S. 1884 Harvesting Energy Act of 2007

A biochar based summary is available here from IBI.

opencongress.org provides the ability to create a widget from any US bill. A widget for S. 1884 is at the bottom this blog now.

Obama

I try to keep poltics out of this blog to focus on the issues at hand. If you noticed I mentioned regardless of who wins the presidential election both have mentioned cap and trade systems.

The president elect has a site to give input. I would have given the same input to either victor. Here is my submission:

Troops: Bringing the troops home safely after a successful conclusion to the wars and supporting their needs upon their return in recognition of their ability to endure the challenges they have faced and will face is the highest priority.

Global Finance: The stability of the global financial system along with regulatory adjustments to keep it stable is the next priority.

I don’t have any specific suggestions on those two items other than…

Buy steel: Global steel prices have retreated but they won’t stay low for long. There is a lot of infrastructure work ahead with plans already drawn up. Get the steel for the projects and have the projects store them now. That will save money in the long run. Getting full funding for projects so they can start should be a separate issue. This can be applied to other commodities as well. This saves money in the long run and boosts the economy.

Gasoline Disincentive: High gas prices ($4) are painful but low gas prices ($2) feed our addiction. Gasoline needs an increased tax when it is cheap to allow its replacement. The increase tax should fade when the price increases. Automatically doubling the federal tax when the yearly average is under $3 may be the way to go. It provides new revenue and declares an end to cheap gas that makes alternatives suffer. We saw the real suffer of not having alternatives when the market went over $4.

Biochar: There is some evidence that placing wood based charcoal into the soil increases productivity. The productivity lasts for multiple years and since charcoal is made out of carbon the carbon is sequestered for multiple years. The process of creating biochar produces usable energy, syngas, and other products in varying amounts. Biochar use could provide a combination of agricultural productivity, carbon sequestering, and energy. Every soil and crop in different. Every institution that supports agricultural research should be directed and supported to look into this. It won’t solve anyone problem totally but it’s something that can provide three partial solutions at once.

Northern Kentucky Carbon: We are energy challenged. 98% of our electricity comes from coal. We pay more than 30% less for electric than the national average. Local wind power will not have an impact. Remote wind power will most likely be used to supplant fossil in other places with none left for here. Geothermal will be common on the east coast before it comes here (the earth’s crust is thickest here; geo-hvac is an option though). There is no remaining usable hydro (unless we make the region into a great lake and live in boats upon it). This is also not an ideal place for solar (but out of alternatives solar leads, and solar water heating works well). Considering all that conservation, limited solar, and limited biomass are the only cards we have to get away from coal. When constructing national policy please use us as a case study. The nation needs to change its carbon footprint and we are one of the largest toes. Policies that make sense nationally have the potential to either lean us towards nuclear (which we have negative local memory (Fernald,Zimmer) or it will depopulate the region. Basically we are a region with little local energy, even the coal is barged in from hundreds of miles away.

Biochar

Some paraphrased comments made on the biochar yahoo group relaying our local situtation.

Even though biochar may produce less energy than turning all biomass to ash, it should be pursued since it may have long term benifit in our loam soils.

Details...


> We have to stop burning coal!
Our electricity is 98% coal here.

> We have to find another resource for the energy.

> hydrology power
The local source has been tapped. It provides 1%. While we are at the confluence of two rivers damming them for power would flood the region (which would take care of our energy problem). Also a series of locks was put in decades ago so the river is more a seris of lakes as it is that only rarely has large movement (while the rivers
are wide before the locks one could wade acrossed the river except in spring).

> wind
There is little harvestible wind. In fact locally I would be oppossed to wind. We live in one of those valleys that does not get much fresh air. While our modern activities cause pollution even before that time we had an issue with pollen. Mark Twain was quoted as something to the effect that people in Cincinnati were disgusting .. they spit all the time. An effect of the pollen. (He also said "When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always twenty years behind the times.")

> Nuclear power
Bad memories.
I think we have the only nuclear plant that was converted to a coal
plant.

And then there was dear Fernald...

While it is unrelated we have low levels of radon also which is subconsciously attributed to the above two things.

However these nifty mini-generators might be acceptable locally.


> geothermal
The earth crust is extremely thick here and cool to a great depth.
The east coast of the USA will have Geothermal before we do and that is a long way off.

However geo heating of homes works well here. It just needs to be used more. But it more often replaces natural gas and not electric.

