This article was revealed within the Louisiana Weekly in the Jan. 16, 2012 edition.

Roots of mighty oaks push up by means of New Orleans sidewalks whereas timber in the metropolis typically tower above close by buildings. Almost half of Louisiana, in actual fact, is coated with forests, and the southern U.S. as a whole is taken into account the nation’s wooden basket. The state is a prime oil-and-gas producer, however companies–including native utilities–could use forest residue for vitality soon.

Later this 12 months, Colorado-primarily based Sundrop Fuels, Inc. plans to interrupt ground on its first gasoline-from-wood plant near Alexandria, La. The firm says it chose the timber-rich site because of entry to feedstocks and natural gas, qualified staff and supply-line infrastructure, together with support from the state’s economic-improvement authorities.

“We’re building the nation’s first, mass-production, inexperienced gasoline facility,” said Steven Silvers, spokesman for Sundrop Fuels. “We are able to use any cellulosic material as feedstock and have chosen woody biomass because it’s plentiful, especially in and around Louisiana.” The power will value $450 million to $500 million to construct, and will make use of 150 workers and produce over 50 million gallons of inexperienced gasoline a 12 months.

For the plant’s feedstock, Sundrop Fuels intends to make use of branches, bark, tops of timber and leftover wood from tree processing. Hydrogen from natural gas will probably be combined with the woody matter to make tank-prepared gasoline. Through the use of excessive-temperature gasification, the facility will convert wood into a renewable synthesis gas. The ultimate, inexperienced-gasoline product might be utilized by auto engines that run on petroleum-primarily based gas.

Sundrop Fuels expects to signal agreements with wood waste suppliers. “As a result of it’s a aggressive commodity market, it’s likely that our woody biomass feedstock will come from a number of states,” Silvers stated. Under different agreements, the corporate will ship its renewable gasoline to various blenders and refiners in Louisiana, after which out to the nation’s gasoline shoppers. Oklahoma-primarily based Chesapeake Energy, a high natural gas producer with interests in Louisiana, is a 50-percent proprietor in Sundrop Fuels, Silvers famous. Last summer season, Chesapeake introduced a partnership with Clean Vitality Fuels to construct 150 pure-gas filling stations for truckers across the nation.

Sundrop Fuels hasn’t received any federal or state tax dollars for building of its Louisiana plant or its know-how developments, Silvers said. The facility will probably be financed partly via the sale of tax-exempt, private exercise bonds–which carry no financial obligation from state or local authorities. Buyers of the bonds obtain tax exemptions.

“Our Louisiana plant will produce a cellulosic, superior biofuel, which by Environmental Safety Agency standards should symbolize not less than a 60-percent discount in greenhouse gas compared with the production of petroleum-based transportation fuels,” Silvers mentioned. “In contrast with corn ethanol, our course of is much more efficient economically and environmentally. Each gallon of our inexperienced gasoline will contain considerably extra power worth that a gallon of ethanol.” Petroleum-primarily based gasoline additionally has more vitality value than ethanol.

Curiosity in wood for vitality has grown following a Congressionally mandated, renewable gas normal, handed in 2005 after which modified in a 2007 energy bill, requiring that extra renewables be blended into gasoline. Use of renewables within the nation’s gasoline provide is required to develop from 15.2 billion gallons this year to 36 billion by 2022. Corn ethanol accounts for many of the biofuel produced in the U.S. now, and Washington needs to encourage use of wooden, grasses and other non-food sources.

Crescent Metropolis residents have a stake in what Entergy New Orleans, which keeps their appliances running, does in the renewables arena. “Entergy utilities do not use biomass as a gas source now,” said Michael Burns, Entergy spokesman. Nonetheless, “as part of a 2010 Renewable Request for Proposals, Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana acquired multiple bids from resources that deliberate to use biomass–together with agricultural residues and woody biomass.” Entergy is negotiating long-time period contracts with entities that intend to make use of biomass gas sources, he mentioned.

A Renewable Power Pilot Program, adopted by the Louisiana Public Service Fee in mid-2010, will drive what the state’s utilities do with wood. The program was designed with an eye to deciding if a renewable portfolio customary–used by different states to make utilities search a minimum % of energy from renewable assets–is right for Louisiana. Thirty U.S. states and various European countries have portfolio standards.

Below the LPSC pilot, utilities have issued requests for proposals or RFPs for lengthy-time period, renewable resources that may come online between 2011 and 2014. In- and out-of-state producers of renewable electricity were allowed to”bid” into RFPs mandated by the LPSC. The pilot program aims to create as much as 350 megawatts of long-time period renewable energy in three years, or sufficient to produce 2 percent of the state’s power wants, and to spur improvement of biomass, geothermal, photo voltaic, wind and hydro vitality.

Louisiana’s three, investor-owned utilities–Entergy, Cleco and SWEPCO–are pilot program individuals. “Entergy’s RFP is ongoing, and Cleco is at present conducting a RFP for gas to be used at its Madison three facility” in Boyce, La., mentioned Colby Cook, LPSC spokesman.

Every utility’s portion of the 350 megawatts is predicated on 2009 retail sales. Contracts awarded by means of the RFPs will have terms of ten to twenty years. For instance, Shreveport-based mostly SWEPCO just lately introduced a 20-year power settlement, approved below the pilot, between it and a Kansas wind farm being built by BP. The state’s pilot program allows quite a few energy sources, including a paper-plant byproduct known as black liquor that may be burned to supply steam. One other eligible supply is waste-to-power or incineration of waste to create electricity.

At Pineville, La.-based mostly Cleco, spokeswoman Robbyn Cooper mentioned “our participation with biomass is strictly by the LPSC pilot program.” Primarily based on its 2009 retail gross sales, Cleco’s portion of the program’s 350 megawatts of renewable capability is 43 megawatts. “It is just too early to say whether or not we’ll be utilizing wooden chips at Madison three,” she stated. Cleco’s Madison three power-generating unit, constructed two years ago at Boyce in Rapides Parish, uses petroleum coke in its boilers but may rely on biomass for gas. The corporate will know extra about its attainable wood use by yr-finish.

In another intiative, Wisconsin-primarily based Point Bio Vitality, LLC intends to construct a plant in Baton Rouge, La. this yr, producing 400,000 tons of wood pellets for export to Europe. Northern European nations, the UK and Italy are brisk importers of pellets for gas.

Biomass fuels from wood, grass, waste and different natural matter supplied four p.c of all vitality used within the U.S. in 2010, in keeping with the U.S. Vitality Info Administration’s latest knowledge. About forty six % of that was from woody biomass–together with chips and sawdust. Globally, biomass accounts for an estimated 10 percent or more of all energy use.

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