Agricultural and Energy Policy and Biomass Energy
DOE's Biomass Energy Program
Densified biomass has not been a significant component of the U. S. Department of Energy Program which has focused on biofuels for transportation, biopower, including cofiring with coal, gasification, small modular power systems, and feedstock development and bioproducts.
BIOFUELS
"The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Biofuels Program seeks to
cost-effectively produce ethanol and other fuels and chemicals from biomass
resources such as agricultural and forestry residues or fast-growing trees and
grasses. This requires efficient technology to extract and use the sugars in
cellulose and hemicellulose—the fibrous bulk of plant material.
Biofuels such as ethanol made from starch and biodiesel made from vegetable oil
already clean our air, support rural economies, and improve our energy
independence and balance of trade. We hope you will also find this Web site a
useful portal to current biofuels use and to other biofuels-related DOE
programs."
BIOPOWER
"The DOE BioPower Program supports technology development in the
following areas:
Cofiring in existing power stations involves firing up to 20% biomass in a
coal-fired boiler. This reduces air pollution (SOx, NOx) and lowers fuel costs.
In cooperation with the Electric Power Research Institute, the research and
development organization of the U.S. electric power industry, several on- site
test programs are now underway in Indiana, Tennessee, New York and
Pennsylvania.
Biomass gasification converts solid plant material into a rich gaseous fuel, which allows it to be used in high efficiency gas turbine plant and fuel cells. Today, most new power plants are natural gas-fired turbine systems because they are relatively cheap to build and operate. Field tests in Burlington, Vermont are nearing completion while commercial applications are being actively pursued.
Small, modular biomass power systems are being developed for distributed
power applications. Distributed power systems are especially attractive for
developing countries that have limited central power grids. This technology is
an excellent opportunity for U.S. companies in the export market.
Feedstock development activities are "planting the seeds" for an
integrated energy crop industry. Fast growing wood and grass varieties are
mechanically planted and harvested as an alternative crop. The farming
techniques that will make energy crops cost-competitive and provide a new
market for the rural economy are beginning to be demonstrated in the U.S.
Through the DOE/USDA Biomass Power for Rural Development Program, cofiring
projects for energy crops are underway in Alabama, Iowa, and New York. "
www.eren.doe.gov/biopower/miscellan/bp_america.htm
BIOPRODUCTS
"The emerging U.S. biobased products industry combines expertise and technology from the agriculture, forest products, and chemical industries to create plastics, chemicals, and composite materials from renewable resources including agricultural crops and residues, trees and forest residues, grasses, animal wastes, and organic municipal solid wastes. Multidisciplinary R&D is key to developing energy-efficient and cost- competitive technologies for converting biomass to value-added products. Together with industry, grower representatives, universities, national labs, and other government agencies, the Agriculture Industry of the Future is guiding the development of a viable biobased products industry."
Additional information on DOE's biomass research goals and priorities can be found in the two documents listed below.
BIOMASS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
Submitted to Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman and Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham In Accordance with
Biomass R&D Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-224) December 2001.
www.bioproducts-bioenergy.gov/default.asp
THE TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP FOR PLANT/CROP-BASED RENEWABLE RESOURCES 2020: RESEARCH PRIORITIES FOR FULFILLING A VISION TO ENHANCE U.S. ECONOMIC SECURITY THROUGH RENEWABLE PLANT/CROP-BASED RESOURCE USE
www.ornl.gov/ORNL/Energy_Eff/PDFs/Shahab_Biomass_Flyer.pdf
USDA and The Conservation Reserve Program
"The Conservation Reserve Program is a voluntary program for agricultural landowners. Through CRP, you can receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource conserving covers on eligible farmland.
The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) makes annual rental payments based on the agriculture rental value of the land, and it provides cost-share assistance for up to 50 percent of the participant’s costs in establishing approved conservation practices. Participants enroll in CRP contracts for 10 to 15 years.