> solar electric (photovoltaic)
Also not a real great place for solar but out of all the non-waste alternatives that could be built widely this one would be the leader here. I have hope that some of the newer cheaper flexible solar design that our out will be a good match here. They aren't as efficient as the hard silicon light but they cut in in lower light.

> solar thermal
This works well here. We need to do more of it. Again it replaces more natural gas than coal.

> Conservation
Would you be surprised that this is on TOP of Duke Energy's list?

Also Carsharing may help here as well.

> biomass energy conversion
While we don't have alot of biomass available locally this is my interest in biochar here.


> We could set the price paid for carbon emissions so high that it
drives coal-fired power industry out of business, because it won't compete any longer against the other carbonless forms of energy.

You've hit upon the key as to why I felt the need to start this NKY Carbon thing and my interest in biochar and any solution. Change is coming. Both presidential canditates support cap-and-trade. We have some of the lowest electric rates and we import all of out energy (the coal comes by river, the natural gas and gasoline is
pipelined in)

> [8] As a temporary alternative to coal E&S, biochar from agricultural wastes can be used right now to achieve a net gain in carbon capture and storage, as compared with business as usual, in the course of which these wastes are usually burned. Also denuded forest areas can be replanted. And so on.

> So for existing coal-fired operations for the time being, I would require only a significant reduction in emissions and compensating activities off site for the balance, until we get the technological breakthroughs to make retrofits economically feasible.

Duke is current experimenting with:
- CO2 injection to the saline auqifer
- algea from flue gas
- they want to replace the oldest coal plant with a IGCC system
- their alliance to get biomass burning facilities desinged has been
mentioned in this group

Biochar

Posted the following to the Biochar group.

To touch on a few a few comments made in various threads it’s best to put things into a local context as solutions vary widely from place to place.

I’m in Northern Kentucky

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Kentucky


Specifically Campbell County

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campbell_County,_Kentucky

We range from urban at the north, to suburban in the middle, to rural in the south.

For inputs we have at least yard waste and Bush Honeysuckle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_Honeysuckle

Bush Honeysuckle is an envasive species introduced over a century ago. While it’s advance is slow it has reached critical mass in the region. If you disturb 10 square meters of soil the birds will give at least one sprout within a year. Within 5 years the entire 10 square meters will be a mature honeysuckle. If cut to the ground each year thereafter it will grow back for years until it exhausts it’s resources.

“biomass input does not have to be trees” – The bush honeysuckle is a woody shrub. To use it UNsustainably would be a challenge and a goal. Stands of it could be thinned to allow other things like our endangered plants to grow in it’s shade. The roots would be left as they are needed to hold the soil in place until something else holds it.

Current alternatives to biochar are composting and landfilling with extensive landfill gas capture. One contributes to soil and the other produces energy. Neither does both.

“Carbon Credits” – We are in the carbon lawless west. “Kyoto? Is that the new SUV with the hot tub in the back?” Any carbon credit system operating now is voluntary. However regulation is coming soon.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=carbon-dioxide-auction

Both presidential candidates have stated they will do some kind of “cap and trade” arrangement.

The thing one has to remember about regulations is that they are limited to how they are written. If “cap and trade” regulates direct CO2 emissions only than capturing it in any form and sending into any non-regulated process avoids the emission. For example, creating Algae oil puts the carbon into the Algae which get turned into transport fuel which get emitted in an unregulated way (vehicles).

A law may contain certain kinds of inputs as being “Carbon Neutral” which would encourage conversion of biomass all the way down to ash to release all of it’s energy. It would be very hard to compete if the only value was not having an ash pit.

As far as energy output either the syngas would be used directly or electric generated from it. Since the electric peak is high in the summer afternoons which is the same time of year that biomass peaks that would probably be the target. Also peaking power is much more expensive than baseline power here since our baseline is coal.

If biochar doesn’t help well in the local soils then it could be used at the sewage plant possibly.

First steps

Contacted Charcoalab to see if kits were available.

Is anyone already working on Biochar?

Asked the local convervation district for information on biochar use.

Biochar yahoo group

Click to join biochar

Joined the biochar yahoo group today.

Thanks Erich

Will Biochar work here?

Asked for advice how to start investigating Biochar from the local cooperative extension.

Biochar

For purposes of this discussion Biochar is a type of charcoal that when added to soil can promote plant growth in many ways. It remains in the soil for many years.



