the development of a more effective biomass energy industry," Adolphson said.
Supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which funds research projects on sustainable bioenergy through its Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, this integrative research aims to explain not only whether people support or oppose bioenergy development, but also what led them to form their opinions and what policies, institutions and events may have influenced their decisions.
"USDA and President Obama are committed to producing clean energy right here at home, to not only break our dependence on foreign oil, but also boost rural economies," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
"These projects will give us the scientific information needed to support biofuel production and create co-products that will enhance the overall value of a bio-based economy.
"Today, with a strong and diversified U.S. agricultural sector, the American automobile industry has a greater incentive for expanding use of bio-based products while supporting good-paying jobs here in the United States."
The researchers stress that as alternative fuel and sustainable industry grow, it will become increasingly important for potential companies to identify and understand the social and economic factors working for and against new ventures.
"This research has the potential to inform the policy process, but we are also pioneering a new method that is applicable to other sustainability issues," Brosius said.
"There is a lot of activity right now in bioenergy with different plants being opened and a lot of proposed plants using a combination of private investment and government incentives to get started," said John Schelhas, a research forester with the U.S. Forest Service and project co-investigator.
"We're looking at specific sites where bioenergy development is taking place, and we're interested in talking with community members and landowners who have various degrees of investment and interest in bioenergy."
Ultimately, the researchers hope that this project will not only yield important information about the future of bioenergy in the South but also serve as a springboard for future research designed to examine the social complexities of bioenergy development by investigating diverse perspectives and interests within the communities in which these new and proposed facilities are embedded.
"It's essential to understand the way people perceive, understand and talk about biofuels as bioenergy industries develop in this region," Schelhas said.
"And it seems like we will be able to provide more clarity about that."
For more information, call 706-542-5222.
Friday, December 14, 2012
USDA Grants Support Sustainable Bioenergy Production
http://www.nifa.usda.gov/newsroom/news/2012news/12141_afri_bioenergy.html
AFRI is NIFA’s flagship competitive grant program and was established under the 2008 Farm Bill. AFRI supports work in six priority areas: plant health and production and plant products; animal health and production and animal products; food safety, nutrition and health; renewable energy, natural resources and environment; agriculture systems and technology; and agriculture economics and rural communities.
Media Contact: Jennifer Martin, (202) 720-8188
LANSING, Mich., Dec. 14,
2012—Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced $10 million in
research grants to spur production of bioenergy and biobased products
that will lead to the development of sustainable regional systems and
help create jobs. Vilsack highlighted the announcement today with a
visit to Michigan State University, a grant awardee. The Secretary also
pointed to a recent study
released by Iowa State University (ISU), and funded by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, which finds that while the use of biobased
products in automobile manufacturing is increasing, there are still
many parts in the top-selling automobiles manufactured in the United
States that may be replaced with biobased materials.
“USDA and President Obama are
committed to producing clean energy right here at home, to not only
break our dependence on foreign oil, but also boost rural economies,”
said Vilsack. “These projects will give us the scientific information
needed to support biofuel production and create co-products that will
enhance the overall value of a biobased economy. Today, with a strong
and diversified U.S. agricultural sector, the American automobile
industry has a greater incentive for expanding use of biobased products
while supporting good-paying jobs here in the United States.”
USDA’s National Institute of Food
and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded the grants through the Agriculture and
Food Research Initiative (AFRI). AFRI’s sustainable bioenergy challenge
area targets the development of regional systems for the sustainable
production of bioenergy and biobased products that: contribute
significantly to reducing dependence on foreign oil; have net positive
social, environmental, and rural economic impacts; and are compatible
with existing agricultural systems.
The long-term goal for the research
projects, which were selected through a highly competitive process, is
to implement sustainable regional systems that materially deliver
liquid transportation biofuels to help meet the Energy Independence and
Security Act goal of 36 billion gallons per year of biofuels by 2022.
The programs focus on the many environmental, social and economic
benefits and trade-offs associated with decisions and policies regarding
the where, when, and how of national and regional biofuels
development. Projects were awarded in four areas: 1) policy options for
and impacts on regional biofuels production systems, 2) impacts of
regional bioenergy feedstock production systems on wildlife and
pollinators, 3) socioeconomic impacts of biofuels on rural communities,
and 4) environmental implications of direct and indirect land use
change.
Fiscal year 2012 awards include:
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., $36,000
- Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz., $350,000
- University of Georgia, Athens, Ga., $345,689
- University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., $496,996
- University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., $497,851
- Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, $493,210
- University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, $499,009
- University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, $350,000
- Michigan State University, Lansing, Mich., $349,695
- University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn., $498,786
- University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn., $349,996
- Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Miss., $273,120
- University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo., $499,447
- Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Mo., $94,258
- Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, N.J., $349,963
- Duke University, Durham, N.C., $349,084
- University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla., $466,534
- Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore., $349,624
- Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa., $149,977
- Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa., $348,959
- Clemson University, Clemson, S.C., $50,000
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn., $350,000
- Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, $255,972
- Texas AgriLife Extension, College Station, Texas, $499,619
- Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., $349,993
- West Virginia University, Morgantown, W.V., $349,952
- University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis., $496,109
- University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis., $345,327
- USDA Agricultural Research Service, Peoria, Ill., $500,000
AFRI is NIFA’s flagship competitive grant program and was established under the 2008 Farm Bill. AFRI supports work in six priority areas: plant health and production and plant products; animal health and production and animal products; food safety, nutrition and health; renewable energy, natural resources and environment; agriculture systems and technology; and agriculture economics and rural communities.
Each award was made through a
competitive selection process. An external peer review panel reviewed
all proposals and made award decisions based on scientific merit to the
best and brightest scientists across the nation.
The ISU report, Biobased Automobile Parts Investigation,
shows that “the history of biobased automobile parts begins early in
the development of automobiles themselves. During the 1930s, automobile
pioneer Henry Ford began developing soy-based automobile parts.” The
report goes on to highlight how a variety of U.S. automobile
manufacturers are showing a greater commitment to exploring biobased
options, and provides a variety of resources for policymakers and other
decision-makers interested in exploring the issue.
Creating new markets for the
nation's agricultural products through biobased manufacturing is one of
the many steps the Obama Administration has taken over the past four
years to strengthen the rural economy. Since August 2011, the White
House Rural Council has supported a broad spectrum of rural initiatives
including a Presidential Memorandum to create jobs in rural America
through biobased and sustainable product procurement; a $350 million
commitment in SBA funding to rural small businesses over the next 5
years; launching a series of conferences to connect investors with
rural start-ups; creating capital marketing teams to pitch federal
funding opportunities to private investors interested in making rural
connections; and making job search information available at 2,800 local
USDA offices nationwide.
