Wisconsin to make fuel from pooh!

Making motor fuel from corn comes with a variety of problems, from the amount of energy it takes to produce ethanol to the impact on food prices.
But a report prepared today for a biofuels conference at Monona Terrace says other burnable material such as prairie grass, crop residue, papermaking waste or cow manure holds far greater promise for turning Wisconsin into an energy powerhouse.
Switchgrass grown at Agrecol, a business of agricultural ecological solutions in Evansville.
Wisconsin has almost 15 million tons of potential excess "biomass" that could produce 1.3 billion gallons of ethanol per year, enough to displace half of the 2.6 billion gallons of gasoline consumed in the state last year, according to the report from Better Environmental Solutions.
If burned to produce electricity, this same amount of biomaterial could also replace about 15 million tons of coal, roughly 55 percent of the state's entire coal use, the report said.
Tapping into these renewable resources is important because Wisconsin is almost totally dependent on importing its energy sources. Some $12 billion in energy spending leaves the state each year for purchasing coal, gasoline, natural gas or other fuels.
Expanding biofuel production will reduce this job and income drain and create better markets for the state's agricultural and forest production, the report said.
"Wisconsin has major untapped biomass reserves," said report author Brett Hulsey, president of Better Environmental Solutions. "While the state may not be able to match Silicon Valley as a high tech leader, it could be the Cellulose Prairie and Forest for biopower and biofuels."
The report was released today at the Nelson Institute Conference "Sustaining the Wisconsin Landscape: Biofuels Challenges and Opportunities."
Also today, Rod Nilsestuen, secretary of the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, announced formation of a 12-state North Central Bio Economy Consortium.
The effort, which is being helped with a $100,000 grant from the Energy Foundation of San Francisco, is aimed at using perennial crops and crop residues to turn the Midwest into a leader in the next stage of bio-energy development.
Virtually all the biofuel produced in the U.S. comes from corn. Iowa and Illinois are the leading states in producing ethanol from corn. With the opening of United Ethanol in Milton on March 29, Wisconsin now has six operating ethanol facilities compared to more than 50 plants in Iowa.
But the Midwest states also have up to 231 million tons of potential excess biomass each year, according to the report. If converted to ethanol, this could yield 13.9 billion gallons of motor fuel, more than doubling current ethanol production. This excess biomass could also be burned, replacing 154 million tons of coal or about one-third of the coal burned in the 12 Midwest states each year.
"The Midwest is the potential biofuel Saudi Arabia of America," said Hulsey.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has been a big booster of the biofuels industry, proposing $40 million in his budget to promote renewable fuels including $5 million for a cellulosic ethanol plant.
Erin Roth, president of the Wisconsin Petroleum Council, said the oil industry is not opposed to ethanol per se, as long as its use is not mandated. A bill to require ethanol to be added to gasoline in Wisconsin failed to gain passage in the Legislature.
"We feel the market should decide," said Roth.
Roth's group is supporting legislative initiatives being advanced by the Wisconsin Soybean Association designed to develop and enhance Wisconsin's marketplace for biodiesel, Those initiatives include regulations to ensure the quality of biodiesel fuel; tax incentives for wholesalers, retailers and bulk users of biodiesel; and requiring all state motor fleets to increase their use of biodiesel to 20 percent by 2010 and 50 percent by 2015.
Hulsey's report said the state's greatest natural resources are its forests and wood products; corn production and corn stover, a major biomass source; dairy and beef cattle, therefore manure; and prairie grasslands in the Conservation Reserve Program and other conservation programs.
The state also has the largest papermaking facilities in the country, with many mills using wood for energy and looking for new sources of energy and revenue to compete with stiff international competition.
Already there are promising projects in the works. The Flambeau Paper Mill in Park Falls is experimenting with an advanced ethanol project and several Wisconsin ethanol plants are studying advanced biopower projects.
"If we take these steps, we will speed our efforts to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, coal and save money while creating jobs and helping family farmers," Hulsey said.