biopact

Paul Collier: Africa profiting from commodity boom, but good governance key to long-term success

2008-07-04T17:37:00.004+02:00

Sub-Saharan Africa is benefiting from the massive commodity boom that has come to dominate world markets. The continent is profiting from its immense wealth in oil, minerals, agricultural products, wood and other commodities. But the past has shown that these booms are shortlived and most often don't benefit the poor - 'the bottom billion' - at all. The teeth of the 'natural resource curse' often bite after a few years of high commodity prices, and devour all the gains that were made earlier.

An age old question is how Africa can escape this curse. How can we, the highly developed world, help to make sure that the massive amounts of cash that are flowing in, benefit the African economies at large and permanently? Our international aid to African countries is dwarfed by what they are currently receiving from selling their commodities. So maybe we must focus far more on how the profits from this trade are used and distributed, instead of merely giving aid. This is exactly what professor Paul Collier urges us to do.

Collier is a renowned development economist known for his courageous attempts at bridging the gap between advocates of aid and those who prefer trade as a development paradigm. In his latest work, which he recently presented in a TED-talk, Collier focuses on how we can build international structures and simple rules that strengthen governance in resource rich developing countries. It is these rules and the good governance they promote, which are key to ensure that profits from commodities are invested in a responsible manner.

Biomass and biofuels have become such internationally traded commodities. And the potential for their production is greatest, indeed, in developing countries, most notably in Central Africa and Latin America. Millions of farmers there are already benefiting from the increased prices for agricultural products. And their future looks ever brighter, as oil prices keep increasing. But these current and future gains must be reinvested in rural and social development in these countries, else biofuels just become part of the larger natural resource curse. This is why all those involved in thinking about the biofuels industry's massive potential for poverty alleviation in the South, must take note of Collier's message.
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biobutanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: aid :: trade :: natural resources :: Africa ::

Joint Genome Institute announces 2009 genome sequencing targets: 44 projects, focus on bioenergy and environmental applications

2008-07-03T15:26:00.005+02:00

In the continuing effort to tap the vast, unexplored reaches of the earth’s microbial and plant domains for bioenergy and environmental applications, the DOE Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has announced its latest portfolio of DNA sequencing projects that it will undertake in the coming year. The 44 projects, culled from nearly 150 international proposals received through the Community Sequencing Program (CSP), represent over 60 billion nucleotides of data to be generated through this biodiversity sampling campaign — roughly the equivalent of 20 human genomes.

From giant shipworms to the foregut of Amazonian stinkbirds, from exotic fungi to microscopic extremophiles - the projects are all aimed at screening genomes and biological mechanisms which show promising characteristics for the production of hyper-efficient bioenergy, green fuels, enzymes, ecosystem services such as sequestering carbon, biomaterials or bioremediation technologies.

The scientific and technological advances enabled by the information that we generate from these selections promise to take us faster and further down the path toward clean, renewable transportation fuels while affording us a more comprehensive understanding of the global carbon cycle. The range of projects spans important terrestrial contributors to biomass production in the Loblolly pine — the cornerstone of the U.S. forest products industry — to phytoplankton, barely visible to the naked eye, but no less important to the massive generation of fixed carbon in our marine ecosystems. - Eddy Rubin, DOE JGI Director

With new sequencing strategies coming on line at DOE JGI’s Production Genomics Facility in Walnut Creek, Calif., Rubin said that the once daunting genome size of the Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) — over 21 billion bases — is now becoming tractable. Loblolly pine is the most commonly planted tree species in America – accounting for about 75 percent of all seedlings planted each year.

Its ability to efficiently convert CO2 into biomass and its widespread use as a plantation tree have also made Loblolly a cost-effective feedstock for cellulosic biofuel production and a promising tool in efforts to curb greenhouse gas levels through carbon sequestration, said Rubin. Because of the pine’s enormous genome, the project will begin with a targeted effort to understand the structure of the pine genome. Led by Daniel Peterson of Mississippi State University, the project is intended to zero in on genes that can be used for molecular breeding programs to improve Loblolly as a biomass feedstock, carbon sequestration tool, and source of renewable, high-quality raw materials for lumber and pulp fiber.

The CSP selections range from these tall pines to not-so-sizable aquatic plants in duckweed — the smallest, fastest growing, and simplest of flowering plants. Greater Duckweed, Spirodela polyrhiza, is still relatively small at less than 10 millimeters. Nevertheless, its utility is manifold: as a biotech protein factory, toxicity testing organism, wastewater remediator, high-protein animal feed, carbon cycling player, as well as basic research and evolutionary model system.