Policy Shifts Signal Growth Ahead for Advanced Biofuels
http://www.forbes.com/sites/pikeresearch/2012/12/14/policy-shifts-signal-growth-ahead-for-advanced-biofuels/
12/14/2012 @ 4:15PM
Mackinnon Lawrence, Contributor
This has been a tough year for the U.S. biofuels industry: drought curtailed corn starch ethanol production and investment in the industry shrank to its lowest level in nearly a decade. Headed into 2013, though, industry momentum appears to be regaining steam. Led by advanced biofuels, the potential for expanding biofuels production has improved dramatically as Washington offers clarity on key policy issues.
Last week, in a vote on partisan lines, the U.S. Senate extended support for the military’s efforts to scale up advanced biofuels production. As reported in Biofuels Digest, it approved an amendment offered by Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina to repeal a section of the annual Defense appropriations bill that would have prohibited “the Secretary of Defense or any other official from the Department of Defense (DoD) from entering into a contract to plan, design, refurbish, or construct a biofuels refinery or any other facility or infrastructure used to refine biofuels unless such planning, design, refurbishment, or construction is specifically authorized by law.”
Over the past year, the U.S. military has emerged as a key torchbearer leading the commercialization of advanced biofuels. Spearheaded by the Navy, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Energy (DOE) to develop cost-competitive advanced biofuels, the DoD has been a lone bright spot for an industry that has suffered from press blowback and investor retrenchment in recent years.
Only $84 Billion to Go
Prior to the Hagan amendment, the Senate approved another amendment, offered by Senator Mark Udall of Colorado, to repeal section 313 of the annual Defense appropriations bill. Offered by Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Section 313 would have prohibited the DoD from procuring alternative fuels if they cost more than their conventional counterparts. The section was introduced in response to the U.S. Navy’s highly criticized purchase of advanced biofuels from firms like Solazyme and Dynamic Fuels for its “Great Green Fleet” exercises off the coast of Hawaii, at an estimated price-tag of $15 per gallon.
These bills are expected to facilitate public-private partnerships and funnel much-needed capital to support advanced biorefinery construction within the United States. In our Industrial Biorefineries report, Pike Research forecasts that at least 13 billion gallons of advanced biorefinery production capacity will come online over the next decade in the United States. Although that falls short of the 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels carved out under the EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), more than $60 billion will be invested over that same period.
With the minimum cost of scale-up to meet the advanced biofuel production mandate estimated at $84 billion, the industry still has significant ground to make up. Although continued federal support will help assuage investor fears, uncertainties around feedstock supply and production profitability persist, translating into high levels of risk for investors.
Advanced biofuels, which address these concerns at least in part, have enjoyed a rising tide of policy support in recent months from Washington. In August, Congress allocated $170 million to support the development of military biofuels and other defense initiatives, voted to extend key tax credits for advanced biofuel producers, and granted algae producers tax credit parity with other feedstock pathways. Meanwhile, the recent commissioning of first-of-kind facilities from advanced biofuel producers KiOR and INEOS Bio are strong indicators of a maturing cellulosic biofuels industry.
12/14/2012 @ 4:15PM
Mackinnon Lawrence, Contributor
This has been a tough year for the U.S. biofuels industry: drought curtailed corn starch ethanol production and investment in the industry shrank to its lowest level in nearly a decade. Headed into 2013, though, industry momentum appears to be regaining steam. Led by advanced biofuels, the potential for expanding biofuels production has improved dramatically as Washington offers clarity on key policy issues.
Last week, in a vote on partisan lines, the U.S. Senate extended support for the military’s efforts to scale up advanced biofuels production. As reported in Biofuels Digest, it approved an amendment offered by Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina to repeal a section of the annual Defense appropriations bill that would have prohibited “the Secretary of Defense or any other official from the Department of Defense (DoD) from entering into a contract to plan, design, refurbish, or construct a biofuels refinery or any other facility or infrastructure used to refine biofuels unless such planning, design, refurbishment, or construction is specifically authorized by law.”
Over the past year, the U.S. military has emerged as a key torchbearer leading the commercialization of advanced biofuels. Spearheaded by the Navy, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Energy (DOE) to develop cost-competitive advanced biofuels, the DoD has been a lone bright spot for an industry that has suffered from press blowback and investor retrenchment in recent years.
Only $84 Billion to Go
Prior to the Hagan amendment, the Senate approved another amendment, offered by Senator Mark Udall of Colorado, to repeal section 313 of the annual Defense appropriations bill. Offered by Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Section 313 would have prohibited the DoD from procuring alternative fuels if they cost more than their conventional counterparts. The section was introduced in response to the U.S. Navy’s highly criticized purchase of advanced biofuels from firms like Solazyme and Dynamic Fuels for its “Great Green Fleet” exercises off the coast of Hawaii, at an estimated price-tag of $15 per gallon.
These bills are expected to facilitate public-private partnerships and funnel much-needed capital to support advanced biorefinery construction within the United States. In our Industrial Biorefineries report, Pike Research forecasts that at least 13 billion gallons of advanced biorefinery production capacity will come online over the next decade in the United States. Although that falls short of the 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels carved out under the EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), more than $60 billion will be invested over that same period.
With the minimum cost of scale-up to meet the advanced biofuel production mandate estimated at $84 billion, the industry still has significant ground to make up. Although continued federal support will help assuage investor fears, uncertainties around feedstock supply and production profitability persist, translating into high levels of risk for investors.
Advanced biofuels, which address these concerns at least in part, have enjoyed a rising tide of policy support in recent months from Washington. In August, Congress allocated $170 million to support the development of military biofuels and other defense initiatives, voted to extend key tax credits for advanced biofuel producers, and granted algae producers tax credit parity with other feedstock pathways. Meanwhile, the recent commissioning of first-of-kind facilities from advanced biofuel producers KiOR and INEOS Bio are strong indicators of a maturing cellulosic biofuels industry.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Managing Woody Biomass: The Past Century in Review
http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/8349/managing-woody-biomass-the-past-century-in-review
Foresters and timberland managers have stabilized
woody biomass in the U.S. for the last century, meeting consumer demand
without exhausting supply.
At
the turn of the 20th century, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt warned
Congress, with subsequent hyperbole appearing in New York Times
headlines, that “a timber famine is inevitable.” Gifford Pinchot, the
first chief of the U.S. Forest Service, echoed the sentiment by
proclaiming, “In 20 years, the timber supply in the United States on
government reserves and private holdings, at the present rate of
cutting, will be exhausted.” The timber famine or scarcity never
happened, despite the increased consumer demand placed on our nation’s
timber resources through the Roaring Twenties, post-World War II boom
and other high-growth periods.
