Re: [Biofuel] 12% renewable energy in electrical production by 2025
Dear Jim (and others), IMHO, looking to create an industry may be the wrong perspective for making biofuels actually work for your community (county). Rather than starting with a grand plan, which will inevitably get undercut and underfunded when it comes to implementation, why not start with a lot of low-cost, small initiatives. These should focus on the local 'waste' materials, determining how they can be utilized, and matching them up to uses. This can lead to the development of small businesses, and as an economic development director, I'm sure you know that small businesses create more jobs per dollar of investment than do large businesses. Small businesses are less likely to relocate away, and they create the underpinnings for communities that work. Based on my research to date, algae is a non-starter based on current and reasonably foreseeable technology. Its apparent new saviour will be GMO franken-algae, which raises a whole new set of spectres. I'm pleased to see hydrogen is not on your list of candidates. I gather Adams County has a significant agricultural base, including a large dairy component. Presumably that means pasture land, and fields of hay (for feed) and straw (for bedding). This should create opportunities for biomethane production from digesters. The biomethane can be produced on the farm using the cow manure and bedding straw (and anything else organic), can be burned on the farm to produce electricity. Any power generated in excess of the farm's needs could be sold to the grid. If you have time-of-use pricing in your area, producing that electricity at 'rush hour' (peak demand times) will increase the revenue per kWh produced and sold. You may also be able to earn greenhouse gas credits by capturing the methane and burning it, as methane is a more potent GHG than CO2. The solid material left from the digesters can be used as fertilizer. If you end up with surplus rich soil as a result, that could be a key resource for establishing garden nurseries, potentially supplying landscapers and garden centres, even outside your county. Putting some of that product near Serpent's Mound could spur recognition and sales of that product line. The farmers may want to look into using equipment that runs on natural gas (methane) or electricity (which they can produce on their farm), rather than diesel or gasoline. Crop wastes with high sugar contents could be used to produce ethanol. I gather Adams County has a high proportion of people working in the service industries. That usually implies fast food restaurants, and that means deep fryers. If you have suitable land and climate, perhaps some farmers could grow rapeseed or Canola or another vegetable oil crop (corn, peanuts, safflower, sunflowers, etc.), and process that on the farm. Then, rent the oil to local restaurants. When the oil is finished for frying purposes, bring it back to the farm, and use it as fuel for diesel powered equipment, either as used vegetable oil in a two-tank type system, or making biodiesel. Surplus biodiesel can likely be sold to truckers, heavy equipment operators, or perhaps the county government that likely operates some diesel equipment. In some jurisdictions, it's hard for farmers to set up small businesses on their farm property due to strictness of agricultural zoning requirements. I expect that is something the county administration could address, creating more jobs in the rural areas, and potentially reducing commute distances for some people. Wood chips could see a life as mulch (keeps weeds down, and the need for watering of crops). After a season or two, what has not decomposed to enrich the soil could be gathered (along with crop waste) and added to the biodigesters. That's a couple of things off the top of my head. You can also approach the issue from the demand side, by reducing demand for fuels via efficiency and substituting renewables. In particular, there are huge gains to be had by harvesting sunlight for low-grade heating applications, such as water and space heating. Rather than making a long e-mail longer, have a look at http://www.econogics.com/moneysavers.htm It's written from a consumer's point of view, but it won't be difficult for you to see the concepts and adapt them to a way of being supported from the county administration. Hope this helps, Darryl McMahon Keith Addison wrote: Hello all I really hope we can help Jim Chalker meet his target. Please respond onlist, not direct to Jim (he's a list member now). All best Keith Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:56:11 -0400 From: Jim Chalker [EMAIL PROTECTED] Organization: Adams County Office of Economic Development To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: About that algae Keith, I am the economic development director for a small, poor, rural Ohio county, Adams. I am looking at the biofuels industry with the hope that it could transform our
Re: [Biofuel] 12% renewable energy in electrical production by 2025
Darryl, Just wanted to commend you on your excellent and well organized proposals. Act locally about energy is your overarching theme, and I absolutely agree. Grand schemes always seem to lead to grand corruption. Local closed resource loops usually make the most sense, whether for food, goods, or energy. The world will be a nicer place when we realize that the 'benefits of scale' are often really the 'benefits of passing hidden costs to others'. Only the most complex technologies, e.g. clean-room semiconductor manufacturing, really benefit from scaling up. Of course, in this group, i'm preaching to the choir ;) Taryn On Jun 14, 2010, at 10:33 AM, Darryl McMahon wrote: Dear Jim (and others), IMHO, looking to create an industry may be the wrong perspective for making biofuels actually work for your community (county). Rather than starting with a grand plan, which will inevitably get undercut and underfunded when it comes to implementation, why not start with a lot of low-cost, small initiatives. These should focus on the local 'waste' materials, determining how they can be utilized, and matching them up to uses. This can lead to the development of small businesses, and as an economic development director, I'm sure you know that small businesses create more jobs per dollar of investment than do large businesses. Small businesses are less likely to relocate away, and they create the underpinnings for communities that work. ... [and many creative proposals] ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] 12% renewable energy in electrical production by 2025
