I often feel like I am having trouble keeping up with the current status of grass energy research and development. Just when I think I have a grasp of the scene, I get surprised by some new revelation. This happened most recently when I downloaded the Technical Assessment of Grass Pellets as Boiler Fuel in Vermont. This 46-page report was produced by the Vermont Grass Energy Partnership, a collaborative effort among the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, University of Vermont Extension Service, and the Biomass Energy Resource Center in Montpelier (BERC). Various people have critiqued this report in this blog and elsewhere and I am not planning on using this space to give it a full review. Despite its flaws, real or perceived, I applaud Vermont for supporting grass energy research and development through the Sustainable Jobs Fund and wish that New York State had a similar commitment.
The Vermont study was by its own admission limited in scope and will therefore prompt further research. Citing the report’s “Next Steps” section:
The next steps in determining the feasibility of grass energy in Vermont should include a robust economic assessment of the costs of manufacturing grass pellets under different scenarios. For instance, what changes can be anticipated at a centralized (stationary) pellet mill compared to utilizing mobile equipment (at different scales) to process the grass “on location?” As part of this economic assessment, key variables such as the cost of energy (fuel, electricity, diesel, biodiesel, etc.), subsidies paid to farmers (e.g., USDA’s Biomass Crop Assistance Program), and economies of scale in production costs must all be considered. Once the grass pellet production costs are fully understood, target wholesale and retail price points can be projected and compared against other heating fuels, including liquid fossil fuels and wood fuels.
As part of these next steps, the report also states that research will be needed to:
• Examine new and existing heating appliances (furnaces and boilers) that claim the ability to reliably burn high-ash fuels such as grass pellets.
• Determine the production costs of pellets made with grass and wood blends and to gauge the interest of the pellet consuming market for this type of product.
• Assess the production costs of farm-scale grass pelletization and the potential fuel savings of grass pellets over other heating fuels. Other market development scenarios using 100% grass pellets could emerge that will need further in-depth analysis as well.
That’s a decent grass pellet research agenda. Recently, the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund issued a request seeking proposals that will: “…. lead to the design, fabrication, demonstration and use of a mobile or stationary pelletizing system capable of converting at least 1-ton of grass biomass per hour into densified fuel. Projects must be able to identify at least one in-state source of grass biomass that will be pelletized and at least one in-state end-user of the pelletized fuel.”
Others, notably Renewable Energy Resources LLC and Broome Biomass LLC are researching briquetting (or cubing) densification as well as feedstock harvesting and handling methods to produce grass fuels for larger boiler/CHP applications. Still others, such as Jerry Cherney at Cornell, Michael Newtown at SUNY Canton and Paul Cerosaletti of Delaware County Cornell Cooperative Extension are examining the combustion characteristics of grass fuels in commercial and residential-sized units. Also, we should not fail to mention the mobile pelleting work of the Hudson Valley Grass Energy Group and the Pocono-Northeast RC&D Council in Pennsylvania. Last, the work of the Resource Efficient Agricultural Program (REAP) in Ontario, Canada is well known.
My intention here is not to try and provide an exhaustive listing of all the research that may be ongoing, but rather to ask the question: “Are we, the grass energy community, covering all the research and development bases in a coordinated and comprehensive way?” Yes, different people are looking at different pieces of the puzzle, but are we really working together in a truly collaborative manner? Perhaps it is time to convene a special-purpose conference for the relatively small cadre of researchers and business interests to review progress, compare notes and chart out a research and development course that will get us to the goal of a viable grass energy industry.
arbnybea
broomebiomassllc
dconable
Grass energy
Delaware CCE Gerry
HVGE
inshik
Jon Montan
kevinsumner
khenderson312
netaka white
tonynekut
Laura Colban of Skanden Energy has floated the idea of putting together a “grass” meeting/session at the HeatNE conference. The purpose would be to share ideas and, as you suggest, Joe, attempt to coordinate efforts going forward.
As one of the authors, editors and project partners on the Vermont grass pellet study (http://www.biomasscenter.org/index.php/resources/publications.html), I’d like to acknowledge and thank those who have taken the time to read the report and offer opinions and feedback. Questions that the Vermont report did not address, and have been raised elsewhere in this blog are valuable, as they point to the kinds of issues still at large and in need of analysis, benchmarking and answers.
The overarching goal of the Vermont Grass Energy Partnership is to build in-state capacity, and a knowledge base at each step in the supply chain for converting grass to energy and open new markets that will reduce the use of No.2 oil for heating. (http://www.vsjf.org/project-details/11/vermont-grass-energy-partnership)
I readily acknowledge that there are other, more technical manuscripts available on the subject of biomass combustion. And while our scope for this report was intentionally narrow, our overall objective goes beyond the analysis of burning grass pellets.
