Canadian Biomass • November/December 2015 • In Progress

Besides being the right environmental choice, biomass heating reduces greenhouse gas, supports local industry and is providing heat for a number of government facilities including Wedgewood Manor, says Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy Minister Paula Biggar.

“Biomass heat is a local, renewable, carbon neutral resource, and government is leading the way for biomass heat in Prince Edward Island, with installations in 13 government facilities, and seven additional installations coming online in early 2016,” Biggar said. “Prince Edward Island’s total energy mix is made up of approximately 10 per cent biomass energy and the provincial government is supporting the development of biomass energy production in public facilities. Biomass is a locally available renewable energy resource that will continue to play an important role in our renewable energy mix.”

Along with the environmental benefits, biomass installations create economic benefits for the forestry industry. One tonne of biomass chips can produce up to 4 megawatt hours of heat, which displaces approximately 580 litres of fuel oil. When biomass chips are harvested through selective thinning of Island forests, this improves forest growing conditions, improves tree growth, and enhances biodiversity.

Island biomass installations have displaced 2.4 million litres of fuel oil which resulted in a reduction of 6,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas and cost-savings of over $200,000 since 2012. In 2016, island biomass installations will result in a reduction of 2.6 million litres of fuel oil and 7,200 tonnes of greenhouse gas, per year.

DuPont celebrated the opening of its cellulosic biofuel facility in Nevada, Iowa. The biorefinery is the world’s largest cellulosic ethanol plant, with the capacity to produce 30 million gallons per year of clean fuel that offers a 90 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as compared to gasoline.

The raw material used to produce the ethanol is corn stover – the stalks, leaves and cobs left in a field after harvest. The facility will demonstrate at commercial scale that non-food feedstocks from agriculture can be the renewable raw material to power the future energy demands of society. Cellulosic ethanol will further diversify the transportation fuel mix just as wind and solar are expanding the renewable options for power generation.

Vital to the supply chain and the entire operation of the Nevada biorefinery are close to 500 local farmers, who will provide the annual 375,000 dry tons of stover needed to produce this cellulosic ethanol from within a 30-mile radius of the facility. In addition to providing a brand-new revenue stream for these growers, DuPont will create 85 full-time jobs at the plant and more than 150 seasonal local jobs in Iowa.

“Iowa has a rich history of innovation in agriculture,” said Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad. “Today we celebrate the next chapter in that story, using agricultural residue as a feed stock for fuel, which brings both tremendous environmental benefits to society and economic benefits to the state. The opening of DuPont’s biorefinery represents a great example of the innovation that is possible when rural communities, their government and private industry work together toward a common goal.”

The majority of the fuel produced at the Nevada, Iowa, facility will be bound for California to fulfill the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard where the state has adopted a policy to reduce carbon intensity in transportation fuels. The plant also will serve as a commercial-scale demonstration of the cellulosic technology where investors from all over the world can see firsthand how to replicate this model in their home regions.

DuPont’s achievement provides the technology that will transform the U.S. fuel supply enabling a transition to fulfill the original cellulosic ethanol volume targets as Congress intended when it passed the Renewable Fuel Standard, a regulation established in 2005 to encourage growth and investment in sustainable fuel solutions. Earlier this month, DuPont and America’s Renewable Future released new poll findings that suggested Iowa caucus-goers from both parties – 61 per cent of Republicans and 76 per cent of Democrats – would be more likely to vote for a presidential candidate who supports the Renewable Fuel Standard and renewable fuels.