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 ---------------------------- 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 ---------------------- 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 -------------------- 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 ------------------ 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 ----------------------- 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 ----------------------- 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 ------------------------- 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 ------------------- 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 -------------------- 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 ------------------ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp