Newsletter Archive

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have, over the course of the last few months, conducted several joint efforts related to biomass feedstocks. Two of these projects include the DOE/USDA Joint Feedstock Portfolio Review through the Stage Gate Process, and the development of a recent study entitled Biomass as Feedstock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply.

Both of these efforts respond to the charge Congress outlined for the agencies in the Biomass R&D Act of 2000 to increase collaboration. This article provides a brief synopsis of each of these collaborative efforts.

DOE/USDA Joint Feedstock Portfolio Review through the Stage Gate Process

The Stage Gate Process The Stage Gate process is used to: guide decisions on which projects to include in program portfolios; align R&D objectives with program objectives; provide guidance on project definition, scope, quality, outputs, and integration; and review projects in order to evaluate progress and continuing fit into the program portfolio. The Stage Gate review process consists of two potential paths for projects to follow, a commercial path or a research path, with stages along the way in which to accomplish the work necessary to move the project forward, and gates at which to review the effective of the projects.

On March 14 – 16, 2005, in Washington, DC, USDA and DOE conducted a Stage Gate review of their feedstock R&D projects. The stage gate process had been primarily used by DOE prior to the Feedstock Portfolio Review, but USDA was introduced to the process in order to more effectively conduct a review of federal feedstock projects. The joint review responds to the spirit of the Biomass R&D Act by allowing for the entire portfolio of DOE and USDA feedstock research to be evaluated rather than each agency independent of the other. This enabled reviewers to make assessments cognizant of the full scope of federal feedstock investments. The joint review had the simultaneous benefits of promoting information sharing between the two agencies, highlighting areas where there may be gaps or duplication, leveraging knowledge between the two agencies, creating a platform on which to develop R&D partnerships; and sharing the cost of conducting the feedstock project review.

The review was conducted on 18 feedstock projects, 6 from USDA and 12 from DOE, organized into the following categories:

• Feedstock harvest, collection, and supply systems;
• Feedstock classification and preprocessing;
• Dry and wet bulk storage and
• Swtichgrass utilization and demonstration.

Principal investigators from national laboratories, universities, industry, and commodity associations presented technical barriers, project goals, the background and history, accomplishments, barriers to project completion, and future plans.

Eleven independent experts from industry and academia reviewed each of the 18 projects. Reviewers had expertise in biorefineries, feedstock equipment, feedstock storage and processing, energy crops/farming, and feedstock preprocessing. The review panel also included a representative each from USDA and DOE. The reviewers made specific comments and recommendations on each of the projects reviewed, as well as on the USDA and DOE programs as a whole. Overall, project comments were positive, but project weaknesses were pointed out on an individual basis. Program recommendations included extending efforts to support the billion ton annual supply of biomass feedstock (see below), focusing program scope, and coordinating resource, economic, and technical modeling efforts. USDA and DOE will use reviewer input to analyze feedstock portfolios and make decisions on the future direction of the project. A public summary of the stage gate review and results will be generated, as well as a written response from USDA and DOE to reviewers’ comments will be sent within one year of the date of the review.

Biomass as Feedstock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply

The DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Environmental Science Division, the USDA Forest Service, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service recently collaborated to generate the Biomass as Feedstock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply study. In the Biomass R&D Technical Advisory Committee’s Vision for Bioenergy and Biobased Products in the United States, far-reaching goals are set for the contribution of biomass to meet future energy needs. Authors of the feedstock study estimated that one-billion dry tons of biomass resources would be needed to reach these goals. The purpose of the feedstock study is to determine whether United States land resources are capable of sustainably producing that level of biomass resources. The study analyzed resources currently available on agricultural and forest lands and concluded that the U.S. is capable of producing enough biomass to generate the one billion annual dry tons needed to displace 30 percent of the country’s petroleum consumption on a sustainable basis.

Forestlands account for an estimated 33 percent of the America’s 2,263 million acres¹. DOE and USDA estimate that 367 million sustainable dry tons of biomass feedstock are available annually from forestlands. This tonnage includes: 52 million dry tons from harvesting for fuel wood, 144 million dry tons from wood processing and pulp and paper mills, 47 million dry tons from urban wood residues, 64 million dry tons from logging and site clearing operations, and 60 million dry tons from forest fire hazard reduction efforts². see Figure 1.

