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Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy. THE BIG PICTURE. Renewable Energy. Catchall phrase for a variety of energy sources Utilize natural and abundant sources such as sunlight, wind, water, geothermal heat Renewable energy technologies - solar, wind, hydroelectric, biomass, biofuels. Part 1. The Big Picture.

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Renewable Energy

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  1. Renewable Energy THE BIG PICTURE

  2. Renewable Energy Catchall phrase for a variety of energy sources Utilize natural and abundant sources such as sunlight, wind, water, geothermal heat Renewable energy technologies - solar, wind, hydroelectric, biomass, biofuels Part 1. The Big Picture Part 1. The Big Picture

  3. National Priority energy independence national security political instability in oil producing regions global warming and greenhouse gases Part 1. The Big Picture Part 1. The Big Picture

  4. America’s Energy Appetite 1974 2007 1979 USDA ARS Renewable Energy Assessment Project (REAP)

  5. Federal Position Emphasizes use of technology to reduce reliance on foreign sources of energy Increased domestic energy production of all types Infrastructure modernization Transport, storage suitable for biofuels Conservation Part 1. The Big Picture Part 1. The Big Picture

  6. Renewable Energy Incentives Direct incentives for research and development Federal tax subsidies ($.51/gal ethanol & $1.00/gal biodiesel) so that alternative fuels are competitive with traditional sources Also designed to improve commodity prices DOE funding construction of 6 cellulosic ethanol plants (IA, KS, ID, CA, FL, GA) Part 1. The Big Picture Part 1. The Big Picture

  7. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 Signed by President Bush 12/19/07 36 billion gal. of renewable fuel by 2022 Only 15 billion from corn Average vehicle efficiency to 35 mpg by 2020 Bans incandescent bulbs by 2014 Part 1. The Big Picture

  8. USDA Renewable Energy Incentives USDA Rural Development’s Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program (9006 program) - grants and loan guarantees to agricultural producers and rural businesses to install renewable energy systems (ex methane digesters). 2002 Farm Bill – CSP energy enhancements Part 1. The Big Picture Part 1. The Big Picture

  9. New Farm Bill Potential for incentives to transition to biomass crops Guaranteed loans for cellulosic ethanol plants? On-farm energy production and efficiency incentives? Part 1. The Big Picture Part 1. The Big Picture

  10. RC&D Driftless Area Initiative U.S. Congressman Ron Kind on Dec. 20 announced that the Driftless Area Initiative, a cooperative conservation effort led by six regional Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Councils in the four-state Driftless Area (Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota), received a Congressional appropriation of $618,000 in the 2008 federal budget. Project will develop energy production from perennial biomass crops Part 1. The Big Picture

  11. State of Wisconsin Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence 25 x 25 - 25% of state’s energy from renewable sources by 2025 Capture 10% of national bio and renewable energy market by 2030 Lead the nation in research Part 1. The Big Picture Part 1. The Big Picture

  12. State Incentives Wisconsin Focus on Energy - tax breaks and cash refunds for high efficiency appliances and home energy generation- wind, geothermal, solar Funding for anaerobic manure digesters Funding for soybean crush plant and credit for biodiesel production Part 1. The Big Picture Part 1. The Big Picture

  13. Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center UW-Madison awarded $130 M DOE grant Partnership with Michigan State University and others Largest grant in UW history Main focus on overcoming obstacles to commercially viable ethanol from cellulose Part of overall WI Bioenergy Initiative at UW Part 1. The Big Picture Part 1. The Big Picture

  14. Farmers Union Carbon Credit Program About $2.50/acre $3.75-$4/ton of C stored Traded on Chicago Climate Exchange

  15. Wisconsin Farm Bureau Carbon Credit Program Part 1. The Big Picture

  16. NRCS NRCS Strategic Plan Venture Goal agricultural energy conservation and production Part 1. The Big Picture Part 1. The Big Picture

  17. NRCS National Energy Goals 1. Identify and communicate NRCS role in energy conservation and energy production 2. Integrate energy concerns into NRCS planning process 3. Develop tools and technologies to support energy management 4. Provide training to NRCS field and state office personnel Part 1. The Big Picture Part 1. The Big Picture

  18. NRCS Energy Goals (cont.) 5. Develop partnerships 6. Save energy within NRCS operations 7. Develop technologies and provide information for sustainable biomass energy production Part 1. The Big Picture Part 1. The Big Picture

  19. Renewable Energy The Basics

  20. Biofuels Basics The production of biofuels involves organic chemistry. A few people understand organic chemistry, then, there are the rest of us. Technologic developments in biofuel production are rapidly occurring There’s NO FREE LUNCH Part 1. The Basics Part 1. The Basics

  21. First generation biofuels made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil, or animal fats using conventional technology biodegradable, relatively harmless if spilled Part 1. The Basics Part 1. The Basics

  22. Ethanol most common biofuel worldwide produced by fermenting sugars Additive to gasoline Most comes from corn grain or sugar cane (Brazil) 1 bu field corn yields 2.7 gal fuel ethanol Part 1. The Basics Part 1. The Basics

