Simple changes to agricultural practices could cut greenhouse gas emissions and halt the looming climate calamity

The recent United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment shows that carbon dioxide (CO2) levels have increased by over 100 parts per million by volume (ppmv) since pre-industrial times, reaching about 385 ppmv. If we continue burning fossil fuels, climate models calculate that by 2100, global average temperatures near the surface could increase by 5°C compared to pre-industrial times, causing catastrophic effects on planetary processes that will lead to a serious negative impact on our society.

Globally, energy crops are being used to mitigate future CO2 emissions. The concept is relatively simple – as plants grow they draw-down atmospheric CO2 through photosynthesis. If they are then used to generate energy, the CO2 released will have previously been taken out of the atmosphere in the recent past (unlike mined fossil fuels) and will not raise atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Crops like Miscanthus Giganteus absorb as much carbon as they release when burnt, so there is no net increase in CO2 into the atmosphere.
Miscanthus Giganteus is a 'sterile hybrid perennial rhizomatous' C4-grass species with a high energy balance associated with a high carbon balance. This means for every one part of man-made carbon inputs needed to grow and harvest it, 53 parts are absorbed by the crop from the environment.
Harvested for co-firing in late winter, the crop is potentially carbon neutral, because only the carbon fixed by photosynthesis in the previous growing season is released when the crop is co-fired with coal, saving an equivalent amount of fossil fuel carbon from coal. Thus a significant quantity of emissions can be prevented by co-firing. In addition to its positive energy balance (particularly when compared with other energy crops such as rapeseed), Miscanthus Giganteus can sequester large amounts of carbon underground for a long period (over 100 years).
Long-term annual cropping reduces soil carbon, and arable soils typically contain less than 2% carbon. Non-cultivation of arable land typically increases soil carbon. Land typically contains 130 to 650 tonnes of carbon per hectare, so the potential for carbon sequestration with Miscanthus Giganteus can be considerable.

Biofuel developer KiOR raises $150 million in initial share sale

Renewable fuels company KiOR Inc raised $150 million in a U.S. initial public offering of 10 million shares of common stock.

The offering was priced at $15 each, well below the initial expectation of $19 to $21 a piece, according to a recent regulatory finding. KiOR said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it plans to use the proceeds to fund the company's second commercial plant in Newton, Mississippi.
The Texas-based company gave the underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 1.5 million shares to cover any excess demand. While the re-price represents a lowering of KiOR's fundraising ambitions, the firm still raised more money than its original US$100 million target announced in April. KiOR processes wood and non-food agricultural biomass into a renewable crude oil that can be converted using standard refining equipment into substitutes for gasoline and diesel fuel.
The technology combines proprietary catalyst systems with "well-established fluid catalytic cracking, or FCC, processes that have been used in crude oil refineries to produce gasoline for over 60 years," KiOR said in its IPO prospectus.
Gavin Maxwell, executive chairman of bioenergy consultancy Coolfin Partnership in Ireland, said KiOR is a "great company" with strong fundamentals but he would have been "astonished" if it had priced at the top of its range.
Given the long lead time for commercialising biofuel technologies, he said it is essential that policy-makers and capital investors take a long-term approach to the development of the sector.
"The sector needs long-term thinking when it comes to investment and to returns, and there's the need to support good vanguard companies and supply chain technologies, many of which are pre-IPO," Maxwell said.

Donations strengthen agricultural efforts in Gambia

Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh has since 1994 vowed the attainment of food self-sufficiency in the country through agricultural means. 

His prospect for an intense agriculturally productive country has strengthened with the donations of multi-purpose Dri Prime High Capacity pumping machines, that will allow The Gambia to grow food for its own domestic use and become an export productive country. The pumping machines will also boost economic production around the River Gambia.
The pumping machines will facilitate rice production, even during the dry season, providing vast capacities and benefits to the government's commitment for food security
One of the pumping machines can cover over 25 square miles and is one of the strongest industrial pumps utilised in the world right now. The pump can be programmed to run by itself for months, and can be used for irrigation and mining.
The Gambia Emergency Agricultural Production Project (GEAPP) also donated seven power tillers, seven bags of fertilisers, seven rice tracers; seven seeders, seven sine hoes, 200 litres of pesticide and four knapsack sprayers. The GEAPP commended the devotion and importance of President Jammeh's commitment to agriculture.
The GEAPP was a complementary project to the recently completed Africa Emergency Locust Project (AELP), a project established in 2005 that was funded by the EU for the total of 5.3 million Euros.
The project was founded to strengthen he country's capacity in controlling and mitigating locust infestations and their effects. The GEAPP aided the second phase of the AELP, to stimulate the production capacities of those affected by the locust invasion in 2005.
The objective of the GEAPP is to enhance the agricultural production and productivity of 20,000 farmers countrywide. The GEAPP has two components. Component A was the provision of agric inputs and equipment that allowed the Gambians to procure and distribute 525 metric tonnes of certified seeds countrywide during the 2010 seasons. Six hundred villages benefitted.
The second component is the rehabilitation of 30 village seed stores countrywide and the strengthening of three seed multiplication centres to ensure year-round production to supply farmers.

