The cutting-edge biomass gasification plant replaces four worn-out boilers that were 64 years old and were first powered by coal and later, natural gas. The new $60 million system will create enough steam heat to power the equivalent of 18,000 homes, said Bob Baugh, director of the lab’s utilities division.

At the lab, it’ll heat about 100 buildings and serve other uses such as sterilizing autoclaves. The conversion from boilers to the gasification plant will save an estimated $3.8 million a year in energy costs, Baugh said.

“The gasification process is very clean-burning,” he said. “It’s cleaner than natural gas.” He said there’s “not a lot of particulate” in the low-oxygen environment where the hydrogen-heavy gas that is created from smoldering wood is routed to an oxidizer. That’s where that synthesis gas is mixed with oxygen and combustion takes place, Baugh said.

The emissions from that process are then filtered before they are released into the atmosphere. “Whatever pollution is generated is well below what we’re permitted for,” Baugh said.

The completed gasification plant has been turned over the Department of Energy and is now in startup mode. Ribbon-cutting is expected next month.

From KnoxvilleBiz.com: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/04/wood-chips—tons-of-them—to-power-labs-new/

The new endeavor, somewhat cumbersomely tagged the Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC), also includes solar and energy efficiency components led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The biofuel component totals about $21 million for a team that includes the University of Florida, University of Missouri, Virginia Tech, Montclair State University, Texas A&M University, Show Me Energy Cooperative, and Green Technologies.

The Indian team is headed up by the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, but wait, there’s more. The project is part of a larger endeavor that provides for the U.S. to leverage private sector investment in an international fund focused on developing South Asia’s alternative energy resources.

From Clean Technica: http://cleantechnica.com/2012/04/23/u-s-teams-with-india-in-massive-new-biofuel-project/

“The Energy Department’s investments to develop renewable transportation fuels are a key part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to develop America’s domestic energy resources and reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “Driving innovation through targeted investments helps to speed development of next-generation biofuels made in America, biofuels that will help to protect American families and businesses from the ups and downs of the global oil market.”

The Department expects to fully fund between five to ten projects in fiscal year 2012 to produce bio-oil prototypes that can be tested in oil refineries and used to develop comprehensive technical and economic analyses of how bio-oils could work. The proto-type bio-oils will be produced from a range of feedstocks that could include algae, corn and wheat stovers, dedicated energy crops or wood residues. Domestic industry, universities and laboratories are all eligible to apply.

The projects funded through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI), a joint program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Energy Department (DOE), will help develop economically and environmentally sustainable sources of renewable biomass and increase the availability of renewable fuels and biobased products that can help replace the need for gasoline and diesel in vehicles and diversify our energy portfolio. These investments will help cut America’s oil imports, develop clean alternative energy technologies, and protect American families and businesses from the ups and downs of the global oil market.

“USDA’s partnership with the Department of Energy aims to improve our country’s energy security and provide sustainable jobs in communities across the country,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This funding represents the kind of innovation we need to build American-made, homegrown biofuels and biobased products that will help to break our dependence on foreign oil and move our nation toward a clean energy economy.”

“President Obama called for an all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy and advances technologies that will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and save money for American consumers,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “Investing in next-generation biofuels helps boost the competitiveness of the U.S. biofuels industry, supports economic development in rural communities, and creates skilled jobs for American workers.”

The initiatives supported a range of renewable energy sources, and the most commonly supported sources were bioenergy, solar, and wind. Also, the initiatives supported a range of public and private sector recipients, but the large majority provided support to the private sector. Many initiatives supported multiple renewable energy sources and types of recipients, while many others targeted support to one source or recipient. Agencies’ renewable energy efforts increased in recent years as a result of the provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and other factors, but the level of future efforts is less certain with the expiration of these provisions and budget constraints.

Across agencies, more than 80% of initiatives span four key federal roles: supporting research and development, using renewable energy in vehicle fleets and facilities, providing incentives for commercialization and deployment, and regulation, permitting, and ensuring compliance. Certain agencies led efforts in each federal role: DOE, DOD, and USDA for research and development; DOD, the General Services Administration, and DOE for fleets and facilities; Treasury and USDA for commercialization and deployment; and Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency for regulation, permitting, and compliance.

The nation’s reliance on imported oil, rising energy costs, and fossil fuels’ potential contribution to climate change have renewed the federal focus on renewable energy. Many federal agencies support renewable energy activities, raising congressional concerns about the number and roles of agencies implementing such efforts.

LanzaTech is developing a process that uses proprietary microorganisms to convert carbon monoxide-containing gases from steel mills, oil refineries and chemical plants into ethanol and biochemicals. It is also working with the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) on making jet fuel.

Located in Soperton, Ga., the Range plant was sold January 3 for $5.1 million, a fraction of the financial support it received. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture required a foreclosure sale following Range’s default in 2011 on an $80 million loan guarantee the agency offered. The plant was also supported by more than $160 million in venture funding and part of a separate $76 million grant the DOE awarded.

Range Fuels, who broke ground on the Georgia plant in November 2007, had received a $76 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as an $80 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in early 2009. The company received only portions of the funds, Bloomberg reported. Both federal commitments were made through an initiative under the administration of former President George W. Bush to find alternatives to corn as a raw material to make ethanol fuels.

Range Fuels had hoped to produce 100 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol from wood chips each year at the biorefinery, but the plant closed in January of this year due to technical problems. About 30 workers were laid off in the shutdown, the Macon Telegraph reports.

Rentech, a Colorado-based renewable energy company, had also sought financing in the private sector, but the current economic environment presented too many hurdles for the project, a 55-megawatt energy plant to be built in Port St. Joe. According to numbers provided by Rentech, the project would have produced up to 200 construction jobs during the 18-month build and 30 to 35 permanent jobs at the plant, and another 75 to 100 jobs in the fuel chain.

The plant, as proposed, would produce steam to drive generators to produce electricity using woody biomass, or forest residue, as the fuel source. Progress Energy had an agreement in place to purchase electricity from the plant.

Rentech officials hope to revive the project in the future, should the economic outlook change. The company will continue to explore the possibility of bringing in a partner or a buyer for the project.

The study provides industry policymakers and the agricultural community with county-level data and includes analyses of current U.S. feedstock capacity and the potential for growth in crops and agricultural products for clean energy applications. The biomass resources identified in the report could be used to produce clean, renewable biofuels, biopower or bioproducts. For example, with continued developments in biorefinery capacity and technology, the feedstock resources identified could produce about 85 billion gallons of biofuels, enough to replace approximately 30% of the nation’s current petroleum consumption.

The report’s findings demonstrate that increases in biomass-derived energy sources can be produced in a sustainable manner through the use of widely accepted conservation practices. For example, removing tree portions that are unfit for market in the forest industry can reduce forest fire risk, and planting energy crops on marginal lands can reduce soil erosion. The baseline scenario in the newly released report shows that biomass resources could be increased from a current 473 million dry tons annually to nearly 1.1 billion dry tons by 2030, under a conservative set of assumptions about future increases in crop yield.

“Developing the next generation of American biofuels and bioenergy will help diversify our energy portfolio, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and produce new clean energy jobs,” commented U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “This study identifies resources here at home that can help grow America’s bioenergy industry and support new economic opportunities for rural America.”

For more information visit: www.bioenergykdf.net

This cooperative agreement is an extension of the grant previously awarded to the company in July of 2008 under a DOE program supporting the development of demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol biorefinery plants.

The company plans to use the additional funds to support on-going cellulosic technology and process optimization at its Jennings, La. demonstration facility.