  23. Biodiesel produced from oils or fats using transesterification Oils + sodium hydroxide and methanol produces 10 parts biodiesel + 1 part glycerol Used in diesel engines when mixed with mineral diesel 1 bu soybeans yields 1.5 gal biodiesel Part 1. The Basics Part 1. The Basics

  24. Vegetable oil food or fuel usable in older diesel engines (with indirect injection systems). usually used to make biodiesel, blended with conventional diesel fuel straight vegetable oil cannot be used in most engines Part 1. The Basics Part 1. The Basics

  25. Algae • faster growth-rates than crops • yields 5,000 to 20,000 gal oil/acre/yr • difficulty identifying best algal strain • PETA may be a big barrier Part 1. The Basics Part 1. The Basics

  26. BioGas, aka Renewable Natural Gas Methane produced by anaerobic digestion Feedstocks include manure, organic wastes or energy crops Solid byproducts, digestate, can be used as a biofuel or a fertilizer Mainly used to generate electricity Also burned on-farm or cleaned up for gas pipelines Part 1. The Basics Part 1. The Basics

  27. Combustion of Biomass Switchgrass, wood, stover…. Burn for electricity or heat Currently <1% of electric capacity in WI Limiting factors Handling, transport and storage, ash or by-product disposal, air quality permits Part 1. The Basics Part 1. The Basics

  28. Second generation biofuels Made from ligno-cellulosic biomass using advanced technical processes Switchgrass, stover, wood, etc. Limiting factors Creation of specific enzymes to break down cellulose into fermentable sugars Transport and storage of biomass Part 1. The Basics Part 1. The Basics

  29. Second generation biofuels Not yet commercially viable BioHydrogen ------Biomethanol Biobutanol Bio-DME DMF HTU diesel Fischer-Tropsch diesel Mixed Alcohols (i.e., mixture of mostly ethanol, propanol and butanol, with some pentanol, hexanol, Syngas from pyrolysis w/biochar byproduct First WI plant planned at Cashton Part 1. The Basics

  30. NO FREE LUNCH Biofuels are made from natural feed stocks Environmental costs occur in the production of feed stocks. Our appetite for fuel is massive and growing Can’t have it both ways Part 1. The Basics Part 1. The Basics

  31. Erosion Cost For Grain Ethanol The IA Natural Resources Inventory shows a soil erosion loss of 4.9 tons per acre per year The 2005 & 2006 average corn yield was 170 bu/ac Assume 2.7 gal EtOH/bu Soil loss = 21 lbs/gal Estimate developed by Duane Sand and published by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, 2006 REAP

  32. Meeting the Challenge Sustainably Modern agriculture Stover harvest + Cover crops + Green manure + Increased efficiencies + Innovative technologies Pre-cultivation steady-state Soil carbon Management change + No tillage? Time ∆ SOC = input - output REAP

  33. What’s happening in Wisconsin?

  34. Bioethanol Plantsas of May 2007

  35. Ethanol in Wisconsin By end of 2007, Wisconsin's annual capacity expected to reach 521 million gallons 9 plants producing by end of 2007 Current production – 350 mil gal 2007 Current consumption - 130 million gallons in 2006

  36. Water Quality Cost of Grain Ethanol 15% increase in corn acres planted in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin for 2007 (NASS, 2007) Potential increased loss of 211 million lbs of N to streams & rivers (Elobeid et al, 2006; Wisner, 2007) Potential increased loss of 20 million lbs of P to streams & rivers REAP

  37. Biodiesel Plantsas of May 2007

  38. Biodiesel in Wisconsin 2004 – 2 mil gal produced 2008 – 100 mil gal estimated Or maybe not, soy oil prices too high to make biodiesel profitably

  39. Biogas 21 on-farm anaerobic digesters in WI Leads U.S. 36.6 M KWH/yr produced Equivalent to use of 3,666 homes

  40. Cows!!We have lots. 1.2 million dairy cows 7.3 million gallons of milk/day 27.6 million gallons of manure/day!

  41. Hydro-electric power

  42. Wind Potential energy production Large, commercial turbines (at right) Smaller, on-farm or residential

  43. Solar Potential energy production Passive Hot water Electricity

  44. NRCS Role: Energy Conservation and Energy Production

  45. Why is NRCS involved? Not our traditional role, not our strength …..yet. But it is a National priority and state priority We need to help.

  46. What can NRCS do? Help people produce energy crops sustainably save energy with conservation practices capture and utilize some of the bio materials that are produced – animal and vegetable – for energy

  47. WI NRCS Energy Efforts Established energy objectives Formed Energy Team Energy 101 a product WI NRCS Energy web site www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/energy.html Outreach and Partnerships Adapting new practices

  48. Energy and NRCS SWAPA+H still applies Existing energy-related practices, enhancements, and tools New practice standards coming Higher priority in the new Farm Bill Energy Act may have bigger impact on ag than Farm Bill

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