Saturday, March 17
U of Iowa power plant tests wood fuel
The renewable alternative biofuel is expected to reduce greenhouse gases.
By DANNY VALENTINE
REGISTER CORRESPONDENT
Iowa City, Ia. - An environmentally-friendly power plant is a top priority
for Ferman Milster, a senior engineer at the University of Iowa.
So when Minnesota-based Renewafuel wanted to test a new type of wood fuel
expected to reduce the facility's greenhouse gas and other harmful
emissions, Milster was more than willing to give it a try.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070317/BUSINESS/703170316/1029/archive
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A halt to building coal plants? It's not such a radical thought
By MARC FRANKE
SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER
We should stop building new coal plants in Iowa and declare a moratorium on
increasing coal use.
When I first heard this idea, it seemed pretty radical. Now, the more I
consider it, the more it seems like the best thing for our state. We can
grow our economy, add new jobs, improve our tax base and reduce pollution
for us and our children all at the same time.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070317/OPINION01/703170303/1035/archive
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Sunday, March 18
Emmetsburg hosts birth of biomass
Experts doubt Iowa can match its corn-ethanol dominance in cellulose
By PHILIP BRASHER
REGISTER WASHINGTON BUREAU
Emmetsburg, Ia. - This town wants to be to Iowa what Spindletop, the gusher
that launched the modern petroleum industry, was to Texas.
If all goes as planned, a $200 million project in Emmetsburg will turn
250,000 acres of corncobs into ethanol. Farmers would try to fulfill
President Bush's plan to replace 20 percent of gasoline use with alternative
fuels by 2017. And Iowa's rich soil would spout billions of dollars in new
wealth.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/BUSINESS01/703180327/1029/archive
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Little-known Broin big in ethanol
It ranks No.2 in the industry, behind Archer Daniels Midland
By PHILIP BRASHER
REGISTER WASHINGTON BUREAU
Sioux Falls, S.D. - The word "Broin'' won't be found in the name of any of
the nation's ethanol plants, but the Broin Cos. is now a major player in the
booming biofuels industry.
Broin built and operates 19 investor-owned ethanol plants, including six in
Iowa, that together produce 950 million gallons of corn-based ethanol a
year. That makes Broin the No. 2 producer of ethanol in the country behind
the longtime industry giant, Archer Daniels Midland, which owns its plants
and produces 1.07 billion gallons annually.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/BUSINESS01/703180324/1029/archive
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Message from the editor: Iowa has chance to be energy leader
CAROLYN WASHBURN
REGISTER EDITOR
Ethanol itself is not the goal.
Energy security and lower greenhouse gases are the goal. Economic
development for the entire state and prosperity for rural Iowa are the
potential. Dr. Robert Brown, of Iowa State University, framed the issue just
this way recently for a group of Des Moines leaders, and he was right.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/BUSINESS01/703180331/1029/archive
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Cellulose would reduce emissions by 90%, experts say
PHILIP BRASHER
REGISTER WASHINGTON BUREAU
Making ethanol from something other than corn, such as crop residue or
switchgrass, would lessen climate change, experts say.
Corn-based ethanol produces about 20 percent less carbon dioxide and other
heat-trapping gases than gasoline. But using ethanol made from plant
cellulose - the material in cornstalks, grass and trees - would reduce
emissions by nearly 90 percent, according to an analysis by the University
of California at Berkeley. That includes the emissions needed to obtain the
raw material as well as gases produced during the manufacturing of the fuel.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/BUSINESS01/70317010/1029/archive
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Likely biomass hurdles include storage, harvesting
Farmers may need new combine attachments, storage and subsidies.
By PHILIP BRASHER
REGISTER WASHINGTON BUREAU
Harvesting, storing and trucking massive amounts of biomass could make it
uneconomical to make ethanol from sources like corn stover, experts say.
Those issues pose the biggest barriers to making massive amounts of ethanol
from stover, says Mike Muston, the executive vice president for corporate
development of Broin Cos., a large ethanol producer.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/BUSINESS01/703180329/1029/archive
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In-demand switchgrass costs nearly twice as much as corn
Targets pin corn at $35 a ton to produce; switchgrass is at $50.
By PHILIP BRASHER
REGISTER WASHINGTON BUREAU
Washington, D.C. - Some Iowa farmers already know what it takes to grow
crops like switchgrass for energy, and their experience raises questions
about the feasibility of turning biomass into motor fuel.
The government views switchgrass and other sources of biomass as plentiful
and low-cost alternatives to corn for making fuel ethanol.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/BUSINESS01/703180333/1029/archive
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How can gasoline usage be reduced?
Alt-fuels part of nation's plan for a 'gas diet'
Americans consume 140 billion gallons of gasoline a year. That will grow to
161 billion gallons by 2017 without changes in policy, according to the U.S.
Energy Department.
- The White House wants the country to use 35 billion gallons of ethanol and
other alternative fuels by 2017, seven times last year's domestic production
of ethanol.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/BUSINESS01/703170360/1029/archive
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Yepsen: Let's start fresh on Iowa's smells
By DAVID YEPSEN
REGISTER POLITICAL COLUMNIST
Iowa stinks. Literally.
That fact came home while driving through eastern Iowa last week. The air
was full of the stench of hog manure.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/OPINION01/703180320/1035/archive
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