by Bruce Goodman

Verso Paper’s U.P. Quinnesec Mill in Breitung Township has been designated a Forest Products Processing Renaissance Zone by the state.  It is expected to double its capacity to turn wood products into electricity through a $43 million renewable energy project.  This will allow the mill to meet 95 percent of its energy needs using biomass.  The project will include a new Siemens turbine generator, and is expected to start up by December 2011.  As a Renaissance Zone, the company will operate free of virtually all state and local taxes for fifteen years.

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by Bruce Goodman

The biomass power industry can help reduce the spread of forest fires by cleaning highly flammable debris from the forest floor and harvested areas.  Forest fires can be fueled by small trees and brush that create fire ladders that direct fires into the crowns of  larger trees.  Biomass energy plants use this and other material to create renewable energy.  They encourage good forest management by creating a market for the excess small trees, slash and brush that can foster forest fires.  Michigan has seven biomass-fired power plants and the resources for more.  A number of coal-fired generators are looking to co-fire biomass.  Reducing the risk of Michigan forest fires by improving forest health can even reduce greenhouse gases, as decomposing dead brush and slash  releases methane.  Managed forest resources provide the state with its own source of renewable domestic fuel and Smokey the Bear with a modified slogan:  “Only you, with the help of the biomass power industry, can prevent forest fires – use it or lose it.”

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by Bruce Goodman

The State of Michigan has formed a partnership with the government of Navarra, Spain to work collaboratively on renewable energy projects.  The MOU signed in May provides for joint activities, including policy sharing, technology transfer, value-chain mapping, and trade missions.  It targets wind technology, biomass, solar energy, smart-grid technology, and bio-climactic research sectors. Navarra currently produces approximately 65 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources.  The Renewable Energy National Centre of Spain (CENER), which over the past eight years has become a leader in renewable-energy technology, is located in Navarra and is expected to work with Michigan companies in development efforts, such as testing Energetx Composite wind turbine blades in its laboratory.

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by Bruce Goodman

The Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth is producing a monthly 30-minute TV show designed to provide information about the latest initiatives and activities in state government related to renewable energy, green jobs, energy efficiency, and advanced energy technologies. Michigan’s Energy Future Today is hosted by DELEG Deputy Director Liesl Eichler Clark and can be seen on more than 80 cable stations around the state. The July 2009 episode featuring advances in solar energy was selected for an award from the 31st Annual Telly Awards, a national program recognizing outstanding achievement in the TV, commercial, and video industry. See http://michigan.gov/dleg/0,1607,7-154-51651-233579–,00.html

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by Bruce Goodman

New forms of distributed energy are one of the promises of renewable energy. There can be many smaller, even very small, electric generating stations dispersed throughout Michigan producing energy from local resources. It is the energy equivalent of buying local, and does not require transmission grid upgrades. But utility-imposed standby rates stand as an impediment. Ostensibly designed to compensate a utility for providing backup power to self generation, standby charges are too often structured to discourage distributed generation. These charges take away the economic incentive to build small energy centers. It is time to take the gloves off and either have reasonable standby rates or institute net metering for sources up to 5 MW. The MPSC can do the former; the Legislature must do the latter. Michigan’s energy future depends on it.

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by Bruce Goodman

Today the petrochemical industry manufactures products from fossil fuels: plastics, chemicals, and other products.  Scientists tell us that nearly all of these products can be made from renewable, carbon neutral biomass. The processes are similar.

The petrochemical industry breaks oil and natural gas down to base chemicals and then builds desired products from them. Biorefining technology breaks biomass down to component sugars that can be used to build the same desired products. Fermentation, chemical catalysis, and other processes are used to create products that can be used in manufacturing processes.

There are currently robust forces driving sustainable bioproducts production.  Biomass-based products are expected to make a significant impact on the production of bulk chemicals in the next decade, and a huge impact within 20 to 30 years. About 5 percent of global chemical sales currently are made up of “green products”.  Some are predicting that the market share could rise to 20 percent by 2010 and may ultimately reach 66 percent of the total global economy.

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by Bruce Goodman

Biofuels are defined as solid, liquid or gaseous fuels derived from relatively recently dead biological material. They are distinguished from fossil fuels, which are derived from long dead biological material. Theoretically, biofuels can be produced from any biological carbon source. Various plants and plant-derived materials are used as feedstock for biofuels manufacturing. The two most common types of grain derived biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel. On the horizon is the era of advanced biofuels—cellulosic ethanol, biomass-based diesel, biobutanol, bio-oil, green gasoline and biobased jet fuel.

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by Bruce Goodman

Biomass power technologies include direct firing, cofiring, gasification, anaerobic digestion and other technologies. Although many current biomass power plants are small, industrial cogeneration or heating applications, utility-scale plants with capacities in excess of 80 megawatts have been commissioned. In the United States, biomass power plants currently represent 11,000 megawatts of capacity, the second largest amount of renewable energy in the nation.  Michigan has a number of wood fired electric generating facilties, some operating for more than 20 years.  In addition it has two major waste to energy projects fired with municipal solid waste. 

Interest in biomass power is on the rise. Although the primary driver to consider biomass power has been its potential to lower heating and power production costs, the anticipation of global carbon markets and renewable power mandates is spurring a new wave of investment in this sector. Perhaps most critical to this new interest is that these facilities can generate electricity at any time (24/7), unlike some of the current most popular renewable sources of energy.

In addition biofuels plants are becoming true biorefineries, incorporating the production of fuels, chemicals and power at a single location.

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by Bruce Goodman

Michigan Tech University has determined that camelina, a weed from the mustard family, can be used to make a jet biofuel that produces 80 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum jet fuel. Camelina has naturally high oil content, is drought tolerant, can be grown on marginal land, and requires less fertilizers and herbicides than food crops. It has been tested in a jet fuel blend comprised primarily of camelina by Japan Airlines. A 40,000 gallon order was recently placed on behalf of the U.S. Navy to be used in its testing program of alternative fuels to meet the goals of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Now the U.S. Air Force has contracted for 100,000 gallons of HRJ-8 for 2009-2010, most of which will be produced in Montana.  If a sucessful fuel crop, and if grown on marginal land, this would be a good example of a biofuel that avoids the food or fuel question.

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by Bruce Goodman

The City of Grand Rapids will soon be partnering with local agencies to set up its own carbon emissions trading market.  A local company already active in the carbon trading arena will be assisting in developing this carbon credit system.   The city is a renewable-electricity leader, achieving the goal of 20% municipal renewable-electricity by December 31, 2008. (Increases in municipal energy efficiency helped to offset the increased direct cost of purchasing renewable-electricity.) Grand Rapids is the largest single participant in Consumers Energy’s Green Generation program, whose energy supply comes from renewable sources, including wind, biomass, waste-to-energy, landfill gas and hydroelectric facilities.  Details of the program are still be worked out.

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