Southern Iowa Biomass Crop Workshop

There is increasing interest in biomass crops for energy in Iowa. Initially, it was thought that strong commodity prices would limit the interest of growers in planting perennials for bioenergy, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. A Biomass Crop Production workshop Thursday, March 8, at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa will explore why interest is increasing. The program will start at 8:45 am and conclude at 2:15 pm

The Southern Iowa Resource Conservation and Development Area has been working with Iowa State University and the Iowa Farm Energy Working Group to evaluate biomass crops, including giant Miscanthus and warm season grasses that can be used to produce renewable energy feedstocks. Read more ...

US city considers phasing out the use of Corn based ethanol fuel

The City of Fort Collins, Colorado USA is considering phasing out the use of corn based ethanol fuel in its fleet vehicles, because of its concern for the environment. The majority of City Council members said Tuesday they would support gradually doing away with the use of E85 fuel, which is 85 percent ethanol, because of the impact ramped-up corn production has had nationally, including water and soil degradation in Iowa and Illinois. Those impacts may not directly affect Fort Collins, said Council member Ben Manvel, but they should not be ignored. "I don't think we want to ship our environmental problems to the Midwest," he said. Read more ...

Farmers in Iowa have completed 61,000 ton biomass harvest

Farmers in Iowa have just completed a 60, 000 ton harvest of corn crop residue. The bales of corn cobs and light stover are to be delivered to a biomass storage site in Emmetsburg where POET's commercial cellulosic ethanol bio-refinery will be completed in 2013. "Biomass harvesting is moving along as planned, and I'm confident we'll have a large and consistent supply of corn cobs and light stover once Project LIBERTY is running," POET founder and CEO Jeff Broin said. Read more ...

USDA announced a fund for renewable energy

The US Department of Agriculture along with University partners Washington, Louisiana, Tennessee and Iowa are to lead projects that focus on the development of aviation biofuels from tall grasses, crop residues and forest resources. US$136 million (€99.74 million) for five projects which will run over for five years. US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said “We have an incredible opportunity to create thousands of new jobs and drive economic development in rural communities across America by continuing to build the framework for a competitively-priced, American-made biofuels industry”. Read more ...