Newsletter Archive

The Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee completed its third year of activities by providing the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy its evaluation of biomass R&D activities undertaken by the two agencies in fiscal year 2003. The Committee's Work Plan for 2004 calls for the Committee to evaluate the progress of the federal government in facilitating federal procurement of biobased products, review historical biomass research performed at the Department of Energy, and discuss the role of hydrogen energy and biomass-to-hydrogen potential.

To date, the Committee's activities have resulted in several major products, including:

• The Vision for Bioenergy & Biobased Products in the United States, outlining the far-reaching goals that the Committee would like to see achieved by the biomass industry.
• The Roadmap for Bioenergy & Biobased Products in the United States, outlining research and development pathways in plant sciences, feedstock production, processing and conversion, and other areas necessary to achieve the goals set forth in the Vision.

In 2003, the Committee used the Vision and Roadmap as a baseline to develop recommendations for federal agencies on biomass research and development. DOE and USDA assembled information on their biomass research portfolios and organized the information along Committee Roadmap categories. The material was presented to the Committee in February of 2003 and was evaluated by the Committee over a period of seven months (February through August) through a series of meetings and conference calls.

Following its review, the Committee made specific recommendations to the Secretaries of Energy and Agriculture on biomass-related research investments and non-R&D activities as they relate to each of the Committee's Roadmap categories: feedstock production, processing and conversion, product uses and distribution, and public policy. In general, the Committee felt that the level of funding was inadequate and that there are significant gaps in research related to bioconversion, feedstock production, and sustainable chemicals. The Committee did not find duplication of effort in areas of R&D, but stressed the importance of continued coordination between the two agencies.

The Committee stands by the goals set forth in the Vision and continues to believe they are achievable within the timeframes established. However, it does not believe current U.S. government efforts put the industry on track to meet these goals. The Committee believes that the current DOE and USDA biomass activities will make only a very modest contribution towards this end. Moreover, the Committee does not believe that the U.S. government's current funding for biomass programs is sufficient to implement the Roadmap.

Committee recommendations state that the Roadmap cannot be effectively implemented and the Vision goals cannot be achieved without an order of magnitude increase in financial and policy support for biomass. Specific first steps in this direction should include:

• A request for $60 million to support the construction of three cellulose-to-ethanol plants capable of processing a variety of cellulose raw materials and using different production technologies. These plants should be operational by 2008.
• Active support for substantial procurement and incentive policies that will dramatically increase the production of biomass energy and biobased products.

Underlying the Committee's recommendations is the consensus that an effective R&D program in the biomass area must coordinate the goals of demonstrating technologies at a commercial scale and implementating public policies, including public education, incentives, government purchasing, and removal of regulatory roadblocks. A role for USDA, DOE, and other sectors of the federal government exists across these areas, including financial support prior to transfer of technologies to the private sector.

In 2004, the Committee plans a number of activities that include discussing the progress of federal procurement of biobased products. It will hear presentations on biomass research at DOE in the areas of cellulosic ethanol, gasification, and co-firing, and the history of the Federal Government's efforts in those areas. The Committee will discuss its position regarding the role of hydrogen energy and the potential of biomass as a feedstock for hydrogen production. The Committee will review the 2004 joint solicitation process and awards made, and develop detailed recommendations to the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Agriculture. Additionally, the Committee will develop a mechanism for tracking the progress of R&D funded under each of the joint solicitations.

The Committee's first meeting of the calendar year is scheduled for March 11, 2004 in Crystal City, Virginia.

In 2000, the state of North Carolina consumed 2,534 trillion Btus of energy. Petroleum and coal accounted for 39 and 31 percent of the total consumption, respectively. Nuclear provided 16 percent and natural gas provided 9 percent of total consumption. In North Carolina, biomass supplied 4 percent of the total energy consumption, over 95 trillion Btus.¹

A variety of biomass projects are being funded across North Carolina. A six-acre landfill in Yancy County is currently in the final stages of an effort to develop the first small-scale landfill gas (LFG) site in the state. It will utilize a microturbine for electricity generation. Currently, a gas collection system is in place and the microturbine is on site. The remaining task is to complete the gas pretreatment system. The electricity from this project will be used at the EnergyXchange Renewable Center for, among other uses, a business incubator for potters, glass blowers, and a greenhouse complex.²

A larger 20-acre landfill in Wilkes County is the site of another LFG project. The methane from this landfill will be used as fuel for a regional fire training facility for firefighters from Wilkes and surrounding counties, and ultimately will be expanded to include a four-state area. The gas will also provide fuel and/or electricity for nearby Wilkes Community College and for a community apple storage/processing center to sustain the local Brushy Mountain apple growers.³

Another large source of biomass material in North Carolina is waste from hogs and pigs. North Carolina has 9.9 million head of hogs and pigs, making it second in the nation.⁴ A project at North Carolina State University (NCSU) is investigating the technical and economic feasibility of using gasification as a means to convert hog waste to ethanol. Currently a demonstration gasifier has been installed and test runs are occurring to determine the optimum combustion requirement for generating liquid fuels. The research has shown swine waste to be a suitable feedstock with a theoretical production rate of 80 gallons per year of ethanol in North Carolina alone.⁵

One of the main roadblocks to the production of electricity from biomass in the United States are issues with the interconnection to the power grid. A coalition of power producers is being formed to help overcome obstacles in the interconnection of distributed energy production facilities to the electric grid in North Carolina. An economic analysis will be completed and project barriers and feasibility will be determined for connecting to the grid using a microturbine as a technology example.⁶

Two other projects in North Carolina are looking at the potential for biomass use in the state. One project is assessing and characterizing agricultural crop residues and wood wastes in the state.⁷ The other project is a Web-based biomass fuels database. This database is being developed by NCSU and DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and will collect and present information on distributed power generation technologies and issues, past and current studies on North Carolina renewable resources used for energy production, and other information pertaining to biomass in the state.⁸

The state of North Carolina provides an array of personal and corporate tax credits and an energy loan improvement program to promote the use of biomass. Under the Renewable Energy Corporate Tax Credit a corporation can take a tax credit up to $250,000 for biomass applications on commercial and industrial facilities. The tax credit includes the cost of the equipment and associated design, construction costs, installation costs less any discounts, rebates, advertising, installation assistance credits, name referral allowances, or other similar reductions.⁹

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