The complete opposite of timber scarcity has occurred over the past century. To exemplify the purest definition of sustainability, the amount of forestland in the U.S. has remained stable around 750 million acres from 1907 to 2007. Additionally, over the past two decades, forestland has increased by 20 million acres. As of 2006, the volume of annual net growth exceeded the volume of annual removals by 38 percent. The U.S. is growing more timber volume than it is harvesting, by a fairly wide margin.
If a timber famine occurred, stumpage prices—the amount paid for standing timber— would have reflected the inherent scarcity. According to the revealing economic study by Johnson and Libecap, the annualized rate of change in stumpage prices during the perceived timber famine era remained a constant 6 percent. Supply and demand stayed in relative balance, never approaching a supply shortage that could be termed a “famine.”
Why has the timber resource remained abundant in the face of growing demand? Simply put, markets existed that created demand. A major factor aiding in the expansion of forestland is the presence of deep, well-established markets for wood products. A nation of consumers required wood for prosperity, thereby fostering development of private sector innovation in the form of technological improvements in milling and tree-felling technology, advances in silviculture, tree-seedling genetics and tree-farming practices, and the conversion of degraded agricultural lands to timberland plantations aided by federal government programs. In the wake of appreciating timber commodity prices, the consumer side of the equation responded with advances in wood conservation measures (e.g., utility pole treatment) and product substitution.
Burgeoning Biomass Markets
Differentiating from the aforementioned traditional timber markets, the woody biomass market, defined as supply for energy demand, emerged vigorously over the past decade. Ironically, wood has been used as a source of fuel in the U.S. since the Colonial Era. Seen through the prism of contributing to cellulosic ethanol, heat generation and electrical power generation, the growth of this emerging market has largely been precipitated by government subsidies, legislative initiatives/mandates, increasing oil prices, negative pressure on utilization of food resources and environmental solutions for alternative energy sources. The pressures for the woody biomass market
to flourish present a dichotomy of optimism and pause for concern over the actual market formation.
Forisk Consulting LLC estimates there are a total of 452 announced or operating woody biomass projects in the U.S. with a projected operating capacity of 124.8 million green tons of wood annually by 2022. Of the projects that actually pass the Forisk screening criteria of successful project financing, proven technology, permitting, supply agreements, etc., Forisk projects that only 77 million green tons of wood annually will be needed, a decrease of 38 percent from the total capacity of all 452 projects. As a data point, the forest products industry currently consumes more than 500 million green tons of wood annually.
Anecdotally, Forest Investment Associates has directly met with dozens of potential biomass participants who have expressed interest in securing biomass supply to support potential bioenergy projects. While FIA has had the opportunity to fully evaluate the potential for adding value to timberlands through working with some of these participants, the exercises were largely in vain. Substantiating the screening process conducted by Forisk, most of these potential biomass participants are no longer in existence for a myriad of reasons.
Stalled Biomass Markets
What has hampered the development of the woody biomass market? There is no doubt the financial crisis of 2008-’09 took a toll. Largely, project financing, technological capability and environmental resistance have squeezed out potential market participants. In the first instance, a number of enterprises tried to put the cart before the horse by attempting to secure long-term biomass feedstock supply agreements, in order to secure debt financing, in order to build a biomass-using facility. It seems cliché, but FIA is a firm adherent of the “Field of Dreams” mantra, “Build it and they will come,” i.e., if new bioenergy facilities that consume biomass are developed, forest landowners will respond to meet the new demand by growing more wood.
In technological capabilities, FIA's interest in the market was piqued in 2006 by an announcement of the Range Fuels’ cellulosic ethanol facility in Soperton, Ga. At full production, the facility was projected to consume 1.6 million green tons of woody biomass feedstock, in an economically depressed area that could have benefited greatly from the related jobs. Sadly, the commercial-scale feasibility of the two-step, thermochemical conversion process was lacking, at least in profitability. With cautious optimism, FIA turns to KiOR Inc. as it prepares for the start-up of the newly constructed cellulosic biofuel blend stock facility in Columbus, Miss. While liquid fuel production from biomass has struggled, pellet production is a proven, long-established technology that provides a reliable market in certain locales, albeit dependent upon European policy models.
Much of the interest in woody biomass as an alternative fuel feedstock originated from the idea of American energy independence and environmental opposition to fossil fuel sources. Ironically, the same environmental community has condemned the use of woody biomass, petitioning for an equal carbon emissions footprint as coal. In the same vein, the final U.S. EPA Tailoring Rule announced in 2010 treated the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from biomass-sourced and fossil fuel-sourced electricity in an identical fashion. The EPA has deferred the permitting requirements until 2014 in order to gather more data, in the meantime injecting a fair amount of uncertainty into the market.
Despite the setbacks in the woody biomass market, one thing has remained constant: the continual and sustainable management of the timber (and woody biomass) resource.
Biomass Keeps Growing
As an open free-market participant, foresters are poised to participate in supplying the emerging demand. In order to generate the highest returns for our clients, timberlands are managed for the highest and best product, which is presently sawtimber.
If the net present value shifts such that a pulpwood or energy rotation provides a better proposition, management strategies will be adapted, as demonstrated in competitive pulpwood markets in the Southeast. Once upon a time, the southern forest products industrial landowners planted 1,000 to 1,200 trees per acre for the primary purpose of supplying feedstock for their pulp facilities. The mantra was, “plant them thick, cut them quick.” Since then, the sawtimber market has grown in the South, and the forest industry as a whole has practiced more intensive silviculture coupled with advanced gains in genetics. The optimum economic sawtimber rotation is satisfied by planting 500 to 600 trees per acre (with current mortality around plus or minus 5 percent in first year). This planting density allows for a first thinning between ages 13 and 16 to remove pulpwood and a small amount of chip-n-saw. The increased residual spacing allows for sawtimber growth optimization over the next 10 years or so, until final harvest.
In order to stay diversified in timberland management options, research and operational endeavors have been deployed to couple the pulpwood regime with the sawtimber regime in the form of so-called flex plantations. This method provides for the interplanting of lower-value and higher-value genetic seedling stock. Whatever direction the traditionally deep timber markets or emerging biomass markets may take, land managers and foresters will be poised to provide forest products to both markets in order to meet demand.
Author: Joshua Kane Harrell, Certified Forester
Regional Investment Forester, Forest Investment Associates
jharrell@forestinvest.com
404-261-9575
The complete opposite of timber scarcity has occurred over the past century. To exemplify the purest definition of sustainability, the amount of forestland in the U.S. has remained stable around 750 million acres from 1907 to 2007. Additionally, over the past two decades, forestland has increased by 20 million acres. As of 2006, the volume of annual net growth exceeded the volume of annual removals by 38 percent. The U.S. is growing more timber volume than it is harvesting, by a fairly wide margin.
