***This is the first in a three-part series of a collaborative project with the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and AgGrow Tech.***
The search has been on for many years for us to find alternative ways of developing and distributing energy. Concerns about the environment have really been the driving force for this change. You can hardly drive anywhere in Iowa without seeing a wind generator or a solar field. But what about a fuel source we can grow right here in Iowa?
The University of Iowa operates its own biomass power plant which they hope to have completely off coal usage by the year 2025. This power plant is part of a large complex of renewable energies and fuels. The complex also houses E85 and biodiesel filling stations, electric car charging stations, and a solar roof.
Since they have started this project, they have already cut coal usage in the plant by 76.5%. Eric Foresman is an Energy & Utilities Systems Engineer at the University of Iowa. He tells us about how they got started by converting energy from oat hulls they get from Quaker Oats.
The downside of using the oat hulls is that they must be transported to the facility. The goal of this collaborative effort is to find a way to produce a biomass product right here in Iowa which is sustainable and causes no harm to the land or the environment. Foresman said this is when they got Iowa State University involved.
Enter the miscanthus plant. Miscanthus is a perennial plant that looks a lot like a tall skinny bamboo and is very sustainable as a biomass fuel source. The plant seems to be the best fit to be used in developing this program. The goal is once the use of miscanthus is mastered, the program can be grown and further developed.
The idea of having plants like this is to develop a menu of biomass products that can be used to develop clean energy. Foresman calls this, ?cradle to cradle.? Where the cast-off from one process becomes the building block of another process. Eventually, the hope is to see these things become cyclical. Foresman explains the goal in a nutshell.
The question many people ask has to do with efficiency. Foresman says calculating efficiency is not a straight-forward process. You must look at what you are able to get out of the process versus what you are putting in.
The cost of using a perineal plant is relatively low because it can come back year after year. There is no mining involved and the miscanthus plant can also be a benefit to an agricultural operation by helping to rejuvenate the soil and make use of what would be considered ?sensitive ground.?
There is still a downside to the process they are using to get miscanthus into the biomass project. There is no local source to obtain these energy pellets from. Materials are transported to the closest facility in Green Bay, Wisconsin and then the pellets are shipped back to Iowa. The goal is to also have the ability to make the pellets more efficiently, by having an operation much closer.
The project still has some hurdles to jump. However, if we can create a stable, sustainable, and efficient fuel source right here in Iowa it can go a long way to transforming our dependency on coal and other fossil fuels.
***In part two of our series, we will learn more about the miscanthus plant, the uses they have for it, and how it can benefit the landscape of Iowa. In part three we will learn how Iowa State University got behind the miscanthus plant and what they see as the benefits it can provide both for this energy project and the agricultural industry in Iowa.***
