Posted by Sohail Azad
On 01:35
As much of the U.S. digs out from freezing weather and snowstorms, Florida's extended growing season allows Farmers to still be growing and harvesting crops like sweet sorghum for ethanol feedstock. A late fall/early winter crop rotation for sorghum takes a little longer to mature (approximately 105 to 110 days from planting) compared to warmer months (where plant maturity occurs in ~90 days) -- due to the reduced amount of daylight hours. Also,...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 07:03
Today we are trying something new -- asking for feedback from our Readers on a communication problem we are having in marketing "closed loop" biomass energy crops for electricity generation.A critical point in our marketing effort for energy crops is the Section 45 Federal Tax Credit which currently provides a 2.2 cents/kWh tax credit to electricity generation companies that use "closed loop" biomass fuel. An example of "closed loop" is fast growing...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 10:04
Pigweed Control: An issue that continues to plague farmers here in Florida and the Southeast is glyphosate resistant weeds, specifically Palmer Amaranth. A technical service representative for Syngenta, suggest farmers apply a fall weed control treatment now in order to get a head start for next year’s crop. We've had decent control using Dual MagnumDownload AudioDry Weather: With little rainfall in recent weeks, meteorologists from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) reported...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 05:56
While today's blog treads into the subject of phosphate mining in central Florida, the bigger picture involves all surface mining (e.g., mountain top removal for coal), and an even bigger picture of large land use development anywhere on our Planet. The following discussion is neither pro or anti mining or land development, but raises a question "Don't we need to talk about something?" -- where the "Something" is Climate Change.In arguments (and legal fights) over mining or land development, the...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 09:04
As we've discussed in prior blog posts, the EPA in its proposed "Tailoring Rules" does not consider a mass balance (inputs and outputs) approach to greenhouse gases -- only focusing on air emissions and not the source of the fuel feedstock (biomass versus fossil fuels). It is unclear whether the EPA will change its earlier decision not to exempt biomass from its recently adopted “Tailoring Rules” which prescribe Clean Air Act permitting requirements...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 07:02
In our last post on "Biomass Energy & Carbon Accounting" we cited an engineering science reference from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) that ~50% of carbon emissions can be captured through oxygen starved biomass gasification technology.In our extensive experience with biomass gasification, we feel uncomfortable with the NETL estimate -- concerned that the carbon capture percentage may be too high. Our "educated...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 04:05
During the past year, biomass energy has come under the microscope with numerous environmental groups questioning the carbon cycle neutrality argument and also the EPA's "Tailoring Rule". Our understanding of these concerns center on when the accounting cycle should start (called a carbon debt). The below chart illustrates the concept of carbon debt using the logarithm function of tree growth:Should the accounting period begin as the biomass source...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 00:21
From an engineering perspective, the most critical aspect in creating biochar is to maximize surface area (pore space) with an objective of trying to create surface areas approaching activated charcoal to maximize the capture/sequester of Greenhouse gases in soils (CO2, methane, nitrous oxide).In order to achieve high surface areas the key engineering parameter of oxygen starved biomass gasification is temperature formation, where the optimal range...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 18:57
When we hear the term "sustainability" for biomass energy feedstocks being discussed or debated, often we really don't know what "specifics" are being proposed. Most of the time it just seems that (1) Project developers' concept of "green" only involves making money; (2) the agenda of many environmental groups (like the Sierra Club) is to kill projects and not find solutions; (3) Legislators don't have a clue on science. In our collaborative work...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 07:25
Renewable Energy World has a current article on the benefits of biomass co-firing. While we agree that co-firing makes economic and environmental sense -- In our opinion any significant use of co-firing will not happen because of institutional barriers that exist within Federal and State government and regulation of the electric utility industry.Problem 1: The Section 45 Tax Credit allows for a tax credit of 1.5� per kWh for the generation of electricity from a qualified biomass fuel. But the...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 01:28
This week, President Obama announced a plan to reverse a ban on oil drilling (including much of Florida) with objectives to decrease foreign oil dependence and to create new jobs. But what especially caught our attention was the reaction of environmental groups -- especially the Sierra Club.In an opposition rally to expand off shore oil and natural gas drilling, a representative of the Florida Sierra Club refuted the job creation argument of the...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 05:32
