Public Power - June 2008 - (Page 47)

main skeptical. “Growers really like to see a plant already up before they invest,” said Steve Moses, manager of Madelia Municipal Light & Power. The problem with biomass, including natives, is price: biofuel demand has helped push row crop prices near historic highs. Can utilities afford to pay growers enough to get them to switch from corn and soybeans? Natives take three years to establish, and a diverse mix can cost up to $3,500 per acre, said Ron Bowen, president of Prairie Restorations Inc., a native-seed business in Princeton, Minn. Bowen, a forester by training, founded Prairie Restorations 31 years ago. If the balance tips in favor of native biomass, Bowen may become a key Upper Midwest provider of seeds and seedlings to get growers started — but he’s not sure he wants to pursue that trek. A variety of factors bear on price, including fuel mix, processing cost and hauling distance. At this instant, the price of biomass is not competitive, said Rusley, “but it www.APPAnet.org might be. Renewable portfolio standards and carbon taxes can significantly increase the real cost of utilizing coal.” Bowen fears boom and bust. If native biomass takes off, growers would need him for a few years — but then native plants could propagate on their own. ”Biomass Still, a decade of boom can mean a lot of money, and his prospective backers may have something to say about it. “I suspect that if we had capital from the outside, those folks would have some influence. Probably a lot of influence,” said Bowen. A supply chain is developing to bring The problem with biomass, including natives, is price: biofuel demand has helped push row crop prices near historic highs. may rise for 10 years or 12 years and after that I expect that it would crash,” he said. Bowen sees his business as an “earth doctor,” healing disturbed landscapes. His instinct is to stick to the knitting — planting and tending roadsides and natural areas for state agencies and private properties for affluent landowners. “The direction that we’ve gone in for all these years has got to remain as our main focus.” prairie hay to the market. Local businesses bale, dry and pelletize corn stalks, oat hulls and natives. In addition, Cedar Falls Utilities, working with the University of Northern Iowa on a five-year experiment with native grasses, predicts that its 1963 stoker-fired boiler could burn 100 percent biomass without significant modifications if the biomass is processed to inch-and-a-quarter JUNE 2008 47 http://www.APPAnet.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - June 2008

Public Power - June 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions Finding Common Ground on Climate Change Solutions A Patchwork Approach to Renewable Energy Whose Grid Is It Anyway? The Little Utility That Could Benchmarking Customer Service Can Prairie Hay Power Your Town? Storming the Control Room Investing in the Smart Grid Coming of Age: Superconducting Cables Community Broadband Economic Development Customer Service Human Resources For Governing Boards Safety Parting Shot

Public Power - June 2008

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