These plants produce biomass faster than any other flowering plant, and their carbohydrate content is readily converted to fermentable sugars by using commercially available enzymes developed for corn-based ethanol production. Moreover, duckweed relates to all three of DOE JGI’s mission areas: bioenergy, bioremediation, and global carbon cycling:
energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: biobutanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: biomaterials :: bioremediation :: biology :: genomics :: biotechnology :: bioeconomy ::

Propagated on agricultural and municipal wastewater, Spirodela species efficiently extract excess nitrogen and phosphate pollutants. Duckweed growth on ponds effectively reduces algal growth (by shading), coliform bacteria counts, suspended solids, evaporation, biological oxygen demand, and mosquito larvae while maintaining pH, concentrating heavy metals, sequestering or degrading halogenated organic and phenolic compounds, and encouraging the growth of aquatic animals such as frogs and fowl. This project, submitted by Todd Michael of the Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, unites the efforts of six institutions.

The DOE JGI has selected several metagenomes to sequence — complex microbial communities that are isolated directly from the environment or reside inside of a larger organism. These leverage DOE JGI’s pioneering expertise honed from previous studies of acid mine drainage and the termite hindgut — where samples yielded scores of different microbes, producing hundreds of enzymes with potentially useful industrial applications.

One such metagenome lurks inside of Bankia setacea, the giant Pacific shipworm. Shipworms, wood-boring marine bivalves, have been nicknamed “termites of the sea.” These animals are capable of feeding solely on wood, utilizing a highly efficient system of symbiotic lignocellulose degradation that is biologically, functionally, and evolutionarily distinct from those found in termites, ruminants, and all other cellulose-consuming animals.

Like termites, the ability of shipworms to consume wood depends on symbiotic bacteria that provide enzymes, including cellulases and other hydrolases critical for digestion of wood by the host and potentially valuable for commercial bioconversion of lignocellulose to ethanol. Analysis of the shipworm symbiont community metagenome will provide important insights into the composition and function of this unique lignocellulose degrading bacterial community and will allow valuable comparisons to the recently sequenced termite symbiont metagenome. Unlike termites, shipworms accomplish the complete degradation of lignocellulose with a simple intracellular consortium of just a few related types of microbes. The project was proposed by Daniel Distel of the Ocean Genome Legacy Foundation.

Another marine organism, Botryococcus braunii, is a colony-forming green microalga, less than 10 micrometers in size, that synthesizes long-chain liquid hydrocarbon compounds and sequesters them in the extracellular matrix of the colony to afford buoyancy. A type of B. braunii produces a family of compounds termed botryococcenes, which hold promise as an alternative energy source. Botryococcenes have already been converted to fuel suitable for internal combustion engines. Geochemical analysis has shown that botryococcenes, presumably from ancient B. braunii communities, also comprise a portion of the hydrocarbon masses in several modern-day petroleum and coal deposits.

While algae have been recognized for their role in carbon sequestration and for biofuels production, little information, either genetic or metabolic, has been reported for this particular organism. This project, led by Andrew Koppisch and colleagues from Los Alamos National Laboratory and five other institutions, will target the identification of specific metabolic pathways responsible for hydrocarbon synthesis to alleviate bottlenecks in biofuels production.

Other CSP 2009 projects include the following:

One metagenome project entails a sampling of the foregut of Opisthocomus hoazin — a leaf-eating Amazonian pheasant-like stinkbird, or hoatzin. A prehistoric relic, its unique fermentative organ harbors an impressive array of novel microbes, like that of cows and other ruminants. Instead of a rumen, stinkbirds possess a crop, an enlargement of the esophagus where the fermentation takes place—and the source of the stink. The characterization of its contents will likely lead to the identification of novel microbial enzymes that degrade plant cell walls.

Nanoflagellates, a group of marine microbes, prey on other microbes, such as bacteria and phytoplankton, for survival. These predatory protists play a critical role in marine carbon cycling. An International team of investigators led by Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's Alexandra Worden will investigate the genetic mechanism behind the processes of predation, digestion, and biomass incorporation by protists that determine the fate of phytoplankton and bacteria to bridge the gap in our knowledge about this important player in the marine food web.