In evaluating the feedstock to be generated from logging and site clearing and fire hazard thinning, the following assumptions were made: all forestland not currently accessible by roadways were excluded; all environmentally sensitive areas were excluded; equipment recovery limitations were considered; and recoverable forest materials categorized as either conventional forest products or biomass for bioenergy and biobased products³.

Agricultural lands are estimated to account for approximately 46 percent of the entire U.S. land base with 26 percent consisting of grassland pasture and range, and 20 percent consisting of cropland⁴. DOE and USDA estimate that biomass feedstock available from agricultural lands, while still meeting food, feed and export demands, can supply 998 million sustainable dry tons of biomass feedstock annually. The 998 million dry tons includes the following: 428 million dry tons from crop residues, 377 million dry tons from perennial crops, 87 million dry tons of grains for biofuels, and 106 million dry tons from animal manure, process residue, and miscellaneous feedstocks⁵. see Figure 2.

Assumptions made in the agricultural portion of the study include the following: yields of corn, wheat, and other small grains were increased by 50 percent; the residue-to-grain ratio for soybeans increased to two to one; harvest technology was capable of taking 75 percent of annual crop residues; all cropland was managed with no-till methods; 55 million acres of cropland, idle cropland, and cropland pasture were dedicated to the production of perennial bioenergy crops; all manure in excess of that which can be applied on-farm for soil improvement under anticipated EPA restrictions were used for biofuel; and all other available residues were utilized⁶.

Based on the amount of biomass feedstock available from both forest and agricultural lands, the study concludes that at least 1.3 billion sustainable dry tons are available annually to displace petroleum-based fuels and products. This supply amount can, displacing 30 percent of the current U.S. petroleum consumption, produce enough biofuels to meet more than one-third of the current demand for transportation fuels. Achieving this potential would result in a seven-fold increase in the production of biomass currently used for bioenergy and biobased products, which is estimated to be approximately 142 million dry tons. For more information, please view the full report, available at http://www.eere.energy.gov/biomass/publications.html#feed.

Each of these activities illustrates the progress DOE and USDA are making to increase collaboration related to biomass R&D in response to the Biomass R&D Act of 2000.

¹Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US) [ORNL] and United States Forest Service (US) [USFS] and Agricultural Research Service (US) [ARS]. Biomass as Feedstock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply. 2005. A feasibility study. Oak Ridge (TN): Oak Ridge National Laboratory [ORNL]; 2005 April. 3 p. Available from: ORNL, Oak Ridge, TN 37831; ORNL/TM - 2005/66
²ibid. xi p.
³ibid. xi-xii p.
⁴ibid. 3 p.
⁵ibid. xiii p.
⁶ibid. xii p.

In 2001, the state of Ohio consumed approximately 3,695 trillion Btu of energy. Coal accounted for the majority of energy consumption, generating approximately 36 percent of all the energy consumed. Petroleum supplied the second-most amount of energy consumed, accounting for roughly 35 percent of the total. Natural gas and nuclear power supplied 23 percent and 4 percent respectively, while hydroelectric supplied 1 percent of the total energy consumed in 2001. Energy from biomass accounted for 1 percent of the total energy consumed.¹

It is estimated that 27.6 billion kWh of electricity could be produced from the available biomass resources in the state of Ohio. This is enough to provide 64 percent of the residential electricity used annually in the state, or to provide power to 2,758,000 average homes. Energy crops, including hybrid poplars, hybrid willows, and switchgrass, have the potential to provide the most biomass for energy in Ohio, with the potential to yield 9,657,000 dry tons per year. Agricultural residues such as wheat straw and corn stover are the second most available biomass feedstock in the state, estimated to be able to supply up to 7,634,000 dry tons annually residue and forest residue supplies are estimated to be 1,241,000 and 430,000 annual dry tons, respectively. Mill residues are not available at all for biomass energy production in Ohio.²