The program is administered by the CCC through the Farm Service Agency (FSA), and program support is provided by Natural Resources Conservation Service, Cooperative State Research and Education Extension Service, state forestry agencies, and local Soil and Water Conservation Districts."
www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/crp.htm
Detailed information about the amount and location of land enrolled in CRP is available at the following URL:
www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/crp_reports.htm
Map source: www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/20th/Booklet/current_CRPAcre.htm
Of the 455,244,511 acres of farm land in the United States, 33,947,575 or about 7-1/2 % were enrolled in the CRP program as of 30 August 2002.
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)
"An offspring of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), CREP is a voluntary program for agricultural landowners. Unique state and federal partnerships allow you to receive incentive payments for installing specific conservation practices. Through the CREP, farmers can receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource conserving covers on eligible land."
Twenty-two states have approved CREP programs and four more proposals are being reviewed. CREP enrollment is 291,830 acres.
www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/state_updates.htm
CRP seeks to protect erodable soils, provide wildlife habitat, and reduce production of commodity crops. Harvesting enrolled land is strictly limited to haying under emergency conditions subject to the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture. Biomass energy crops grown on agricultural land are seldom economically competitive over the long term with price supported commodity grain crops. Many biomass energy advocates have long contended that allowing the harvesting of biomass energy crops from CRP enrolled lands does not compromise the fundamental goals of the program. A strategy in which the land owner made more, the government paid less, and biomass energy were harvested at a cost permitting it to have broader market acceptance would benefit all concerned.
Synergism Between Agricultural and Energy Policy: The Case of Dedicated Bioenergy Crops
Daniel De La Torre Ugarte and Marie Walsh
Abstract
"A counterfactual scenario, in which during the period 1996-2000 incentives were in pace for growing dedicated bioenergy crops, is analyzed. POLYSYS an agricultural policy analysis model was the analytical tool of choice. In the absence of commercial size operations, data for bioenergy crops was collected from pilot and research fields and validated by expert opinion. Results indicate that on an annual average basis, market returns to major crops would have increased up to $3.6 billion with government savings of $1.8 billion a year."
The 2002 Farm Bill
Title IX. Energy
Title IX of the 2002 Farm Bill contains an extensive section on energy. To view the complete language of Title IX in a pdf file go to the site below and click on "View Title 9 of the Farm Bill". Just how this legislation could and will affect the prospect for pelletizing prairie grasses is not yet understood.
www.usda.gov/farmbill/conference_report/title9.pdf
For a brief analysis of title IX visit the USDA Economic Research Service at the following URL:
www.ers.usda.gov/Features/FarmBill/Titles/TitleIXEnergy.htm#b
Equally interesting provisions regarding biomass are contained in title II. Key provisions are shown in bold type.
Title II Conservation
‘‘SEC. 1232. DUTIES OF OWNERS AND OPERATORS.