Paris: painting the air Green

The Paris air show has gone green, with airlines using a blend of biofuel and conventional jet fuel.

The Gulfstream G450 jet from New Jersey to Paris was the "first-ever transatlantic biofuel flight" in history, while Boeing flew its new 747 freighter from Seattle to Paris on a blend of conventional jet fuel and 15 percent camelina-based biofuel. This was another first for the Atlantic, flying with biofuels, and an active approach to substantially reduce carbon emissions. The show also included a special exhibition area for alternative aviation fuels.
During the week, other airlines also embraced the "green air". Seven other airlines announced their intentions to work with biofuel producer, Solena Fuels, to provide fuel for their flights out of the San Francisco Bay area. Solena's fuel starts with recycled urban and agricultural wastes, and is produced in a multistep process. The facility in Northern California will produce as much as 16 million gallons of jet fuel from this waste per year by 2015, to support airline operations at Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose airports.
Solena's biofuel manufacturing process was approved in 2009 for use as jet fuel by ASTM International, the worldwide consensus standards organization. Airlines need a standard fuel content and quality in order to be considered a reliable fuel source. Standardised fuel properties will ensure the quality of this new fuel and will lead the way for its use as "HEFA" fuels (Hydro-processed Esters and Fatty Acids) derived from biomass products such as camelina, Jatropha, or algae. Conventional jet fuel will be used in conjunction with this new fuel at up to a 50/50 ratio.

Global Bioenergy Partnership releases biomass voluntary policy

The first guidelines for producing biofuel have been introduced and the U.S. and China led 23 nations in agreeing to the policy. 
 
The Global Bioenergy Partnership released a voluntary policy for producing and using biomass and biofuels in ways that do not add to the issues associated with climate change or affect food prices. The partnership was established in 2005 by the Group of Eight nations and five emerging economies and includes 13 international organisations and institutions.
Corrado Clini, Chairman of the partnership and Director General of Italy's Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea pointed out that palm oil climbed to almost a three-year high as consumers and companies increased their use of the product. Clini said, "Biofuels could cover up to 25% of the fuels portfolio in the next 30 years. The environmental certification of biofuels would be a very important driver for promoting biofuels in the market."
On 10 February 2011, palm oil rose to 3,967 ringgit ($1,304) per metric ton on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, the highest since March 2008.

Biomass program funding in line for Ohio

Energy efficiency is high on the agenda in Ohio and federal money will support Trumbull and Ashtabula counties to grow a new energy grass: Miscanthus Giganteus.

 

Funding from the government's Biomass Crop Assistance Program will support the growth of Miscanthus Giganteus, an energy grass that can grow on soil where other crops can't. The nearly US$6 million in funding is expected to create more than a thousand agriculture jobs in the area and support the efforts to produce about three times the energy from Miscanthus Giganteus compared to other sources, such as corn.
Miscanthus Giganteus can be burned to produce heat and steam for power turbines and when combined in a 50%-50% mixture with coal, it can be used in some current coal-burning power plants without modifications.
The key difference between Miscanthus Giganteus and corn is that the former is not a food crop and has no direct competition with food. As a result, market prices for corn directly affect the price of maize, which in turn, affects the ability of many farmers to produce the crop. Miscanthus Giganteus will not be affected by changes in demand and has no direct correlation to the price of food.

Shell embarks on biofuels venture in Brazil

Shell has embarked on a biofuels joint venture with ethanol and sugar producer Cosan, to become a leading producer of ethanol for the retail market.

Cosan aims to produce and sell more than 500 million gallons of low-carbon biofuels annually. Shell released a statement saying, "Low-carbon biofuels will be the most practical and commercially realistic way to take carbon dioxide out of transport fuel in the coming years and will be a vital part of the future energy mix."
Biofuels currently make up about 4% of the transport fuel in Europe and 3% in the U.S., where biofuels use is predicted to increase by about 9% by 2030, according to Shell.
Shell Chief Executive Officer, Peter Voser, said, "We are building a leading position in the most efficient ethanol-producing country in the world."
The company said Brazilian sugar cane has a higher ethanol yield compared to corn or wheat and added that "Production in Brazil takes up less than 1% of the country's land and the government prohibits industries from displacing food crops. This is a turning point in the search for alternative energy sources."