Newsletter Archive

The Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee recently completed its fourth year of activities. During the 2004 work year, the Committee consisted of 30 members from academia, non-profits, state government, agriculture, forestry, and other industry sectors. The Committee met three times in 2004, receiving information on a wide variety of biomass-related topics and achieving a number of important activities. Major Committee activities in 2004 included:

1. Developing recommendations to the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy on the status of biomass investments.
2. Developing an official position on hydrogen from biomass.
3. Developing a matrix to track the status of joint solicitation R&D projects by roadmap category.
4. Developing a document to track progress in meeting Vision targets.
5. Reviewing several USDA and DOE activities

Recommendations to the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy

The Committee is required by the Biomass R&D Act of 2000 to submit annual recommendations to the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy on biomass-related R&D conducted through the Biomass Initiative and within the Departments of Agriculture and Energy. In 2004, the Committee submitted recommendations in the following four areas:

1. The 2004 Joint Solicitation process.
2. The Departments’ R&D portfolios in relation to the Committee’s Vision and Roadmap.
3. Overall recommendations.
4. The 2005 Joint Solicitation technical topic areas.

The Departments of Agriculture and Energy are currently reviewing the finalized version of the Committee’s recommendations.

Official Position on Hydrogen from Biomass

Prior to the July 2004 Committee meeting, members received a package of background materials representing various points of views regarding the generation of hydrogen energy from biomass resources. At the July 2004 meeting, the Committee heard several presentations on hydrogen derived from biomass. The background materials and presentations were developed by a range of stakeholders – including non-profit institutions, government, and industry – and represented a range of views, both for and against the use of biomass resources to create hydrogen. Those reports and presentations can be viewed here. As a result, the Committee developed the following statement regarding hydrogen from biomass:

Biomass is the only source of carbon-based transportation fuel that is carbon neutral, thus providing an insurance policy against global climate change. Biomass-derived transportation fuels can contribute now to energy security, while at the same time increasing rural economic development. Therefore, this Committee recommends the following three-pronged approach to the Secretaries for setting funding priorities:

Matrix to Track the Status of Joint Solicitation R&D Projects by Roadmap Category

In 2003, the Committee recognized the need to track the R&D projects awarded through the Biomass Initiative joint solicitation as they relate to the R&D categories outlined in the Roadmap. The Committee was interested in identifying how the projects selected through the solicitation addressed the Roadmap categories and how much of the Initiative’s funding was being spent on each category. The Committee requested that the Departments of Agriculture and Energy develop a format to accomplish this. At the March 2004 meeting, the Departments presented the Committee with a matrix that organized the joint solicitation projects by Roadmap category and subcategory:

1. Feedstock Production
1. Biotechnology and Plant Physiology
2. Agronomic Practices
3. Feedstock Handling
2. Processing and Conversion
1. Thermochemical Conversion Pathways
2. Bioconversion
3. Biorefinery Integration
3. Product Uses and Distribution
1. End-Products and Distribution Systems

The matrix will be updated annually.

Document to Track Progress in Meeting Vision Targets

Also in 2003, the Committee acknowledged the need to track the progress towards meeting the Vision goals for biopower, biofuels, and bioproducts:

These goals were established in 2002 in the Committee’s Vision document. While the document described the current state of biopower, biofuels, and bioproducts in 2002; the targets to strive for in the future; and a brief description of how to go about achieving the targets. However the Vision did not provide a method by which to track achievement of the goals and although the Vision can track biobased fuels and power, a consistent source of products data is not readily available. At the Committee’s request, the Departments generated a document that tracks the current market share of biopower, biofuels, and bioproducts against the Vision goals so that some measurement of success in achieving the goals could be established. This document will be updated annually.