The most abundant source of carbon is plant biomass, composed primarily of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Many microorganisms are capable of utilizing cellulose and hemicellulose as carbon and energy sources, but a much smaller group of filamentous fungi has evolved with the ability to depolymerize lignin, the most recalcitrant component of plant cell walls. Collectively known as white rot fungi, they possess the unique ability to efficiently depolymerize lignin in order to gain access to cell wall carbohydrates for carbon and energy sources. Ceriporiopsis subvermispora rapidly depolymerizes lignin with relatively little cellulose degradation. The annotated gene set of C. subvermispora and comparative analyses with the lignin degraders P. chrysosporium and Pleurotus ostreatus (both sequenced by DOE JGI) will advance the understanding of these complex oxidative mechanisms involved in lignocellulose conversions. This project was proposed by Dan Cullen from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

The CSP selections draw from all three branches of life: eukaryotes (such as plants and fungi), bacteria, and archaea. Desulfurococcus fermentans, isolated from the Uzon Caldera on the Kamchatka Peninsula, is the only known archaeon that breaks down cellulose and, unlike most known microorganisms that carry out fermentation, it produces hydrogen in the presence of hydrogen while fermenting cellulose and starch without experiencing an inhibition of growth. A comparative genomics investigation of Desulfurococcus species will resolve the finer details that distinguish proton reduction (producing hydrogen) from sulfur reduction in fermentative archaea and help to define the evolutionary and metabolic relationships of the Desulfurococcus species with their archaeal relatives. The project’s principal investigator is Biswarup Mukhopadhyay of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Among the holy grails of biofuel production is the perfect concoction of enzymes capable of rendering complex biomass into fuel by a process known as simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). Hansenula polymorpha strain NCYC 495 leu1.1 is a yeast capable of fermenting xylose (five-carbon sugar), glucose (six-carbon sugar), and cellobiose (a unit of two condensed glucose molecules) to ethanol at high temperatures (45–50° C), thus holding promise for the SSF process. Commercially feasible SSF technology has not yet been developed because of the absence of a robust organism capable of fermentation at high temperatures. Sequencing of H. polymorpha will enable the identification of the limiting steps in the fermentation pathway from xylose to ethanol. The project was proposed by Andriy A. Sibirny of the Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences and Rzeszów University in Poland.

Another key barrier to economical cellulosic biofuel production is the cost of enzymes for the degradation of cellulosic biomass. Currently, the cellulases used in pilot cellulosic ethanol plants are produced by fungi, in many cases Trichoderma reesei strain Qm6a (whose genome sequence analysis was published in Nature Biotechnology by DOE JGI and collaborators). The widespread use of T. reesei in cellulase production underscores the importance of this organism and the need for understanding the mechanisms behind enzyme secretion. This proposal, by Scott Baker from DOE JGI partner Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with contributors from Technical University of Vienna and biofuels industry players Verenium and Novozymes, will bridge the current gap in industrial fungal enzyme production research by sequencing five T. reesei strains with varying levels of cellulase production and derived from strain Qm6a with the purpose of characterizing the cellular machinery behind enzyme secretion.

The use of microbes to directly generate electricity from the biodegradation of waste organic matter in microbial fuel cells is a technology that shows great promise. Caroline S. Harwood of the University of Washington has proposed the sequencing of the electricity-generating photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris strain DX-1 to help highlight the mechanistic basis for this unusual biological property. This project will add to the growing literature describing the complexity of this genus by complementing the six other strains of R. palustris that have been sequenced to date by DOE JGI.

A census of subsurface microbial communities at the Hanford Site adjacent to the Columbia River has been proposed by Allan Konopka and a multidisciplinary research group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. As part of initial site characterization efforts, a deep borehole will be drilled and core samples will be subjected to detailed microbiologic and geochemical analyses to address microbial ecology hypotheses and determine the composition and activity of subsurface microbial communities in microenvironments and across transition zones. Microenvironments are small domains within larger ones that exert a disproportionate influence on subsurface contaminant migration.

The complete list of CSP 2009 sequencing projects can be found here.

Established in 2005, the Community Sequencing Program (CSP) provides the scientific community at large with access to high-throughput sequencing at DOE JGI for projects of relevance to DOE missions. Sequencing projects are chosen based on scientific merit—judged through independent peer review—and relevance to issues in bioenergy, global carbon cycling, and bioremediation.