Today we are referencing data from the Department of Energy on oil use in the U.S. As the below charts show, about two-thirds of all electric utility generation from oil use occurs in two states -- Florida and Hawaii.While Hawaii's oil dependence can be understood (e.g., natural resources, transportation limitations), Florida's dependence is both confusing and troublesome. Another way of stating this is that Florida's electric utilities use more...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 11:43
In Part 1 and Part 2 of this blog series on the benefits of biomass energy, we made three key points: That biomass energy is carbon cycle neutral, just like solar and/or wind energy. Biomass energy can be carbon cycle negative when it is developed in an environmentally sustainable way (e.g., soil building carbon sequestration, incorporating biochar). Biomass energy is much more likely (especially in the Southeast and Midwest U.S.) to displace base...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 11:26
In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the importance of viewing renewable energy technology options (wind, solar, geothermal, biomass) on a "big picture" (macro) basis using the integrated resource grid. The key concept under this view is that not all renewable energy options have the same impact in displacing fossil fuel use for electricity generation:Typically, solar power and many wind power resources are considered "peaking units", which displace...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 17:45
In understanding the benefits of all renewable energy resource options, its important to understand the concept of the integrated resource grid. Under this concept, the renewable technology is viewed not as a stand-alone resource (i.e., a micro view) but how the resource is dispatched on the electricity grid (i.e., a macro view).While there are some differences throughout the U.S., typically on the integrated grids of all resources (coal, nuclear,...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 11:53
The Biomass Energy Crop and Biomass Power Working Group has created a Google Friend Connect Web-page at:While we will be adding more gadgets in the future, we would like everyone to use the "comments option" and let us know what specific types of stories (e.g., engineering, agriculture, environment, energy policy, etc.) you would like to see more ...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 06:57
This past week the EPA issued notification that it is reviewing water quality standards in Florida. This issue of water quality and management brings up a key agricultural talking point of biomass energy and energy crops that's not discussed in the main stream media.With Biomass Energy, a key focal point in the Media will always be Global Warming -- we understand this reality. However, the story of biomass energy is much more than just greenhouse...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 04:59
The basis of today's blog is an article by Ronald Bailey in Reason Magazine on Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariffs. Go to: http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/26/overpaying-for-green#commentcontainerFrom the article: "Green power advocates in the United States have started pushing for a European-style subsidy scheme in which homeowners or businesses that install solar panels or windmills can sell their excess power back to the grid at inflated prices....
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 03:36
This week is National Invasive Species Awareness Week which brings up a key environmental benefit of biomass energy that is rarely, if ever, brought up. Through our efforts in Florida, we are restoring environmentally damaged marginal lands (from mining) that have been invaded by non-native plants (e.g., Brazilian Pepper) and weeds (e.g., cogongrass) to grow energy crops for biomass energy.Hopefully, we are creating a "global template" for sustainable...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 11:35
In 2009, natural gas prices plunged to below $4 per MMBtu where many "Experts" are saying that prices will remain low for decades as a result of technology break-throughs allowing for sizable increases in natural gas supply for North America. The Energy Information Agency (EIA) just released data projections reflecting this potential increased supply in natural gas.In looking at the below EIA data projections, a couple of things stood out which...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 05:10
During the next few months we will be posting our understanding of the potential benefits of biochar (on our Blog and also our webpages on Biochar and Soils).Three aspects of biochar have especially piqued our interest:(1) Terrestrial carbon sequestration and reductions in other greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide emissions from soils,(2) Improvements in Water Quality (e.g., wetland creation and enhancements, water pollution from nutrient runoff...
Posted by Sohail Azad
On 14:38
NREL (National Renewable Energy Lab) has biomass energy feedstock maps for the U.S. by State by County at http://www.nrel.gov/gis/biomass.htmlThe NREL website has biomass feedstock maps for crop residues, forest residues, primary and secondary mill residues, urban wood waste, and methane emissions from manure management, landfills, and domestic wastewater treatme...
