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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

by Bruce Goodman

A few months ago I wrote about the potential for Michigan to become a leader in converting biomass to energy.  We now are reading a lot about the occupant of the new Renewable Energy Renaissance Zone in the City of Kentwood which has various projects underway to convert biomass to energy. Heat Transfer International, Inc. specializes in biomass gasification/electric power generation systems that convert solid and semisolid biomass, such as animal waste, municipal solid waste, and forestry residues, into a combustible gas that can be used to power generators, dryers, heating and cooling equipment.

One of its Michigan projects, converting turkey litter to steam and electricity, is set for commercial operation in mid-October.  An energy developer is negotiating to install the HTI technology at a Michigan landfill site to process municipal solid waste. 

A key element of the patented processes is powering a jet turbine engine with hot air to produce electricity. The MPSC has awarded HTI $2.3 Million in grants to establish testing operations to facilitate the gasification technology and measure emissions from various biomass feedstocks.  It can therefore provide all the information needed for air quality permitting prior to installation taking place.  It will simply run samples of the fuel to be used through its testing facilities and get a printout of the air emissions.  It is thinking and planning like that which will make this Michigan based engineering group a success in the already crowded biomass to energy field.

by Bruce Goodman

Notwithstanding the recent dramatic moves toward electric and electric hybrid automobiles, for the foreseeable future there will continue to be a high demand for liquid transportation fuels for automobiles, planes, boats, and trains. Moreover, notwithstanding the efforts going into wind and solar energy, the one alternative energy resource that makes economic sense right now, without subsidies, is biomass. Michigan, whose agricultural sector is its second largest industry at $63 billion annually and with a first class agricultural research institution in Michigan State University, is well positioned to respond to these realities. Converting biomass to electrical energy, heat, transportation fuels, and chemical feedstock for industry is already the goal of research being conducted in Michigan public and private laboratories. Imaginative and innovative projects are revealed almost daily. This effort must be continued, and enhanced, through both private and public research and development efforts. We need to improve yield and energy density of crops and improve conversion technology to reduce dependence on foreign oil and renewable fuels in order to move toward energy security and carbon neutrality.

by Bruce Goodman

Just as pork has been advertised as “the other white meat,” wood-fueled electric energy projects might do well to label themselves “the other renewable energy.” People forget about biomass and focus on wind and solar when thinking about renewable energy. Yet firing wood biomass provides perhaps the best chance of getting the most immediate bang for the renewable energy buck. Biomass and wood waste energy projects are receiving significant funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Here is a carbon neutral strategy that utilizes fuels that need not be imported from other states or countries. Michigan’s sustainable forestry management research and planning should put the state at the forefront of this effort.