If a timber famine occurred, stumpage prices—the amount paid for standing timber— would have reflected the inherent scarcity. According to the revealing economic study by Johnson and Libecap, the annualized rate of change in stumpage prices during the perceived timber famine era remained a constant 6 percent. Supply and demand stayed in relative balance, never approaching a supply shortage that could be termed a “famine.”
Why has the timber resource remained abundant in the face of growing demand? Simply put, markets existed that created demand. A major factor aiding in the expansion of forestland is the presence of deep, well-established markets for wood products. A nation of consumers required wood for prosperity, thereby fostering development of private sector innovation in the form of technological improvements in milling and tree-felling technology, advances in silviculture, tree-seedling genetics and tree-farming practices, and the conversion of degraded agricultural lands to timberland plantations aided by federal government programs. In the wake of appreciating timber commodity prices, the consumer side of the equation responded with advances in wood conservation measures (e.g., utility pole treatment) and product substitution.
Burgeoning Biomass Markets
Differentiating from the aforementioned traditional timber markets, the woody biomass market, defined as supply for energy demand, emerged vigorously over the past decade. Ironically, wood has been used as a source of fuel in the U.S. since the Colonial Era. Seen through the prism of contributing to cellulosic ethanol, heat generation and electrical power generation, the growth of this emerging market has largely been precipitated by government subsidies, legislative initiatives/mandates, increasing oil prices, negative pressure on utilization of food resources and environmental solutions for alternative energy sources. The pressures for the woody biomass market
to flourish present a dichotomy of optimism and pause for concern over the actual market formation.
Forisk Consulting LLC estimates there are a total of 452 announced or operating woody biomass projects in the U.S. with a projected operating capacity of 124.8 million green tons of wood annually by 2022. Of the projects that actually pass the Forisk screening criteria of successful project financing, proven technology, permitting, supply agreements, etc., Forisk projects that only 77 million green tons of wood annually will be needed, a decrease of 38 percent from the total capacity of all 452 projects. As a data point, the forest products industry currently consumes more than 500 million green tons of wood annually.
Anecdotally, Forest Investment Associates has directly met with dozens of potential biomass participants who have expressed interest in securing biomass supply to support potential bioenergy projects. While FIA has had the opportunity to fully evaluate the potential for adding value to timberlands through working with some of these participants, the exercises were largely in vain. Substantiating the screening process conducted by Forisk, most of these potential biomass participants are no longer in existence for a myriad of reasons.
Stalled Biomass Markets
What has hampered the development of the woody biomass market? There is no doubt the financial crisis of 2008-’09 took a toll. Largely, project financing, technological capability and environmental resistance have squeezed out potential market participants. In the first instance, a number of enterprises tried to put the cart before the horse by attempting to secure long-term biomass feedstock supply agreements, in order to secure debt financing, in order to build a biomass-using facility. It seems cliché, but FIA is a firm adherent of the “Field of Dreams” mantra, “Build it and they will come,” i.e., if new bioenergy facilities that consume biomass are developed, forest landowners will respond to meet the new demand by growing more wood.
In technological capabilities, FIA's interest in the market was piqued in 2006 by an announcement of the Range Fuels’ cellulosic ethanol facility in Soperton, Ga. At full production, the facility was projected to consume 1.6 million green tons of woody biomass feedstock, in an economically depressed area that could have benefited greatly from the related jobs. Sadly, the commercial-scale feasibility of the two-step, thermochemical conversion process was lacking, at least in profitability. With cautious optimism, FIA turns to KiOR Inc. as it prepares for the start-up of the newly constructed cellulosic biofuel blend stock facility in Columbus, Miss. While liquid fuel production from biomass has struggled, pellet production is a proven, long-established technology that provides a reliable market in certain locales, albeit dependent upon European policy models.
Much of the interest in woody biomass as an alternative fuel feedstock originated from the idea of American energy independence and environmental opposition to fossil fuel sources. Ironically, the same environmental community has condemned the use of woody biomass, petitioning for an equal carbon emissions footprint as coal. In the same vein, the final U.S. EPA Tailoring Rule announced in 2010 treated the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from biomass-sourced and fossil fuel-sourced electricity in an identical fashion. The EPA has deferred the permitting requirements until 2014 in order to gather more data, in the meantime injecting a fair amount of uncertainty into the market.
Despite the setbacks in the woody biomass market, one thing has remained constant: the continual and sustainable management of the timber (and woody biomass) resource.
Biomass Keeps Growing
As an open free-market participant, foresters are poised to participate in supplying the emerging demand. In order to generate the highest returns for our clients, timberlands are managed for the highest and best product, which is presently sawtimber.
If the net present value shifts such that a pulpwood or energy rotation provides a better proposition, management strategies will be adapted, as demonstrated in competitive pulpwood markets in the Southeast. Once upon a time, the southern forest products industrial landowners planted 1,000 to 1,200 trees per acre for the primary purpose of supplying feedstock for their pulp facilities. The mantra was, “plant them thick, cut them quick.” Since then, the sawtimber market has grown in the South, and the forest industry as a whole has practiced more intensive silviculture coupled with advanced gains in genetics. The optimum economic sawtimber rotation is satisfied by planting 500 to 600 trees per acre (with current mortality around plus or minus 5 percent in first year). This planting density allows for a first thinning between ages 13 and 16 to remove pulpwood and a small amount of chip-n-saw. The increased residual spacing allows for sawtimber growth optimization over the next 10 years or so, until final harvest.
In order to stay diversified in timberland management options, research and operational endeavors have been deployed to couple the pulpwood regime with the sawtimber regime in the form of so-called flex plantations. This method provides for the interplanting of lower-value and higher-value genetic seedling stock. Whatever direction the traditionally deep timber markets or emerging biomass markets may take, land managers and foresters will be poised to provide forest products to both markets in order to meet demand.
Author: Joshua Kane Harrell, Certified Forester
Regional Investment Forester, Forest Investment Associates
jharrell@forestinvest.com
404-261-9575
Monday, November 19, 2012
USDA announces payments to pellet, biogas producers
http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/8321/usda-announces-payments-to-pellet-biogas-producers
On Nov. 16 the USDA announced more than $15.7 million in payments to 189 companies under USDA Rural Development’s Advanced Biofuel Payment Program. The program, which was established under the 2008 Farm Bill, provides payments to support the production and expansion of advanced biofuels. Eligible producers receive payments based on the amount of biofuel produced from certain types of renewable biomass, including cellulose, sugar, starch from sources other than corn, hemicellulose, lignin, waste materials, biogas, and non-food crops.
