Cellulosic ethanol can considerably reduce gasoline use by 2030

As the debate on the future of cellulosic ethanol gains steam, a new study shows the U.S. can replace a third of its annual gasoline use with ethanol by 2030.

The study, jointly conducted by General Motors and Sandia National Laboratories, predicts that out of 90 billion gallons of ethanol that experts say need to be produced in 2030, 75 billion gallons could be cellulosic ethanol, which usually makes use of feedstock like corn-combs and switch grass.

A press release by Sandia National Laboratories says the study examined four sources of biofuels: agricultural residue, such as corn stover and wheat straw; forest residue; dedicated energy crop, including switch grass; and short rotation woody crops, such as willow and poplar trees. It found that the cost of producing, harvesting, storing and transporting these sources of cellulosic ethanol to newly built biorefineries was minimal and would not lead to a price hike of the final product.

“… an increase to 90 billion gallons of ethanol could be sustainably achieved by 2030 within real-world economic and environmental parameters,” says the study.

Reinforcing the argument that cellulosic ethanol could be produced in a sustainable way, the study notes that
“…large-scale cellulosic biofuel production could be achieved at or below current water consumption levels of petroleum fuels from on-shore oil production and refining.”

The study comes hot on the heels of another study, earlier released by the University of Minnesota, which shows cellulosic ethanol production contribute less to climate change compared to gasoline or even food crops-based ethanol.

 

 

 

 

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There’s a bright future for cellulosic ethanol investment

These are tough times for everybody, including the biofuels industry. The Associated Press has an interesting article about how corn-based ethanol producers are literally struggling to stay afloat. The article notes how shares of leading ethanol producers in the country, such as Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc., Pacific Ethanol Inc. and BioFuel Energy Corp, lost about 95 per cent of their value in 2008. Volatility in prices of corn, the article observes, is mainly to blame.

The article argues the future lies in cellulosic ethanol, but cautions that capital might prove hard to obtain from Wall Street due to the fact that cellulosic industry is still “…experimenting with a broad range of feedstocks….” Well, this is well founded fear, which the cellulosic industry should see as an opportunity and not a threat to their existence. Innovations such as cellulosic ethanol are fraught with anxiety and uncertainty, but such should not be an excuse to stymie progress. The world’s thirst for energy is unquenchable, and every effort will be needed to seek alternative sources of energy such as cellulosic ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol is clean and its production poses little or no threat to the environment.

Research into feedstocks that can be used to produce cellulosic ethanol needs to be intensified. Currently, the raw material of choice to cellulosic ethanol producers is corn cobs. Switch grass is another raw material that’s fast gaining currency in the biofuels industry.

There’s a lot of support for cellulosic ethanol, in form of financial incentives for research and development, and political goodwill, coming from the government. The industry has a friend in President Barak Obama, who has made a personal commitment to invest in new generation clean energy such as cellulosic ethanol. The Associated Press article notes that the Department of Energy in 2007 awarded $385 million to six companies to conduct research and build biomass-to-fuel plants. The Obama administration is likely to increase investment in cellulosic ethanol production.

The current efforts to shore up cellulosic ethanol seem to be bearing fruits. As I noted in an earlier blog post, POET LLC is operating a pilot biorefinery in Scotland, South Dakota. If everything goes well, the company plans to roll out a $200 million cellulosic ethanol refinery Emmetsburg, Iowa, in 2011. And there are more players willing to jump into the bandwagon. They ought not be discouraged to do so. Demand for energy is ever increasing, and whoever invests in cellulosic ethanol will not regret.

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POET rolls out cellulosic ethanol plant

Cellulosic ethanol is on the move. Today, POET, the top U.S. ethanol producer, inaugurated a pilot cellulosic ethanol plant in South Dakota. The plant’s projected to churn out 22,000 gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year. POET has an amazing, professionally done documentary that takes you, step-by-step, along the journey cellulosic ethanol has followed. It’s available here.

In the press release it issued today to announce the start of the plant’s operations, POET said in 2011, it will roll out a $200 million commercial-scale cellulosic plant in Iowa.

Today’s announcement, of course, is a major development and a big leap to energy independence. More good news is that cellulosic ethanol utilizes non-food crops; so there’ll not be politicking that food security will be compromised. A lot of politics continues to dog food-crops-based ethanol. There are those who claim that diverting food crops, such as corn, to ethanol production is to blame for the current food shortages. There are others who dismiss such an argument as baseless and not supported by facts. Whatever the merits or demerits of using food-crops to make ethanol, POET is demonstrating that the journey to reliable and clean energy is unstoppable.