The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, supported by the DOE Office of Science, unites the expertise of five national laboratories -- Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, and Pacific Northwest -- along with the Stanford Human Genome Center to advance genomics in support of the DOE missions related to clean energy generation and environmental characterization and cleanup. DOE JGI’s Walnut Creek, CA, Production Genomics Facility provides integrated high-throughput sequencing and computational analysis that enable systems-based scientific approaches to these challenges.

Image: Trichoderma reesei. Credit: JGI.

References:
Joint Genome Institute: Pine Tree, Boat-Boring Bivalve “Bugs”, Duck Weed, Oil-Producing Microalgae, Stinkbird Gut, 40 Others Top DOE Joint Genome Institute 2009 Genome Sequencing Targets - July 2, 2008.

Report: naturally reinforced plastic composites becoming cost-competitive green technology in EU

2008-07-03T02:47:00.003+02:00

Frost & Sullivan has presented a new report titled "European Markets for Naturally-Reinforced Plastic Composites", in which it shows that plastics containing a certain fraction of biobased materials are becoming cost-competitive in the EU. The report provides information on the technical and market developments in the markets for naturally reinforced plastic composites in decking, insulation and automotive applications. The research zooms in on the following technologies: wood plastic composites and natural fibre composites, including flax and hemp fibres in sectors including the automotive, building, sports equipment and aeronautical industries.

Due to escalating oil prices, any technology that reduces the dependence on oil has a fighting chance. Although naturally reinforced plastic composites (NRPC) have plastic in their composition, their use limits the amount of it necessary to manufacture a certain product. There have also been efforts to decrease the amount of oil-derived content. NRPC are going to remain a competitive technology to replace oil-based materials, as wood and natural fibre prices are unlikely to grow faster than oil prices. Not all ‘green’ technologies are cost-competitive, like renewable energy, which remains fairly expensive. This factor is, therefore, a strong driving force in the NRPC market.

NRPC help lower the dependence on oil while remaining cost-competitive. The current penetration of wood plastic composites (WPC) in decking and natural fibre composites (NFC) in the automotive segment remains below 10 per cent, with further potential to increase it. - Frost & Sullivan

However, users of NFC have concerns over the available capacity and the effect of a drastic reduction in European agricultural subsidies. WPC products vary greatly in quality and without a global standard, consumers have difficulties distinguishing low-quality products from top range ones.

Potential further market penetration
Both the environmental benefits and cost competitiveness of NRPC give these materials the capacity to replace plastic or non-renewable reinforcements. The main market segments for NRPC in 2008 are automotive, building and technical parts. Market penetration of WPC in their main application, decking, is less than 5 per cent. Many participants consider that the penetration of WPC could go up to 15 per cent, similar to the U.S. decking market:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: bioplastic :: biocomposites :: fiber reinforced plastics :: bioeconomy :: natural fibers ::

The penetration of NFC in automotive applications is slightly higher, but continues to be below 10 per cent. Companies involved in the automotive NFC market think that from now on it would be more difficult to increase market penetration in this sector, since most OEMs already use them. However, while the NFC automotive market is developed in Europe, other regions could provide more growth. Moreover, most OEMs use NFC in just one model and good performance would encourage them to implement its use more widely.

Growth opportunities abound for NRPC in Europe. Ultimately, however, suppliers will have to concentrate on raising public awareness and product development to boost market penetration in existing segments and open up new opportunities. If injection-moulded parts made with NRPC are successful, the potential for market penetration will certainly increase, as the number of possible applications will grow significantly.

Raising public awareness will be key in the development of NRPCs. By providing more information to end users on their capabilities and to the general public on their environmental advantages, market participants will increase demand. - Frost & Sullivan

Major WPC participants are already working on product branding and the implementation of global standards. In anticipation of future market demands, NRPC market participants are developing new materials, using thermoset resins and even bioplastics, and new processing techniques, like injection moulding.

Picture: flax, hemp, sisal, wool and other natural fibers are used to make 50 Mercedes-Benz E-Class components. Credit: Mercedes-Benz.

References:
MarketWatch (BusinessWire): Naturally Reinforced Plastic Composites Emerge as a Cost-competitive Green Technology in European Markets - July 1, 2008.

Four million truckers paralyse Indian economy - food crisis looms

2008-07-02T19:32:00.004+02:00

More than four million truckers in India have stopped working and are protesting over high fuel prices. Their strike is paralysing the country's economy and is threatening to fuel the food crisis further. The truckers want the government to lower taxes and undo the cuts in fuel subsidies it recently introduced. The truckers vow to shut down the country if no deal is reached.