“These payments support the nation’s expanding alternative fuels industry by encouraging the use of renewable feedstocks and helping to create a stronger energy future,” said Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager. “Advanced biofuels production is a key component of the President’s 'all-of-the-above' energy strategy, which is designed to reduce America’s reliance on foreign oil.”
Several companies received payments under the round of funding for the production of pellets and biogas, including:
- Forest Energy Corp: $7,765, pellets
- Fiscalini Properties LP: $684, anaerobic digester
- Gallo Cattle Company LP: $1,739, anaerobic digester
- High Mountain Fuels LLC: $22,685, landfill gas
- Rocky Mountain Pellet Co. Inc.,: $3,572, pellets
- Appling County Pellets LLC: $33,663, pellets
- Agpower Jerome LLC: $2,754, anaerobic digester
- DF-AP#1 LLC: $2,470, anaerobic digester
- Lignetics of Idaho Inc.: $33,761, pellets
- Rocky Canyon Pellet Co. LLC: $1,459, pellets
- Bio Town Ag Inc.: $3,821, anaerobic digester
- Energex American Inc.: $11,742, pellets
- Somerset Hardwood Flooring: $9,060, pellets
- Southern Kentucky Pellet Mill Inc.: $1,266, pellets
- Geneva Wood Fuels LLC: $5,866, pellets
- Maine Wood Pellet Company LLC: $13,294, pellets
- Northeast Pellets LLC: $1,306, pellets
- Green Meadow Farms Inc. $797, anaerobic digester
- Maeder Brothers Quality Wood Pellets Inc.: $592, pellets
- Michigan Wood Pellet Fuel LLC: $2,454, pellets
- P.W.G.G. LLC: $998, pellets
- Scenic View Dairy LLC: $10,548, anaerobic digester
- Cargill Inc.: $431,403, anaerobic digester and biodiesel
- District 45 Dairy LLC: $2,963, anaerobic digester
- Riverview LLP: $4,643, anaerobic digester
- West River Dairy LLP: $1,144, anaerobic digester
- Enviva LP: $62,336, pellets
- New England Wood Pellet LLC: $35,852, pellets
- Mt. Taylor Machine LLC: $711, pellets
- Aurora Ridge Diary LLC: $984, anaerobic digester
- American Wood Fibers Inc.: $5,037, pellets
- Quasar Energy Group LLC: $1,505, anaerobic digester
- Bear Mountain Forest Produces LLC: $818, pellets
- Frank Pellet LLC: $891, pellets
- Pacific Pellet LLC: $1,410, pellets
- Stahlbush Island Farms Inc.: $8,156, anaerobic digester
- Hassell & Hughes: $2,803, pellets
- Unaka Forest Products Inc.: $3,370, pellets
- Element Markets LLC: $5,398, anaerobic digester
- Potomac Supply Corp.: $4,963, pellets
- Turman Hardwood Flooring Inc.: $3,649, pellets
- Audet’s Cow Power LLC: $547, anaerobic digester
- VT Wood Pellet Co. LLC: $2,104, pellets
- Farm Power Lynden LLC: $1,167, anaerobic digester
- Farm Power Rexville LLC: $3,938, anaerobic digester
- FPE Renewables LLC $3,938, anaerobic digester
- GDR Power LLC: $1,838, anaerobic digester
- Qualco Energy: $927, anaerobic digester
- Bach Digester LLC: $678, anaerobic digester
- Buckeye Ridge Renewable Power LLC: $4,982, anaerobic digester
- Clover Hill Dairy LLC: $595, anaerobic digester
- Dairy Dreams: $916, anaerobic digester
- Dejno’s Inc.: $881. Pellets
- Green Valley Dairy LLC: $1,449, anaerobic digester
- Grotegut Dairy Farm Inc.: $3,428, anaerobic digester
- Holsum Dairies LLC: $3,485, anaerobic digester
- Indeck Ladysmith Biofuel Center: $5,512, pellets
- Marth Peshtigo Pellet Company LLC: $3,400, pellets
- Marth Wood Shaving Supply Inc.: $4,010, pellets
- Norswiss Digester LLC: $4,236, anaerobic digester
- Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy LLC: $3,007, anaerobic digester
- Quantum Dairy LLC: $597, anaerobic digester
- Stargest Power LLC: $4,831, anaerobic digester
- Stratz Brothers Inc.: $1,903, anaerobic digester
- Wood Fibers Inc.: $1,558, pellets
- Hamer Pellet Fuels: $2,658, pellets
On Nov. 16 the USDA announced more than $15.7 million in payments to 189 companies under USDA Rural Development’s Advanced Biofuel Payment Program. The program, which was established under the 2008 Farm Bill, provides payments to support the production and expansion of advanced biofuels. Eligible producers receive payments based on the amount of biofuel produced from certain types of renewable biomass, including cellulose, sugar, starch from sources other than corn, hemicellulose, lignin, waste materials, biogas, and non-food crops.
“These payments support the nation’s expanding alternative fuels industry by encouraging the use of renewable feedstocks and helping to create a stronger energy future,” said Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager. “Advanced biofuels production is a key component of the President’s 'all-of-the-above' energy strategy, which is designed to reduce America’s reliance on foreign oil.”