Information on USDA and DOE Activities

Throughout the 2004 work year, the Committee gathered a wide range of information on USDA and DOE program activities which assisted the Committee in fulfilling its requirements under the Biomass R&D Act of 2000. At the March 2004 meeting, the Committee received an update on USDA’s efforts to develop a final rule on the federal procurement of biobased products. The Committee also gathered information on the history of R&D in major biomass technologies, including the production of cellulosic ethanol, cofiring, and gasification.

At the July 2004 meeting, in addition to receiving information on biomass to hydrogen, as discussed above, the Committee was presented with information on a USDA study on the corn ethanol energy balance, which was based on an updated analysis that refutes earlier studies.

The Committee received an overview of USDA and DOE program direction at the September 2004 meeting, including details such as the mission of the programs, strategic direction, legislative drivers, funding history, program/agency platforms, and specific R&D projects. A subcommittee of the entire Committee, in coordination with USDA and DOE staff, also developed a portfolio analysis document that analyzed the fiscal year 2004 and 2005 DOE’s Office of the Biomass Program project portfolio and USDA’s projects across eight of its agencies (Agricultural Research Service, Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service, Farm Service Agency, Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, The Office of Energy Policy, Departmental Administration, and Rural Development). The portfolio analysis organized projects by Roadmap category and showed funding levels dedicated by each Department to each category.

In 2001, the state of Indiana consumed approximately 2,956 trillion Btu of energy. Coal supplied the most energy, accounting for approximately 53 percent of the 2956 trillion Btu. Petroleum and natural gas accounted for 28 percent and 17 percent, respectively, of the total energy consumed. Hydroelectric power provided less than one percent of total energy, while nuclear did not account for any energy consumption. Biomass accounted for slightly more than one percent of total energy consumed.¹

An estimated 27.1 billion kWh of electricity could be generated using renewable biomass fuels in Indiana. This is enough electricity to supply 100 percent of the annual residential electricity use in the state. The state of Indiana could generate a substantial amount of energy from mill, urban, and forest residues. There are approximately 699,000, 528,000, and 470,000 dry tons per year available for energy use, respectively. The potential supply of energy crops is 5,026,000 dry tons per year, while agricultural residues are most readily available for energy generation at 11,884,000 dry tons annually in Indiana.²

One biomass project in Indiana, funded by the Department of Energy’s State Energy Program, is the Fair Oaks Dairy Farm Innovative Manure Digestion System. The project is working to demonstrate the feasibility and document technical and economic performance of a high rate anaerobic digestion process that can be used in dairy and swine flush systems.³ Indiana also participates in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation of Private Grazing Land (CPGL) program. CPGL ensures that technical, educational, and related assistance is provided to those who own private grazing lands. One of the main objectives of the program is to offer assistance in using grazing lands as a source of biomass energy and raw materials for industrial products.⁴

The state of Indiana offers several financial incentives to support the use of biomass-generated power. The Energy Policy Division (EPD) of the Indiana Department of Commerce offers the Alternative Power and Energy Grant Program to businesses, non-profit institutions, and state government entities interested in installing and studying alternative and renewal energy system applications. Grants range from $500 to $30,000 and are eligible for biomass technologies. The EPD also offers the Distributed Generation Grant Program, which is similar to the Alternative Power and Energy Grant Program, except that it applies to efforts that offer alternatives to central generation and only to projects that are technically feasible for full-scale operation. Also available through the EPD, and similar to the previous two incentives, is the Energy Education and Demonstration Grant Program. The main difference in this program is that it requires recipients to include a public education component in their projects. The Indiana Energy and Recycling Office and the Indiana Office of Air Quality jointly offer the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Set Aside. The program offers potential financial incentives to large-scale energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that significantly reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. Biomass projects are included in the program’s criteria. The state of Indiana also participates in the Mainstay Energy Rewards Program – Green Tag Purchase Program, in which Mainstay Energy, a private company, offers customers the opportunity to sell renewable energy credits generated through the installation of renewable energy systems, including biomass. No policy based incentives are currently offered in Indiana to which biomass technologies apply.⁵