(a)
IN GENERAL.—Under the terms of a contract entered into under this subchapter,
during the term of the contract, an owner or
operator
of a farm or ranch shall agree—
(1)
to implement a plan approved by the local conservation district (or in an area
not located within a conservation district, a plan approved by the Secretary)
for converting eligible land normally devoted to the production of an
agricultural com-modity on the farm or ranch to a less intensive use (as
defined by the Secretary), such as pasture, permanent grass, legumes, forbs,
shrubs, or trees, substantially in accordance with a schedule outlined in the
plan;
(2)
to place highly erodible cropland subject to the contract in the conservation reserve
established under this subchapter;
(3) not to use the land for agricultural purposes,
except as permitted by the Secretary;
(4)
to establish approved vegetative cover (which may include emerging vegetation
in water), water cover for the en-hancement
of
wildlife, or, where practicable, maintain existing cover on the land, except
that—
(A) the water
cover shall not include ponds for the purpose of watering livestock, irrigating
crops, or raising fish for commercial
purposes;
and
(B) the Secretary shall not terminate the contract for failure to establish
approved vegetative or water cover on the land if—
(i) the failure to plant the cover was due to excessive rainfall or flooding;
(ii) the land subject to the contract that could practicably be planted to the
cover is planted to the cover; and
(iii) the land on which the owner or operator was unable to plant the cover is
planted to the cover after the wet conditions that
prevented the planting sub-sides;
(5)
on a violation of a term or condition of the contract at any time the owner or
operator has control of the land—
(A) to forfeit
all rights to receive rental payments and cost sharing payments under the
contract and to refund to
the Secretary
any rental payments and cost sharing payments received by the owner or operator
under the contract,
together with
interest on the payments as determined by the Secretary, if the Secretary,
after considering the rec-ommendations
of the soil
conservation district and the Natural Resources Conservation Service,
determines that the violation is of such nature as
to warrant
termination of the contract; or
(B) to refund to
the Secretary, or accept adjustments to, the rental payments and cost sharing
payments pro-vided
to the owner or
operator, as the Secretary considers appropriate, if the Secretary determines
that the violation
does not warrant
termination of the contract;
(6)
on the transfer of the right and interest of the owner or operator in land
subject to the contract—
(A) to forfeit all rights to rental payments and cost sharing payments under
the contract; and
(B) to refund to the United States all rental payments and cost sharing
payments received by the owner or operator,
or accept such payment adjustments or make such refunds as the Secretary
considers appropriate and consistent
with the objectives of this subchapter; unless the transferee of the land
agrees with the Secretary to as-sume
all obligations of the contract, except that no refund of rental payments and
cost sharing payments shall be required if
the land is purchased by or for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or
the transferee and the Secretary agree to
modifications to the contract, in a case in which the modifications are
consistent with the objectives of the program, as deter-mined
by the Secretary;
(7) not to conduct any harvesting or grazing, nor
otherwise make commercial use of the forage, on land that is subject to
the contract, nor adopt any similar practice specified
in the contract by the Secretary as a practice that would tend to defeat
the purposes of the contract, except that the
Secretary may permit, consistent with the conservation of soil, water quality,
and
wildlife habitat (including habitat during nesting
seasons for birds in the area)—
(A) managed harvesting and grazing (including the
managed harvesting of biomass), except that in permitting
managed harvesting and grazing, the
Secretary—
(i) shall, in coordination with the State technical committee—
(I) develop appropriate vegetation management requirements; and
(II) identify periods during which harvesting and grazing under this paragraph
may be conducted;
(ii) may permit harvesting and grazing or other commercial use of the forage on
the land that is subject
to the contract in response to a drought or other emergency; and
(iii) shall, in the case of routine managed harvesting or grazing or harvesting
or grazing conducted
in response to a drought or other emergency, reduce the rental payment
otherwise payable under the contract
by an amount commensurate with the economic value of the activity; and
(B) the installation of wind turbines, except that in permitting the
installation of wind turbines, the Secretary
shall determine the number and location of wind turbines that may be installed,
taking into account—
(i) the location, size, and other physical characteristics of the land;
(ii) the extent to which the land contains wildlife and wildlife habitat; and
(iii) the purposes of the conservation reserve program under this subchapter;
(8)
not to conduct any planting of trees on land that is subject to the contract
unless the contract specifies that the harvesting
and
commercial sale of trees such as Christmas trees are prohibited, nor otherwise
make commercial use of trees on
land
that is subject to the contract unless it is expressly permitted in the
contract, nor adopt any similar practice specified
in
the contract by the Secretary as a practice that would tend to defeat the
purposes of the contract, except that no contract
shall
prohibit activities consistent with customary forestry practice, such as
pruning, thinning, or stand improvement of trees,
on
land converted to forestry use;
(9)
not to adopt any practice specified by the Secretary in the contract as a
practice that would tend to defeat the purposes
of
this subchapter; and
(10)
to comply with such additional provisions as the Secretary determines are
desirable and are included in the contract
to
carry out this subchapter or to facilitate the practical administration of this
subchapter."