Several companies received payments under the round of funding for the production of pellets and biogas, including:
- Forest Energy Corp: $7,765, pellets
- Fiscalini Properties LP: $684, anaerobic digester
- Gallo Cattle Company LP: $1,739, anaerobic digester
- High Mountain Fuels LLC: $22,685, landfill gas
- Rocky Mountain Pellet Co. Inc.,: $3,572, pellets
- Appling County Pellets LLC: $33,663, pellets
- Agpower Jerome LLC: $2,754, anaerobic digester
- DF-AP#1 LLC: $2,470, anaerobic digester
- Lignetics of Idaho Inc.: $33,761, pellets
- Rocky Canyon Pellet Co. LLC: $1,459, pellets
- Bio Town Ag Inc.: $3,821, anaerobic digester
- Energex American Inc.: $11,742, pellets
- Somerset Hardwood Flooring: $9,060, pellets
- Southern Kentucky Pellet Mill Inc.: $1,266, pellets
- Geneva Wood Fuels LLC: $5,866, pellets
- Maine Wood Pellet Company LLC: $13,294, pellets
- Northeast Pellets LLC: $1,306, pellets
- Green Meadow Farms Inc. $797, anaerobic digester
- Maeder Brothers Quality Wood Pellets Inc.: $592, pellets
- Michigan Wood Pellet Fuel LLC: $2,454, pellets
- P.W.G.G. LLC: $998, pellets
- Scenic View Dairy LLC: $10,548, anaerobic digester
- Cargill Inc.: $431,403, anaerobic digester and biodiesel
- District 45 Dairy LLC: $2,963, anaerobic digester
- Riverview LLP: $4,643, anaerobic digester
- West River Dairy LLP: $1,144, anaerobic digester
- Enviva LP: $62,336, pellets
- New England Wood Pellet LLC: $35,852, pellets
- Mt. Taylor Machine LLC: $711, pellets
- Aurora Ridge Diary LLC: $984, anaerobic digester
- American Wood Fibers Inc.: $5,037, pellets
- Quasar Energy Group LLC: $1,505, anaerobic digester
- Bear Mountain Forest Produces LLC: $818, pellets
- Frank Pellet LLC: $891, pellets
- Pacific Pellet LLC: $1,410, pellets
- Stahlbush Island Farms Inc.: $8,156, anaerobic digester
- Hassell & Hughes: $2,803, pellets
- Unaka Forest Products Inc.: $3,370, pellets
- Element Markets LLC: $5,398, anaerobic digester
- Potomac Supply Corp.: $4,963, pellets
- Turman Hardwood Flooring Inc.: $3,649, pellets
- Audet’s Cow Power LLC: $547, anaerobic digester
- VT Wood Pellet Co. LLC: $2,104, pellets
- Farm Power Lynden LLC: $1,167, anaerobic digester
- Farm Power Rexville LLC: $3,938, anaerobic digester
- FPE Renewables LLC $3,938, anaerobic digester
- GDR Power LLC: $1,838, anaerobic digester
- Qualco Energy: $927, anaerobic digester
- Bach Digester LLC: $678, anaerobic digester
- Buckeye Ridge Renewable Power LLC: $4,982, anaerobic digester
- Clover Hill Dairy LLC: $595, anaerobic digester
- Dairy Dreams: $916, anaerobic digester
- Dejno’s Inc.: $881. Pellets
- Green Valley Dairy LLC: $1,449, anaerobic digester
- Grotegut Dairy Farm Inc.: $3,428, anaerobic digester
- Holsum Dairies LLC: $3,485, anaerobic digester
- Indeck Ladysmith Biofuel Center: $5,512, pellets
- Marth Peshtigo Pellet Company LLC: $3,400, pellets
- Marth Wood Shaving Supply Inc.: $4,010, pellets
- Norswiss Digester LLC: $4,236, anaerobic digester
- Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy LLC: $3,007, anaerobic digester
- Quantum Dairy LLC: $597, anaerobic digester
- Stargest Power LLC: $4,831, anaerobic digester
- Stratz Brothers Inc.: $1,903, anaerobic digester
- Wood Fibers Inc.: $1,558, pellets
- Hamer Pellet Fuels: $2,658, pellets
Friday, October 26, 2012
Will EPA weed out Chemtex International's plan for biofuel plant in NC?
http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/print-edition/2012/10/26/will-epa-weed-out-biofuel-plant-in-nc.html?page=all
Oct 26, 2012, 6:00am EDT
Susan Stabley: Staff Writer- Charlotte Business Journal
North Carolina scientists and conservation groups are trying to block use of an experimental plant for biofuel here because of concerns its growth could sweep the state as an invasive species akin to kudzu.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the final stages of approving a rule change that clears the way for using arundo donax — also known as giant reed or giant cane — as a feedstock for the production of ethanol. That sparked a petition signed by organizations nationwide that included 15 groups in North Carolina against the use of the plant because of its proclivity to reproduce quickly and easily.
“We have a tiny window left to try and influence them,” says Aislinn Maestas, a spokeswoman with the National Wildlife Federation in Washington. “We want to encourage renewable fuels but also make sure they don’t do more harm than good.”
But this rule change is also key for a pending project by Chemtex International Inc., an Italian company that has its North American headquarters in Wilmington. In August, Chemtex won a guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to cover 80% of a $99 million loan for the construction of cellulosic ethanol refinery. “Project Alpha” has been proposed for a site in Sampson County, with hog lagoon sprayfields eyed for crop locations. Startup is scheduled for 2014.
Chemtex plans to create 65 full-time positions with an estimated average annual salary of more than $48,000 plus another 250 indirect jobs tied to feedstock supply, maintenance and transportation, the company says.
The refinery is expected to produce 20 million gallons of ethanol per year. Chemtex says it will work with farmers to grow about 30,000 acres of grasses, including miscanthus and panicum virgatum, better known as switchgrass. But its plans to also use arundo donax worry national organizations as well as groups in Gaston County and the Lake Norman and Mountain Island Lake areas.
“Buyer beware,” says Tim Gestwicki, chief executive of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, who works from an office in Charlotte. “Why would we not want to err on the side of caution when the plant is known to be invasive?”
Separately, six groups — American Rivers, the Environment Defense Fund, N.C. Coastal Land Trust, N.C. Conservation Network, N.C. Wildlife Federation and The Nature Conservancy — called on the state in June to list arundo donax as a noxious weed. Cited in that request was a USDA study, also released in June, that found the plant has a 98.8% probability of being invasive in North Carolina.
California has spent more than $70 million in the past 20 years to control the spread of arundo donax. According to a report from the California Invasive Plant Council in Berkeley, the costs of eradicating arundo donax in that state range from $5,000 to $17,000 per acre. And some estimates run as high as $25,000 per acre.
“The risk is too high,” says Aviva Glaser, the National Wildlife Federation’s legislative representative on agricultural policy. “We shouldn’t even be looking at it at this point.”
But Delane Richardson, Chemtex vice president of business development, says there is commercial history of growing arundo donax in Italy “where it was eradicated without issue.” Richardson says it can cost as little as $100 an acre using the herbicide Roundup.
“We will be using best practices that will prevent arundo being planted in areas where it can spread,” Richardson says. She notes arundo donax has been deemed the most promising biomass feedstock by the European Union. “It is already growing throughout North Carolina with no issues. We have multiple U.S. universities and officials from other countries that agree these practices are sufficient to prevent spreading.”
Richardson says arundo donax requires less land to supply the proposed refinery.
“We can feed the plant with 17,000 acres, not the 30,000 or 35,000 acres needed for switchgrass,” she says. “The farmer will make half as much with switchgrass compared to arundo.”
Chemtex must glean the ethanol feedstock within 50 miles for the refinery, she adds. “Finding 17,000 acres within 50 miles is reasonable; 30,000 is getting very tough.”