There’s every reason to cheer up POET, and of course the Federal government, which provided seed money for research. Renewable sources of energy, such as cellulosic ethanol, hold the key to energy independence. President-Elect Baraka Obama, for instance, has said as much on the issue. He has promised massive investments into the next generation of biofuels. POET and other companies in the biofuels business have no excuse of not doubling efforts to produce biofuels. Political will is already there; it’s up to them to exploit it.

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Call for technology to produce cellulosic ethanol

Jean Bernick, the editor of Farm Journal Crops & Issues, is exhorting us “to talk trash.” Funny, isn’t it? Hold back though, because Bernick is not asking you to spite the vilest epithet at your opponent. No! She wants a discussion on how the corncob, that we normally consider trash, can effectively be used to produce cellulosic ethanol.

 

Bernick says there’s plenty of a corncob in cornfields, but, unfortunately, the agricultural machinery industry hasn’t found the technology to move it to biorefineries. Since”…cellulosic ethanol is around the corner”, Bernick wants the agricultural machinery industry to redouble efforts to find efficient technology to move corncob from the field without complicating the grain harvesting process.

 

It seems Bernick is not alone. The debate about the advantages of cellulosic ethanol is finding a life of its own. The North Dakota-based
Jamestown Sun today has an editorial on the future of the ethanol industry. The editorial lists the challenges facing the ethanol industry. Particularly, it highlights the growing opposition toward food crops-based ethanol, and poses the question: Where should we be going with ethanol? Noting that environmentalists remain strongly opposed to food-crops-based ethanol, the editorial advises “…where we would like to be going is to cellulosic ethanol, which uses nonfood crops such as switch grass, crop waste or material like wood chips as raw materials.”

 

Just like Bernick, Jamestown Sun, however,worries that the “…technology and industry aren’t there yet for commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol refining.” So, what’s the way forward? We all acknowledge times are difficult and that raising capital to develop new technologies for cellulosic ethanol refining is a hard nut to crack. The private sector can’t shoulder this burden alone. It needs help from the government. President-Elect Barack Obama has already pledged to pump money into the production of clean energy. Cellulosic ethanol is one of them. Giving the agricultural machinery industry a leg up, in the form of financial assistance, to produce cutting edge technology to produce cellulosic ethanol would definitely be a big milestone in making the U.S. energy independent.

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Michigan smoothens the way for alternative energy investors

Michigan is about to enact a law to make readily available information on how to set up an alternative fuel production plant in the state.

 

The law, H.B. 5745 (PDF), requires the Department of Agriculture to publish, in plain language, all the procedures for “…preparing and executing applications and approvals necessary to establish an alternative fuels production facility in Michigan.”

 

The bill has already passed the Senate and House by wide margins. The law aims at boosting biodiesel and ethanol production in the state. Michigan must be commended for taking this bold step. Since information is power, setting up a one-stop shop for information on how to set up alternative fuel plants is perhaps the best way to attract investors to the Michigan.

 

Is the Federal government listening? It should follow in the footsteps of Michigan. President-Elect Barak Obama has already committed himself to increasing investment in alternative energy. Obama is on record as having said that “…embracing ethanol “ultimately helps our national security, because right now we’re sending billions of dollars to some of the most hostile nations on earth.” The President-Elect should reinforce his vow to help the ethanol industry by simplifying the regulatory regime. Ensuring potential investors in ethanol production have easily accessible information on how to set up production plants is the best assurance he can give them that he’s committed to their cause.

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Link of ethanol use to high food prices questioned

As the debate on whether more ethanol use is sending food prices skyrocketing rages, the ethanol industry is positioning itself to set the record straight.

Four major players in the ethanol industry – Hawkeye, ICM, POET, and Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (GPRE) – yesterday launched an organization called Growth Energy to promote the use of ethanol in a sustainable way. GrowthEnergy also plans to take head on “Big Food” for blaming the ethanol industry for high food prices.

In a press statement issued at the launch of GrowthEnergy, the heads of the four companies argued there was no link between ethanol use and food prices. “Big Food and their Washington lobbyists have been trying to blame the rising cost of food on American ethanol producers and the cost of corn. Well, now that the price of corn has dropped more than fifty percent since the summer, we ask the Big Food industry to explain to the American people why food prices are still so high,” said Jeff Broin, CEO of POET.

Dave Vander Griend, CEO of ICM pointed out that the price of corn had gone down by almost 50 per cent over the last few months yet food prices had not followed suit. “Our current low-priced corn, high-priced food economic situation shows that the experts were right - biofuels production does not lead to increased food costs,” said Griend.

With the launch of GrowthEnergy, it seems the war of words between ethanol producers and the food industry is likely ratchet up. GrowthEnergy is vowing to wage an intensive grassroots campaign to fight disinformation that more ethanol use leads to high food prices. It has already prepared a policy brief (PDF) on the issue, to bolster its argument.

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