Public Power - June 2008 - (Page 48)

Can Prairie Hay Power Your Town? pellets. Natives would fit right in with the other biomass the utility has tried: corn cobs and stalks, oat hulls and hardwood, said Rusley, of Cedar Falls Utilities. Rusley insists that in Iowa it costs only $200 to $300 per acre to establish a multispecies seed bed, not more than $3,000. Despite these benefits, the cost of transporting biomass remains a barrier to some. Although local sourcing may be a great benefit of prairie hay, if you’re not quite local enough, the economics can be ruthless. Doering, for example, farms just 36 miles from Madelia—a distance that may be too far to transport for the price. Hauling “fluffy” biomass is “extremely expensive,” said Rusley. “So you have to be absolutely, extremely vigilant about the distance that you transport material in its original form until you densify it. Once it’s The Legal Team to Meet Your Energy Needs Sonnenschein — a leader offering wide-ranging expertise in all areas of the evolving energy industry. Members of our team have represented public power for decades. We are familiar with the legal needs of public systems and are well-poised to continue serving energy providers throughout the nation. www.sonnenschein.com 700 LAWYERS AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS IN: BRUSSELS • CHARLOTTE • CHICAGO DALLAS • KANSAS CITY • LOS ANGELES • NEW YORK • PHOENIX • ST LOUIS . SAN FRANCISCO • SHORT HILLS, NJ • SILICON VALLEY • WASHINGTON, DC • WEST PALM BEACH densified, then you still have to be cognizant of transportation costs.” Dried and densified prairie hay delivers 6,000 to 8,000 Btus per pound (coal’s range is 8,200 to 13,000 Btus per pound). “Can you harvest this material and get it to the power plant in a manner that is cheaper than coal, or at least as cheap as coal?” asked Mike Studer, president and chief operating officer at Greenhunter Energy Inc., in Grapevine, Texas. “It’s going to really boil down to the economics of the feedstock.” Natives have a lot of competition. Greenhunter claims to be the first publicly traded renewable energy portfolio. Its properties process everything from wood to animal parts. Meanwhile, government policy may have some catching up to do. U.S. renewable-energy tax policy gives the tax advantage to whoever generates the electricity — that is, the for-profit owners of wind farms, for example, said Rusley. Although municipalities and rural electric cooperatives can use the federal Renewable Energy Production Incentive (REPI), it has received only “token annual appropriations” said Rusley. A transferable tax credit could allow cooperative and municipal utilities to receive the incentive in the form of lower fuel prices as they buy biomass from farmers or other suppliers. “Co-ops and municipalities are most inclined to use renewable sources for the benefit of the public and the consumers they serve, but are the ones most disadvantaged by the present incentive system,” said Rusley. States may move more quickly than Washington. A key challenge for native biomass is that farmers receiving payments under the federal Conservation Reserve Program can’t harvest that land. The U.S. Department of Agriculture paid $1.8 billion for 3.9 million acres held for wildlife habitat, erosion control and air and water quality in 2007. Minnesota, however, is working out the details on a program that would pay farmers for mowing natives on those properties. ❚ Marc Hequet is a freelance writer in St. Paul, Minn. 48 JUNE 2008 PUBLIC POWER http://www.jamartech.com http://www.sonnenschein.com

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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