Oct 26, 2012, 6:00am EDT
Susan Stabley: Staff Writer- Charlotte Business Journal
North Carolina scientists and conservation groups are trying to block use of an experimental plant for biofuel here because of concerns its growth could sweep the state as an invasive species akin to kudzu.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the final stages of approving a rule change that clears the way for using arundo donax — also known as giant reed or giant cane — as a feedstock for the production of ethanol. That sparked a petition signed by organizations nationwide that included 15 groups in North Carolina against the use of the plant because of its proclivity to reproduce quickly and easily.
“We have a tiny window left to try and influence them,” says Aislinn Maestas, a spokeswoman with the National Wildlife Federation in Washington. “We want to encourage renewable fuels but also make sure they don’t do more harm than good.”
But this rule change is also key for a pending project by Chemtex International Inc., an Italian company that has its North American headquarters in Wilmington. In August, Chemtex won a guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to cover 80% of a $99 million loan for the construction of cellulosic ethanol refinery. “Project Alpha” has been proposed for a site in Sampson County, with hog lagoon sprayfields eyed for crop locations. Startup is scheduled for 2014.
Chemtex plans to create 65 full-time positions with an estimated average annual salary of more than $48,000 plus another 250 indirect jobs tied to feedstock supply, maintenance and transportation, the company says.
The refinery is expected to produce 20 million gallons of ethanol per year. Chemtex says it will work with farmers to grow about 30,000 acres of grasses, including miscanthus and panicum virgatum, better known as switchgrass. But its plans to also use arundo donax worry national organizations as well as groups in Gaston County and the Lake Norman and Mountain Island Lake areas.
“Buyer beware,” says Tim Gestwicki, chief executive of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, who works from an office in Charlotte. “Why would we not want to err on the side of caution when the plant is known to be invasive?”
Separately, six groups — American Rivers, the Environment Defense Fund, N.C. Coastal Land Trust, N.C. Conservation Network, N.C. Wildlife Federation and The Nature Conservancy — called on the state in June to list arundo donax as a noxious weed. Cited in that request was a USDA study, also released in June, that found the plant has a 98.8% probability of being invasive in North Carolina.
California has spent more than $70 million in the past 20 years to control the spread of arundo donax. According to a report from the California Invasive Plant Council in Berkeley, the costs of eradicating arundo donax in that state range from $5,000 to $17,000 per acre. And some estimates run as high as $25,000 per acre.
“The risk is too high,” says Aviva Glaser, the National Wildlife Federation’s legislative representative on agricultural policy. “We shouldn’t even be looking at it at this point.”
But Delane Richardson, Chemtex vice president of business development, says there is commercial history of growing arundo donax in Italy “where it was eradicated without issue.” Richardson says it can cost as little as $100 an acre using the herbicide Roundup.
“We will be using best practices that will prevent arundo being planted in areas where it can spread,” Richardson says. She notes arundo donax has been deemed the most promising biomass feedstock by the European Union. “It is already growing throughout North Carolina with no issues. We have multiple U.S. universities and officials from other countries that agree these practices are sufficient to prevent spreading.”
Richardson says arundo donax requires less land to supply the proposed refinery.
“We can feed the plant with 17,000 acres, not the 30,000 or 35,000 acres needed for switchgrass,” she says. “The farmer will make half as much with switchgrass compared to arundo.”
Chemtex must glean the ethanol feedstock within 50 miles for the refinery, she adds. “Finding 17,000 acres within 50 miles is reasonable; 30,000 is getting very tough.”
Friday, October 19, 2012
Vilsack: Strengthening homegrown energy
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/Vilsack-Strengthening-homegrown-energy-174966171.html?ref=171
As the drought continues today, USDA and other Federal agencies are doing all we can to help farmers, ranchers and communities who have been impacted.
Unfortunately, our tools are limited. Due to inaction by Congress, many parts of the 2008 Farm Bill expired October 1, and other aspects of the law will expire in the coming months.
This brings tremendous uncertainty for rural families – particularly livestock producers who have lost access to disaster programs, and dairy producers who no longer have access to dairy support programs.
The lack of a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill also limits USDA from continuing our record investments in homegrown American energy. Since 2009 USDA has worked hard to ensure that rural America plays a key role in our nation’s energy strategy.
For example, we’ve invested in more than 330 bioenergy projects, strengthening biofuels production across America. Ethanol alone supports nearly 400,000 American jobs, while reducing the price of gas by more than one dollar per gallon for American families.
We’ve helped grow America’s capacity for creating advanced biofuels from non-food, non-feed sources. Since 2009 USDA has invested in historic efforts to create nine new, advanced biofuels refineries. Meanwhile, we have added new income sources for farmers – providing incentives to grow advanced feedstocks on nearly 60,000 acres.
Finally, USDA has undertaken groundbreaking research that’s necessary to expand our homegrown energy capacity.
Last year we established five research centers across America to enhance research and coordination in the development of new biofuels technologies. Just last week, USDA announced a sixth such effort, providing support for researchers across the northeast United States to undertake additional biofuels research.
USDA has invested more than $320 million to accelerate research into the new technologies associated with advanced biofuels. And in partnership with the U.S. Navy and the Department of Energy, we are making an historic investment of more than $510 million to develop advanced biofuels for military ships and aircraft. In fact, just recently, ships and aircraft of the Navy’s “Great Green Fleet” conducted operations off the coast of Hawaii using advanced marine and aviation biofuels.
We’re proud of where we stand today. In 2011 America imported about 45 percent of our oil from foreign countries – down from more than 60 percent in 2005. Our nation’s growing biofuels industry played a key role in that progress.
But there’s much left to be done. I know that given the tools to succeed, USDA can continue to bring down gas prices for families. We can further strengthen America’s energy security. And we can support more good jobs in our small towns and rural communities.
As the drought continues today, USDA and other Federal agencies are doing all we can to help farmers, ranchers and communities who have been impacted.
Unfortunately, our tools are limited. Due to inaction by Congress, many parts of the 2008 Farm Bill expired October 1, and other aspects of the law will expire in the coming months.
This brings tremendous uncertainty for rural families – particularly livestock producers who have lost access to disaster programs, and dairy producers who no longer have access to dairy support programs.
The lack of a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill also limits USDA from continuing our record investments in homegrown American energy. Since 2009 USDA has worked hard to ensure that rural America plays a key role in our nation’s energy strategy.
For example, we’ve invested in more than 330 bioenergy projects, strengthening biofuels production across America. Ethanol alone supports nearly 400,000 American jobs, while reducing the price of gas by more than one dollar per gallon for American families.