Truckers are simply no longer able to work. Diesel has become so expensive that we can not survive. We are being forced to lay down our work. [...] We had talks with the government, but it was just an eyewash. We are hoping that a solution would be found soon. - Gurinder Pal Singh, AIMTC

The road transport sector is India's most important mechanism to supply the subcontinent's 1.4 billion inhabitants and its economy. Trucks not only supply raw materials and finished goods to end users, they also transport food and agricultural products from the country-side to the growing mega-cities.

Food crisis
Rising fuel costs are already the largest factor in the increase in food prices, heavily affecting the poor. But if the transportation sector shuts down altogether, a fullblown food crisis would emerge.

The Confederation of All-India Traders said it expected prices of food and essential items to rise sharply if the strike continued for more than two days:

If the strike continues, prices of food grains, pulses, consumer durables, and raw materials for industry will go up by 10-15 percent. - Praveen Khandelwal, Confederation of All-India Traders.

The Indian economy is booming, but the country imports 70 percent of its liquid fuels from abroad. This heavy oil-dependency has wreaked havoc amongst fuel intensive economic sectors such as agriculture, transport and the airline industry.

High oil prices recently forced the Indian government to cut back fuel subsidies, leading to higher prices for consumers. The move angered the masses who took to the streets by the millions. The fuel protests have now spilled over to other sectors.

According to the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), the recent subsidy cuts signal the second price jump in a short time. Earlier this year, diesel prices increased by more than 40 percent. In order to save the transportation sector, the AIMTC urges the government not only to re-subsidize and regulate the price of transportation fuels, but to lower road toll taxes as well.

Over the past few weeks the world has seen fuel riots, strikes and protests in more than 90 countries.
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: food crisis :: oil crisis :: transportation :: India ::

Research into circadian rhythms in plants could lead to better crops

2008-07-02T15:36:00.002+02:00

Researchers of the Department of Biological Sciences at Dartmouth College are investigating the molecular basis and regulation of circadian rhythms in plants, and are obtaining information which could lead to the development of crops adapted to many different growing conditions.

As anyone who has suffered from jetlag knows, we have internal clocks that tell us when to sleep and wake, and we can be miserable when these are disrupted. The daily cycles of many organisms are well known, but what has not been clear is whether these cycles are just responses to external cues of light, dark, heat, and cold, or if there are internal clocks that are set and reset by environmental signals. In animals, circadian rhythms are known to be important for maintaining a multitude of physiological processes. They may be even more critical for plants, which grow in many different light and temperature environments that not only vary with latitude but also with subtle differences within just a few feet.

Plants respond to changes in light and temperature, opening flowers at dawn and closing them at night or blooming in the right season. However, they also have endogenous circadian ("around the day") rhythms with roughly 24 hour periods that are regulated by numerous genes that interact in complex pathways and cycles like exquisite 18th century clocks.

These clock genes have been intensely investigated over the last 20 years, but we still do not fully understand the molecular mechanisms that make them run. Knowledge of these oscillations and the genes that regulate them could help us adjust the growth, development, and yield of crops under climatically variable conditions.

Dr. C. Robertson McClung and his colleagues are investigating the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms of circadian cycling and regulation in plants. Dr. McClung, of the Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, presented this work at the President's symposium of the annual meeting of the American Society of Plant Biologists in Mérida, Mexico. This year's meeting is titled The Pan American Congress on Plants and BioEnergy.

Clock genes have been identified in mammals, Drosophila, fungi, and cyanobacteria and their oscillatory mechanisms analyzed with studies of mutants. Many of these genes are conserved across taxa, but plants appear to have a novel mechanism.

McClung and other scientists have shown that, in the model organism Arabidopsis, members of the PRR (pseudo-response regulator) gene family are integral parts of several oscillatory loops that may affect carbon fixation, stem elongation, biomass, flowering time, and survival. In particular, McClung and his co-workers showed that PRR7 and PRR9 are critical for responses to temperature, although they appear to function in other circadian cycles as well.

