Illinois Farm Bureau, IL
05-17-06
Perspective -- Energy expert offers state tips in the bioenergy game
A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) official with a fondness for the Midwest
recently offered fatherly advice to Illinois’ bio-based energy advocates:
Pull together potential in-state partners and take advantage of existing resources
that range from world-class universities to national laboratories to millions of
acres of fertile cropland to find Illinois’ energy niche that would allow it to
compete with other states.
Illinoisans should consider the value of Gene Petersen’s comments, given his
national perspective.
Here’s a federal energy official who observes energy efforts in other states and
was willing to give Illinoisans a tip to improve their odds in attracting potential
research dollars and grow the state’s bioenergy industry.
Petersen, based in Golden, Colo., manages energy projects for DOE’s office of
energy efficiency and renewable energy. He managed a National Corn Growers
Association and Archer Daniels Midland Co. project to develop value-added
products from wet-mill ethanol plant byproducts.
He said he works with energy consortiums, major corporations, and universities
“making sure the taxpayers’ money is spent wisely” on research and
development.
Petersen said Illinois bioenergy advocates should tap all potential partners, and
he mentioned at least one possible collaborator:
Des Plaines is home to one of the world’s premier catalyst developers, UOP LLC,
a subsidiary of Honeywell. UOP develops catalysts for cars and oil refinery
operations, among other products. UOP representatives could be brought into
state bioenergy planning, he suggested.
“I think it never hurts to bring people in. (You) could see opportunities that exist,”
Petersen said.
As for scientific resources, Petersen noted Illinois has two top national
laboratories, Argonne National Laboratory in DuPage County and the National
Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) in Peoria County.
Argonne is one of DOE’s largest research centers. NCAUR is the largest of the
USDA Agricultural Research Service major research centers. Illinois also has a
wealth of scientific researchers at such world-class universities as the University
of Illinois and others.
Petersen noted Argonne realized the value of energy partnerships several years
ago when it formed the Midwest Consortium for Sustainable Biobased Products
and Bioenergy, linking scientists from Argonne, the U of I, Iowa State
University, Michigan State University, and Purdue University.
As farmers know, Illinois is blessed with fertile farmland — a must for producing
the raw materials needed for bio-based energy. “Land is the natural resource
when it comes to biomass (energy),” Petersen said.
Petersen suggested Illinois bioenergy supporters talk with potential federal
partners from DOE to the Department of Transportation (DOT). For example,
DOT recently contributed $40 million over four years into the existing Sun Grant
research program, Petersen pointed out.
Federal Sun Grants were established to research and develop sustainable,
environmentally friendly bio-based energy at five land-grant universities. Illinois is
part of the North-Central Center, which is located at South Dakota State
University.
“Illinois should take advantage of the pieces that already exist,” Petersen
offered. “Maybe you won’t have to organize something yourselves, but be a part
of (ongoing efforts.)”
Petersen mentioned New York, Iowa, and Indiana among states with interesting
state energy development programs. New York has a state energy research and
development authority that offers specific agricultural incentives.
Currently, New York is making a big push on anaerobic digesters to take
advantage of manure from its dairy farms, Petersen remarked.
Iowa funded a biorenewable program at Iowa State University, while Purdue
University has a laboratory of renewable resources engineering, he noted.
Why would a Utah native who works in Colorado care about Illinois? “The state
was good to me,” Petersen said. He earned a doctorate in chemistry from
Northwestern University in Evanston.
Other Illinois connections — his current boss is a U of I alum — have caused
Petersen to keep tabs on Illinois and its bio-based energy efforts.
I was intrigued by a brief point (the suggestions for partnering) Petersen made as
part of a longer speech at a U of I sustainable bioenergy conference. Petersen
agreed to expand further on his thoughts for this FarmWeek column.
If an energy expert with a broad perspective offers some advice, we should
consider it. It’s worth checking out what other states are doing and learn from
them. After all, “Illinois could go farther,” as Petersen told me.