We’ve helped grow America’s capacity for creating advanced biofuels from non-food, non-feed sources. Since 2009 USDA has invested in historic efforts to create nine new, advanced biofuels refineries. Meanwhile, we have added new income sources for farmers – providing incentives to grow advanced feedstocks on nearly 60,000 acres.
Finally, USDA has undertaken groundbreaking research that’s necessary to expand our homegrown energy capacity.
Last year we established five research centers across America to enhance research and coordination in the development of new biofuels technologies. Just last week, USDA announced a sixth such effort, providing support for researchers across the northeast United States to undertake additional biofuels research.
USDA has invested more than $320 million to accelerate research into the new technologies associated with advanced biofuels. And in partnership with the U.S. Navy and the Department of Energy, we are making an historic investment of more than $510 million to develop advanced biofuels for military ships and aircraft. In fact, just recently, ships and aircraft of the Navy’s “Great Green Fleet” conducted operations off the coast of Hawaii using advanced marine and aviation biofuels.
We’re proud of where we stand today. In 2011 America imported about 45 percent of our oil from foreign countries – down from more than 60 percent in 2005. Our nation’s growing biofuels industry played a key role in that progress.
But there’s much left to be done. I know that given the tools to succeed, USDA can continue to bring down gas prices for families. We can further strengthen America’s energy security. And we can support more good jobs in our small towns and rural communities.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Fram Renewable Fuels Invests $91 Million To Expand Its Manufacturing Facility In Hazlehurst, Georgia
http://www.areadevelopment.com/newsItems/9-14-2012/fram-renewable-fuels-expansion-jeff-davis-county-hazlehurst-georgia883351.shtml
Fram
Renewable Fuels, a company that supplies of wood pellet fuel, will
invest $91 million to expand its operations and open a second production
plant in the Jeff Davis County city of Hazlehurst, Georgia, creating 80
new jobs.
“Alternative energy manufacturers such as Fram Renewable Fuels help keep Georgia top of mind as a strategic location for this industry, increasing our prominence around the world as a go-to location for these businesses,” Gov. Nathan Deal said. “Georgia is fortunate to have an abundance of forestry resources for Fram to expand its wood pellet operations, and meet the growing needs of its global customers.”
Headquartered in Richmond Hill, Fram Renewable Fuels currently operates Appling County Pellets in Baxley, a few miles east of its proposed plant in Hazlehurst. Fram said its new plant in Hazlehurst will help the company meet the expanded needs of its customers in Europe that use wood pellets for energy utilities. This plant will have a total production capacity of 500,000 metric tons of wood pellets per year, and will use pine logs and sawmill residuals as feedstock. Upon completion of the new manufacturing plant, Fram will be positioned among the top wood pellet export companies in the United States, exporting more than 900,000 metric tons of wood pellets annually.
“This is another step toward Fram’s mission to be a significant, reliable and cost effective supplier of wood pellets, and we are very happy that we were able to locate in an area where we already have roots,” said Fram President Harold Arnold. “The pellet business will continue to be a learning process and is no ‘walk in the park.’”
Fram’s Hazlehurst wood pellet manufacturing plant will be strategically located in South Georgia’s “wood basket,” providing efficient access to that region’s raw materials and other forestry products. This location also provides the company with convenient access by rail to the Port of Brunswick, where Fram will export its finished wood pellets to Europe from the port’s Logistec Terminal.
The Governor’s Office said in addition to the direct jobs to be created, this expansion is expected to lead to the creation of indirect job opportunities in South Georgia’s forestry industry to support the new pellet plant as increased amounts of wood are harvested to supply the plant. These new opportunities are expected to have a near-immediate impact in communities throughout this region of the state.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development said it collaborated with the Joint Development Authority of Jeff Davis County, Hazlehurst and Denton to manage this project, which also received a loan guarantee from the US Department of Agriculture as part of a Farm Bill to support establishment of renewable energy.
“This expansion is significant not only for Fram Renewable Fuels, but also for Georgia’s growing alternative energy sector,” said GDEcD Commissioner Chris Cummiskey. “From our plentiful natural resources to our high-performing logistics infrastructure, Georgia is uniquely positioned to be the best place for wood pellet manufacturers to operate. As the global demand for this product grows, we look forward to partnering with Fram and others in this industry to create future opportunities.”
Area Development Online News Desk (09/14/2012)
“Alternative energy manufacturers such as Fram Renewable Fuels help keep Georgia top of mind as a strategic location for this industry, increasing our prominence around the world as a go-to location for these businesses,” Gov. Nathan Deal said. “Georgia is fortunate to have an abundance of forestry resources for Fram to expand its wood pellet operations, and meet the growing needs of its global customers.”
Headquartered in Richmond Hill, Fram Renewable Fuels currently operates Appling County Pellets in Baxley, a few miles east of its proposed plant in Hazlehurst. Fram said its new plant in Hazlehurst will help the company meet the expanded needs of its customers in Europe that use wood pellets for energy utilities. This plant will have a total production capacity of 500,000 metric tons of wood pellets per year, and will use pine logs and sawmill residuals as feedstock. Upon completion of the new manufacturing plant, Fram will be positioned among the top wood pellet export companies in the United States, exporting more than 900,000 metric tons of wood pellets annually.
“This is another step toward Fram’s mission to be a significant, reliable and cost effective supplier of wood pellets, and we are very happy that we were able to locate in an area where we already have roots,” said Fram President Harold Arnold. “The pellet business will continue to be a learning process and is no ‘walk in the park.’”
Fram’s Hazlehurst wood pellet manufacturing plant will be strategically located in South Georgia’s “wood basket,” providing efficient access to that region’s raw materials and other forestry products. This location also provides the company with convenient access by rail to the Port of Brunswick, where Fram will export its finished wood pellets to Europe from the port’s Logistec Terminal.
The Governor’s Office said in addition to the direct jobs to be created, this expansion is expected to lead to the creation of indirect job opportunities in South Georgia’s forestry industry to support the new pellet plant as increased amounts of wood are harvested to supply the plant. These new opportunities are expected to have a near-immediate impact in communities throughout this region of the state.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development said it collaborated with the Joint Development Authority of Jeff Davis County, Hazlehurst and Denton to manage this project, which also received a loan guarantee from the US Department of Agriculture as part of a Farm Bill to support establishment of renewable energy.
“This expansion is significant not only for Fram Renewable Fuels, but also for Georgia’s growing alternative energy sector,” said GDEcD Commissioner Chris Cummiskey. “From our plentiful natural resources to our high-performing logistics infrastructure, Georgia is uniquely positioned to be the best place for wood pellet manufacturers to operate. As the global demand for this product grows, we look forward to partnering with Fram and others in this industry to create future opportunities.”
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