Ohio’s Biomass Energy Program is run by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). The Biomass Energy Program is involved in a number of biomass-related initiatives in Ohio. Wood residues are readily available in the state due to the operation of more than 1,300 wood manufacturing companies. The Program published two reports on industrial and forest wood residues: Directory of Wood Manufacturing Industry in Ohio and Utilization of Biomass Energy Resources in Ohio. The first report describes the amount and type of wood residues available in the state and their current uses, including those used to produce energy. The second reviews the potential and current uses of woody biomass, and uses a linear programming model to identify potential biomass power plant sites based on availability of forest and industrial residues in a given area.³

In addition to wood residue biomass projects, the Biomass Energy Program also has extensive biofuels programs. For example, in June 2000, Ohio executed a contract to use 1 million gallons of B-20 biodiesel over three years in its Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) fleet of vehicles. Most of the B-20 is obtained from a commercial biodiesel pump located in Delaware, Ohio. Additionally, the Program reports that Ohio is one of the top three states in ethanol use and is the seventh largest ethanol producer in the U.S. One current project includes the construction of a six million gallon plant in Medina, Ohio. The plant is being built by Liquid Resources and will generate ethanol from liquid wastes, including waste soda and beer.⁴

In partnership with the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority and the Ohio – EPA, the Biomass Energy Program is also currently participating in the EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP). LMOP’s goal is to reduce methane emissions from landfills by encouraging environmentally and economically beneficial landfill-gas-to-energy projects, such as direct pipeline use or electricity generation. Over 80 landfills in Ohio have been identified as candidates for the program. There are now 10 current projects under the program, with 7 more under construction or in planning stages.⁵

Finally, PUCO’s Biomass Energy Program also participates in the Biomass Task Force, a group of state agencies formed by Ohio's Governor Bob Taft. The task force was created to explore and support development of clean distributed generation systems in Ohio; serve as a "point of entry" for the industry to receive technical, permitting, and regulatory assistance, and financing options for potential projects; and promote energy and environmental benefits (manure management, reduce odors, destruction of harmful pathogens).⁶

There are several financial incentives available in Ohio to support the use of biomass-based energy technologies. Some examples include the Conversion Facilities Corporate Tax Exemption, which exempts the purchase of equipment used in energy conversion, thermal efficiency improvements, and solid waste energy conversion from property taxation, Ohio sales tax, and Ohio’s franchise tax. The Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Grants program provides funding for DER projects located in Ohio’s five investor-owned electric distribution companies, including projects that use landfill or biomass methane for electric generation. Other financial incentives that apply to biomass technologies include the Mainstay Energy Rewards Program – Green Tag Purchase Program and Renewable Energy Loans.⁷

Ohio also offers several regulatory incentives. The Energy Loan Fund was created by a 1999 Ohio energy restructuring law to consolidate low-income assistance programs for energy efficiency improvements undertaken at residences, government facilities, schools, and small industrial and agricultural facilities. Biomass technologies are included in the program. Ohio also has interconnection standards and net metering laws that apply to biomass technologies.⁸

¹Energy Information Administration. “Table 7: Energy Consumption Estimates by Source, Selected Years, 1960-2001, Ohio”. http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/states/sep_use/total/use_tot_oh.html
²“Ohio Bioenergy Resources” http://www.eere.energy.gov/state_energy/tech_biomass.cfm?state=OH
³Public Utilities Commission of Ohio: Biomass Energy Program and Current Projects. Available: http://www.puco.ohio.gov/Puco/IndustryTopics/Topic.cfm?doc_id=339
⁴ibid
⁵ibid
⁶ibid
⁷Ohio Incentives for Renewable Energy. “Mainstay Energy Rewards Program - Green Tag Purchase Program” http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/map.cfm?State=OH&CurrentPageId=1
⁸ibid

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Data Sources:
OxyFuel News: Ethanol (U.S. Avg: Terminal); MTBE (Houston, TX: spot); Gasoline (Gulf Coast: spot, regular grade)
USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service, "Agricultural Prices," "Grain Stocks"

Data Sources:
U.S. DOE-Energy Information Administration, "Weekly Petroleum Status Report", "Monthly Oxygenate Report"
USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service, "Agricultural Prices," "Grain Stocks"

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