I believe the report for Phase I of our efforts generated important data in a ‘user-friendly format’, but even more importantly, the project was the means to bring together a diversity of interested players with particular skill sets and motivations, who could begin to address the fundamental questions of growing, processing and using dedicated thermal energy crops, as a step toward rural economic development, etc. That process was the “relational R&D” which is critical to building a new energy sector (or any market sector, really), and which got a real jumpstart through the many facets of a complex project like this.
Phase II is underway, which includes economic modeling of different types of grass energy enterprises, a bulk pellet fuel (delivery) initiative, evaluations of biomass heating appliances that claim to be “grass fuel compatible” and a competitive grant round to foster the development of a grass energy business in Vermont (http://www.vsjf.org/what-we-do/grants/apply).
And here, I’d like to give a shout out to Libby Murphy and the team at HVGE who have been exceedingly helpful and inspirational (http://grassenergy.wordpress.com/author/hvgenergy/).
Jon has asked one of the best questions of all, “Are we, the grass energy community, covering all the research and development bases in a coordinated and comprehensive way?”
I think there are enough of us who take this opportunity seriously, and are putting forward good money, talent and risk, that we should, as Jon suggests, “… convene a special-purpose conference for the relatively small cadre of researchers and business interests to review progress, compare notes and chart out a research and development course that will get us to the goal of a viable grass energy industry.”
I’d like to build on this and Tony’s suggestion, that those of us participating in the April HeatNE conference in Manchester, NH, meet-up and see how far we could get along the path of “review and coordinate”. And if it makes sense, rough out a plan to convene a “Northeast Grass Energy Symposium” at a later date by discussing; when, where, why, who, how much (budget), etc. Perhaps if one of you is already working with Laura (Coban), that’s a good place to start to find a time slot and a room where we could meet? I’m also available to help coordinate or organize an outcomes focused session.
Thanks and regards, Netaka White, Bioenergy Program Director, VT Sustainable Jobs Fund
Doreen from Broome Biomass here…
I do think that we need to hold some sort of organizational meeting to focus the energies of everyone involved into a constructive base. We each have areas of talent that should contribute to a very well rounded group of individuals that can assist with the promotion and development of biomass within the Northeast.
I wish that we would all be able to attend the conference in NH, but we will be in construction phase of our project during that time frame and will not have the extra time to attend. I would be willing to sit down with everyone at some point either before the month of April or after.
Maybe another option would be to do a webinar for flexibility.
As for the future of grass and wood biomass, I think there are some key issues that we really need to start focusing on. One is consumer awareness and the second is policies. Not only here in NY, but the whole Northeast. As the old saying goes, “United we stand”. We need to get someone in the government to sit down and really take a look at these projects and what they can provide economically within the communities. I do have a couple of feelers out there that have had good responses, but it has to happen from more than just our organization. We all need to start contacting our local government officials. It can’t happen with just the voice of one person.
I have told Dan from NY Biomass Alliance that I will help out as much as I possibly can. I want to see these projects go…not only for those in my region but all regions. These projects are the future of the Agriculture Industry. These projects will be a way to keep farmland in use when all else fails. These projects will be putting money back into every community the “crop” up in. Those are all factors that we need to start focusing on more and more. Times are rough out there right now. We need to start making the real stats known.
We have a blog on our web page that I will be keeping updated to the best of my ability about things that our organization is working on. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any ideas on how to get more people to “think outside of the box” and promote what we do.
If ONLY PelletFuels, LLC did not have to sign a rental agreement to house Badami’s machines, and pay rent from the getgo, there would have been the money for the site plan and engineered plans. After I had the machines repaired and tweaked, the Middletown plant was producing 1 ton per hour. WIth the NYSERDA grant $$$ (PON1169) – remember that one?- my plant would have produced 2-3 tons per hour (machines set in series) , and would have been fiscally sound. The business plan was sound and worked, BUT for the rent paid without production and lack of help from those who should have. It can still work, but not on my dime. The mobile is a scaled down version of the stationary. They BOTH should have been up and running – the stationary plant was well located (intersection of I-84 and 17), had produced jobs and reduced the cardboard waste stream. I still have about 2 tons left, some with and some without the grass.
So for some reason, collaboration was squashed and this sustainable fuel never made it to the local market place in bulk. Given a 48 week work year, @ 6 days per week, double shifts, there could be a profit margin of about $100,000 conservative per year ($225 per ton to the public – BTU content 8500/lb + depending upon hybrid mix) from a small stationary plant (I had 8000 sq ft in a crap building – never did get a chance to put in the capacitors and solar).
Any interest? I’d still like to make a reasonable buck if I am doing a great job!