Hello all I really hope we can help Jim Chalker meet his target. Please respond onlist, not direct to Jim (he's a list member now). All best Keith Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:56:11 -0400 From: Jim Chalker [EMAIL PROTECTED] Organization: Adams County Office of Economic Development To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: About that algae Keith, I am the economic development director for a small, poor, rural Ohio county, Adams. I am looking at the biofuels industry with the hope that it could transform our local economy. But whenever I crunch the numbers my hopes are always dashed it seems. Here in Ohio our state legislature jumped on the 25 by 25 bandwagon (at least halfway). We have been committed to 12% renewable energy in electrical production by 2025. I looked into this to see if it would envigorate our timber industry. If we harvest all the wood chips we can without exceeding sustainable harvest levels we can only meet 1/14th of the required biomass (assuming 100% efficient power stations - the reality is more like 40%). Then I decided to look at switchgrass. We can meet the requirement, but only by diverting nearly 8% of our farmland away from food production to energy. Food price inflation would be substantial, and that's the best case. The only hope I have left is algae. The way I saw it, algae can step in to meet the energy needs of the power industry since it gets such spectacular yields. In the early years of deployment we sell raw algae as biomass while the scientists keep working on extracting advanced biofuels from it. But when I went searching for crop yield numbers I came away disappointed. From the looks of it algae may not yield much more per acre than switchgrass, and let's not even start mention the startup costs. So are we spinning our wheels or what? Do you think algae can be commercially grown for biomass alone? I would like to hear your thoughts. Jim Chalker Director of Economic Development Adams County, Ohio Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:00:52 +0900 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Keith Addison [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: About that algae It's all hype Jim. It just doesn't exist yet. See: Ethanol from cellulose http://journeytoforever.org/ethanol_link.html#cellulose Oil from algae http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html#alg Sorry about that. This is what we've often said: Merely replacing fossil fuels is not the answer. A rational and sustainable energy future requires great reductions in energy use (currently mostly waste), great improvements in energy use efficiency, and, most important, decentralisation of supply to the small-scale or farm-scale local-economy level, along with the use of all ready-to-use renewable energy technologies in combination as the local circumstances require. Best wishes Keith Addison Journey to Forever KYOTO Pref., Japan http://journeytoforever.org/ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:00:52 +0900 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Keith Addison [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: About that algae Hello again Jim I know that wasn't very encouraging. It was very late and that was the last thing I did before I fell over for the night, but I wanted to put you off this false trail. I think you can achieve the 12/25 goal, and probably 25/25, or even better. Have a look at this, for a start, it might give you some ideas: How much fuel can we grow? How much land will it take? http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html#howmuch This, for instance: Using existing technology we can save three fourths of all electricity used today. The best energy policy for the nation, for business, and for the environment is one that focuses on using electricity efficiently, says Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute in the US. More efficient use is already America's biggest energy source -- not oil, gas, coal, or nuclear power. By 2000, reduced 'energy intensity' (compared with 1975) was providing 40 percent of all U.S. energy services. It was 73 percent greater than U.S. oil consumption, five times domestic oil production, three times total oil imports, and 13 times Persian Gulf oil imports. The lower intensity was mostly achieved by more productive use of energy (such as better-insulated houses, better-designed lights and motors, and cars that were safer, cleaner, more powerful, and got more miles per gallon), partly by shifts in the economic mix, and only slightly by behavioral change. Since 1996, saved energy has been the nation's fastest-growing major 'source.' Many people are already working on these problems and finding solutions, whether backyarders, local coops, farmers or whatever, and many more would like to, especially in view of the current debacle in the Gulf, but they need some encouragement and guidance. You have to reach out to people at the local level. That might mean that you'll need extra resources at your command, but I'm sure it will be worth your while. I'm taking the liberty
Re: [Biofuel] 12% renewable energy in electrical production by 2025
jim, it might be helpful if we understood better, under what sort of policy constraints you are working. what are your funding streams (i.e. ballpark dollar amounts) and what kind of mandates/conditions come attached to them? i could go on. basically, what i'm trying to get at, how much lattitude do you have in terms of finding a solution? is anything off the table? ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
