Perennial Biomass Crops
for a Healthy Planet *
* And how GLBW can lead the way
Steve John
Agricultural Watershed Institute
sfjohn@agwatershed.org
(217) 877-5640
Green Lands Blue Waters Conference
November 20, 2013
Perennial Biomass Crops
•Switchgrass
•Miscanthus
•Other grasses
•Prairie polycultures
•Willows & other SRC trees
Today → heat,
electricity, forage
Tomorrow →
cellulosic biofuels
Components of perennial biomass projects:
1. Outreach &
assistance to
early adopters
Some landowners like the “GYOF” idea
– Grow your own fuel!
Caterpillar – AWI
Prairie for Bioenergy
Demonstration Plots
Planted Spring 2011
Switchgrass harvested August 2012
Components of perennial biomass projects:
2. Market and
enterprise
development
Markets for biomass
~ and ~
Compensation for
ecosystem services
Eastern Illinois University’s
Renewable Energy Center burns
wood chips during start-up period.
May shift to a grass—wood blend.
Community Supported Energy
• Grow energy crop
• Densify into pellets or briquettes
• Deliver biomass fuel to customers
• Collect ash & return nutrients to the soil
A-Maiz-ing Heat Furnace
Buskirk Densification System
L Meschke Photo
Madelia Model:
Perennial Feedstocks to
Advanced Biofuel
Goal:
Utilize Local Grown Renewable Energy as a
Catalyst for Increasing Perennials on the
Landscape to Reduce Pollution from
Production Agriculture
Madelia slldes: Linda Meschke, Rural Advantage
Examples of energy conversion technologies
used or proposed for perennial grass biomass
• Pellets or briquettes for heat or power:
o
o
o
o
o
Hudson Valley Grass Energy (NY)
Piedmont Geriatric Hospital (VA) – (Burns undensified chopped grass)
N.E. Poconos RC&D / Benton School District (PA)
Agrecol (WI)
Show Me Energy Cooperative (MO)
• I. Torrefaction → II. Syngas → III. Liquid biofuel
o Rural Advantage – Madelia Model (MN)
• Drop-in gasoline or jet fuel:
o Show Me Energy Cooperative (MO)
o Cool Planet Energy Systems
• Anaerobic digesters w/grass biomass:
o Roeslein Alternative Energy / Midwest Conservation Biomass Alliance
Components of perennial biomass projects:
3. Develop and demonstrate
landscape design concepts:
Optimize co-production of biomass &
environmental benefits
•Water Quality
•Biodiversity
•Wildlife habitat
•GHG reduction
Prairie grass buffer separating an
organic field from the adjacent
conventionally-farmed field.
Forb Dominated Field Borders & Drive Rows
• Maximize Wildlife Benefit & Reduce Equipment Damage
FDC Enterprises is developing and field
testing production and logistics
concepts for perennial grass biomass.
Design/Planning Workshops: Visualizing
Agricultural Landscapes
• Visualizations and models show appearance & quantify production
and conservation from possible landscape designs
• Shared evaluation of these designs to sort through options, win-wins,
tradeoffs… Credit: Nick Jordan – Seven Mile Creek Biomass Production Planning Project
Perennial biomass crops on Central Illinois farms
Macon County – Perennial
crops will be planted on a
sloping site for forage and
enhanced water quality:
• Alfalfa
• Eastern gamagrass
• Warm season grass mix
As markets develop, grasses
and alfalfa stems may be
used as feedstock for
bioenergy or bioproducts.
Mixed warm season grasses
Eastern gamagrass
Riparian buffer
Saturated buffer concept:
Tile flow is diverted to soil column under buffer.
Nitrates removed via plant uptake and denitrification.
“Lost” nutrients could fertilize a perennial biomass crop.
Drainage discharge pipe
Diverter
box
Adapted from Dan Jaynes, USDA, 2009.
Field
Economic model projections of biomass energy
generally appear to omit consideration of benefits.
Would placing values on soil, water, wildlife and GHG
benefits lead to a bigger biomass wedge?
Bloomberg New Energy Finance projections of
annual installations of new power sources
Potential Ecological Uplifts:
 Sediment, N & P Reduction




Water Storage Increased
Wildlife & Pollinator Habitat
Carbon Sequestered
GHG Reduced
Less
Production/
Input Costs
Payment at least
as good as
Corn/Soybeans
Biomass
Production
Payment
from the
Energy
Facility
Ecological
Uplift
Payment
Targeted to
Marginal
Lands*
* Compare economics of corn production on marginal
lands to dedicated energy crop economics.
USDA – NRCS Photo
Crop Area Harvested (1000 ha)
Upper Midwest Crop Area
25000
Transition to grain-only farming: ~1950-1970
Nitrogen fertilizer
production begins
1947
20000
Corn
15000
Soybean
Hay
10000
Wheat
Wheat
5000
Oat
0
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
Key messages for perennial biomass
Biomass crops are the only source of renewable energy
that can provide landscape-scale ecological benefits →
clean water, wildlife habitat, GHG reduction, soil health …
Fossil fuels cost less than perennial biomass
because the environmental goods of perennials and
the environmental bads of fossil fuels are ignored.
Climate change, the shift toward renewables, and
Gulf hypoxia may be drivers of change on a par with
the introduction of inorganic fertilizer after WW II.
GLBW has the vision & expertise to help guide this transformation.
We should have a sense of urgency to overcome the barriers.