Normal burning (with oxygen) produces CO2. Natural decay of plants releases CO2 slowly (but if your composting at least you get something out of it). Pyrolysis (making biochar/heating in the absence of oxygen) release significantly less CO2, dramatically decreases slow CO2 releases, and provides additional benefits when added to soil.



You could go out get a metal barrel and make your own. This is a alternative if the smoke and soot generated will not bother the neighbours.



There are several more complicated methods of Pyrolysis.



Locally we need to find and select and select a process that balances:

• low emissions (no soot or toxins)


• favors biochar over syngas and bio-oil


• is flexible for highly varying inputs

Any extra syngas and bio-oil needs to be used. A possible interested party would be Duke Energy who has experience with syngas and has an oil generator locally.

Local sources of biomass:

• Agricultural waste
• yard waste (already collected)
• Bush honeysuckle (a woody local invasive plant)

This change should be compared to the current composting of biomass performed locally by Rumpke (who also has experience in selling syngas)

Suggestions

Now one cannot just run out and build a power plant, build a refinery, get utilities rate changes. All that is handled though the KYPublic Service Commission. Among the many things mentioned in the Electric Utility Regulation and Energy Policy in Kentucky are some passing statements mentioning that they are on a wait-and-see strategy on carbon issues. Basically it is a national issue and you can't really react before the federal regulations change. Those regulation will most likely change next year regardless of the presidential outcome.

So until then....

Renewable and Conservation Industry Property Tax Abatement

The local counties should consider property tax abatements for companies involved in energy conservation and renewable energy to attract new companies to the area. Consideration should be given existing companies as well. The structure of this has to be well thought out since many companies that provide these services are involved in other things outside the scope of the purposed abatement. These industries should provide years of local employment as the carbon issue causes additional regulations.

Local investigation of renewables

• How well would biochar work in local soils?
• What are the outputs (emissions, energy, waste) of flash pyrolysis?
• Are thin film solar a better option this far north?

Federal (much of which will have to wait for the next administration)

• What is the cap and trade plan?
• Provide an analysis of transporting wind energy to this region as compared to local solar. (A comparison to coal can be made with existing data)
• What is the plan for sub critical reactors to the ton years of waste.
• Please continue to support fusion.
• Consider aiding in the planning of renewables in countries with lowest per capita CO2 emissions.

Local Situation

This region is a major importer of energy. The majority of electrical energy is derived from coal. The majority of transportation is derived from oil. What heating isn't done with electric is done with natural gas.

We also have little in the way of local resources.

For fossil sources...

• The coal is shipped in from hundreds of miles away.
• The natural gas is pipped in also from miles away. (There is some landfill gas used locally)
• The liquid fossil fuels are also delivered and/or piped in.

For renewable resources...

• The 1% from hyrdoelectric is about as much as we will get. Even though we are near a major river damming to a point of usefulness would make the region a lake with a few islands.
• For large geothermal the local thickness of earth's crust will make this one of the last places to be able to take advantage of this. (Although heat pumps make as much if not more sense here as anywhere else)
• The available wind energy is also low. It's not just the fuels we use that causes the air quality problems here. It's the lack of wind refreshing the local valleys.
• The sun does shine here on a regular basis but we are fairly far north which reduces the amount we receive (Although solar water heating makes sense here)
• On the biomass/biofuels this has always been a good farming region so all of those solutions apply here.

The local priority is:

1. energy conservation (heat pumps , solar water heating , better lighting and insulation)
2. biomass/biofuels (biochar being on the top of that list)
3. solar (thin film solutions are active at lower light levels)
4. coal (since we can't stop using it anytime soon. IGCC may be a option until we can)
5. nuclear (unlikely given we have none locally now and past local experience has been negative. But that aside sub critical reactors are worth exploration.)

The need for continued support of research is a given which is why it's not on the list. The list would not exist without research.

What

Carbon ...

Specifically avoiding some of the addition to carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere by promoting techniques such as Biochar, IGCC, and Subcritical reactors.

There is of course other greenhouse gasses and much debate about global warming. Even if you do not believe that greenhouse gases cause global warming you can at least admit that economic activities that depend on high greenhouse gas emissions are at risk due to a global consensus on this issue and that change in these areas cannot happen overnight.

There are also many other societal issues that are just as if not more important that this. I will leave those issues to others and concentrate on this one.