Pressure from residents helped persuade the county Zoning Commission Thursday to vote against a proposal that would open the door to allowing a biofuel plant on 5 acres set aside for farming in the county Agricultural Reserve.

…”It’s a great idea, just in the wrong location,” Zoning Commissioner Sam Caliendo said.

…”This is an oil production facility,” said Michael Feuerman, one of more than 50 neighbors who Thursday turned out to fight the project. “Why is this being allowed [near] a residential neighborhood?”

Teri Gevinson countered that her proposed biofuel plant offers the chance for local farmers to tap into the push for alternative fuels, encouraged by the state and federal government as a way to develop renewable energy sources.

The process of crushing and squeezing the seeds from jatropha plants to produce a yellowish oil —similar to vegetable oil — would bring no foul smells or dangerous chemicals, Gevinson said.   READ MORE

The main difference between the new program and the ASP is the funding mechanism, as ASP was funded by the DOE. The research is now being funded by a collaboration of partners and agencies including Chevron, the DOE, the U.S. EPA, the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the International Energy Agency and NREL.

… A partnership project with the National Research Council Canada’s Institute for Marine Biosciences in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is another one of those flue gas projects. The NRC team is working now on the first phase of the research, collecting water samples from areas in Nova Scotia, Alberta, southern Ontario and the Northern U.S. and hoping to come up with algae isolates that can tolerate all the pollutants in the flue gas, while producing large amounts of lipids. Without that tolerance, flue gas will need to be fractioned and cleaned, an expensive process, in order to separate the carbon dioxide from the mix of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide and other pollutants that can impede algae growth.    READ MORE

“Cost-effective, sustainable biofuels are crucial to building a clean energy economy,” said Secretary Chu.  “By harnessing the power of science and technology, this joint effort between DOE and USDA will help accelerate research in the critical area of plant feedstocks, spurring the creation of the domestic bio-industry while creating jobs and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”

“Developing a domestic source of renewable energy will create jobs and wealth in rural America, combat global warming, replace our dependence on foreign oil, and build a stronger foundation for the 21st century economy,” Secretary Vilsack said. “This scientific investment will lay the foundation for a source of fuel made from renewable sources.”

The research grants will be awarded under a joint DOE-USDA program focused on fundamental investigations of biomass genomics, with the aim of harnessing lignocellulosic materials–i.e., nonfood plant fiber–for biofuels production.  Emphasis is on perennials, including trees and other nonfood plants that can be used as dedicated biofuel crops.  Since such crops tend to require less intensive production practices and can grow on somewhat poorer quality land than food crops, they will be a critical element in a strategy of sustainable biofuels production that avoids competition with crops grown for food.  Combining DOE’s leadership in genome-scale technologies with USDA’s long experience in crop improvement will help accelerate development of such specialized crops and improve their effectiveness as feedstocks for biofuels production.

The research will make use of the most advanced technologies and techniques of today’s genomics-based systems biology. 

New projects to be funded this year aim at enhancing productivity, yield, nutrient and water utilization, and sustainability of plant feedstocks.  Research focuses on better understanding of basic plant processes that control cell wall composition, plant architecture, cell size and division, wood formation, nutrient uptake, carbon allocation and on the impact of temperature and water availability.

DOE’s Office of Science will provide $6.9 million in funding for seven projects, while USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will award $2 million to fund two projects. Initial funding will support research projects for up to three years.

DOE-funded projects include:

• USDA-ARS Western Regional Research Center, Albany, Calif., $949,348
• University of California, Berkeley, Calif., $793,413
• University of Delaware, Newark, Del., $868,794
• University of Georgia, Athens, Ga., $1,340,000
• University of Illinois, Champaign, Ill., $1,165,900
• University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo, $1,106,656
• Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, Danville, Va., $734,759  (READ MORE)

USDA-funded projects include:

• University of Illinois, Champaign, Ill, $1,000,000
• Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, $1,000,000   READ MORE 

Participants will learn about the Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel effort, as well as the biodiesel industry in the U.S.  They will hear the latest in high-level biodiesel research, and hear from other students leading biodiesel efforts on their own campuses.

Presenters:
-Don Scott, PE/National Biodiesel Board Director of Sustainability
-Dr. Bob McCormick/Principal Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, Colo.)
-Lucas Ellis/Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel Co-chair (Dartmouth College)
-Jason Strull/Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel Co-chair (University of Nevada – Reno)
-Bernardo del Campo/ Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel Co-chair (Iowa State University)

The company is in discussions with a nearby biodiesel plant, currently processing chicken fat, to supply them with up to 40 million gallons of algae feedstock per year.  READ MORE  and MORE

Topics include:

·         Open forum to hear from Florida farmers regarding concerns and questions pertaining to energy crops

·         ABCs of profitable feedstock farming: what to plant when; where to sell

·         Incentives for the feedstock farmer: USDA, BCAP

·         Florida incentives Resources for the feedstock farmer: FBFA, FB, FFGA   READ MORE

In his presentation, Bill Vasden describes the beneficial characteristics of Florida for integrating energy crop cultivation with cattle grazing.  He provides photos and graphs of the crops and the process.  Results of a survey of 500 Florida farmers are included, showing substantial interest in learning more about growing energy crops for on-farm use or market.  One photo shows kenaf used as absorbent barriers to protect beaches from oil spill pollution.

And so far, Fiberight is succeeding.

…Stewart-Paul plans to visit with the supervisors in the next few weeks to talk about the next phase of his plan: Using regular kitchen waste to produce ethanol.

The supervisors see both potential and challenges in this process.

“He has shown in can be done on a minor scale,”’ said Supervisor Dave Vermedahl. “But will it work on a larger scale?”

The supervisors believe that the main challenge is that working with the paper mill waste provides a consistent initial product. But using household garbage would involve using a raw material that varies day-to-day.    READ MORE

The mechanism had been proposed in public comments submitted by Mintz Levin, Stern Brothers and Kreig DeVault. According to Mintz Levin’s Mark Riedy, “We expect that USDA shortly will issue final rules for its 9003 and 9007 loan guarantee programs adopting our bond finance mechanism and removing the US ownership restriction.   READ MORE