It is not accidental that the members of the PRR family are transcribed from DNA to RNA at different times of day, suggesting that the protein products function in processes that are coordinated with diurnal events. Thus, one of the mechanisms of clock gene regulation is the control of transcription and accumulation of RNA transcripts. Other forms of regulation are post-translational - after the clock gene proteins have been made. These proteins are translocated to different compartments to perform their functions, have phosphate groups attached to them to change their activity, or are marked for degradation - all precisely timed for optimal function:
energy :: sustainability :: biofuels :: biomass :: bioenergy :: plant biology :: circadian rhythms :: biotechnology ::

With mutant analyses, McClung and his coworkers have shown that the PRR genes do not act in isolation, but rather are integrated and overlapping in function. Double and triple mutants have effects that are not simply additive but are much larger than those of single mutants. This suggests that it is adaptive for plants to have a group of genes, each with a small effect, but when functionally linked with other genes, part of a precise mechanism capable of subtle and specific responses, like the interlocking wheels of a clock.

McClung and his colleagues are studying how such mechanisms could have evolved. Through sequence analysis of PRR7 in over 100 different cultivars of Arabidopsis, they have shown that the nucleotides in the gene's DNA are replaced at a significant rate, resulting in greater genetic variation at this locus (chromosomal region). If plants have to respond to different conditions of light and temperature at different locations, then it makes sense for different varieties of the same plant to have slightly different forms (alleles) of the gene. Similar mutations in other clock genes will then result in the evolution of many clocks and circadian rhythms keyed to local conditions - the plant equivalent of time zones.

The scientists are now also examining the clock genes in other plants and have found quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for these genes in the model crop species Brassica rapa (rapeseed). QTLs are chromosomal regions containing closely related genes that all influence a trait, resulting in, for example, a range of heights or eye color. Such loci are consistent with multiple interlocking genes in the clock mechanisms of circadian rhythms. The knowledge of circadian rhythms in animals is being used in medicine to facilitate drug delivery and cancer treatments. Understanding the clock genes through which plants interact with their environments can aid in engineering crops and cultivars for higher productivity, as well as adaptation of foreign plants to new environmental conditions.

References:
Eurekalert: Plants in the Fourth Dimension - July 1, 2008.

Louisiana signs "non-corn" ethanol bill into law: efficiency and sustainability boost to industry

2008-06-24T19:33:00.006+02:00

Louisiana's governor Bobby Jindal has signed into law the Advanced Biofuel Industry Development Initiative, the most comprehensive and far-reaching state legislation in the United States, enacted to develop a statewide advanced biofuel industry. Louisiana is the first state to enact alternative transportation fuel legislation that includes a variable blending pump pilot program and a hydrous ethanol pilot program. The initiative will also give an efficiency boost to the ethanol industry in the state by supporting high yielding non-corn crops.

Field-to-Pump Strategy
The legislature found that the proper development of an advanced biofuel industry in Louisiana requires implementation of the following comprehensive “field-to-pump” strategy (as developed by Renergie, Inc., which utilizes high yielding, water-efficient sweet sorghum):

(1) feedstock other than corn:

derived solely from Louisiana harvested crops;
capable of an annual yield of at least 600 gallons of ethanol per acre (~5600 liters per hectare);
requiring no more than one-half of the water required to grow corn;
tolerant to high temperature and waterlogging;
resistant to drought and saline-alkaline soils;
capable of being grown in marginal soils, ranging from heavy clay to light sand;
requiring no more than one-third of the nitrogen required to grow corn, thereby reducing the risk of contamination of the waters of the state; and
requiring no more than one-half of the energy necessary to convert corn into ethanol

(2) decentralized network of small advanced biofuel manufacturing facilities:

The idea is that smaller is better. The distributed nature of a small advanced biofuel manufacturing facility network reduces feedstock supply risk, does not burden local water supplies and provides for broader based economic development. Each advanced biofuel manufacturing facility operating in Louisiana will produce no less than 5 million gallons of advanced biofuel per year and no more than 15 million gallons of advanced biofuel per year.

(3) market expansion:

Advanced biofuel supply and demand shall be expanded beyond the 10% blend market by blending fuel-grade anhydrous ethanol with gasoline at the gas station pump. Variable blending pumps, directly installed and operated at local gas stations by a qualified small advanced biofuel manufacturing facility, shall offer the consumer a less expensive substitute for unleaded gasoline in the form of E10, E20, E30 and E85.

Pilot Programs
(1) Advanced Biofuel Variable Blending Pumps - The blending of fuels with advanced biofuel percentages between 10 percent and 85 percent will be permitted on a trial basis until January 1, 2012. During this period the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Division of Weights & Measures will monitor the equipment used to dispense the ethanol blends to ascertain that the equipment is suitable and capable of producing an accurate measurement.

(2) Hydrous Ethanol - The use of hydrous ethanol blends of E10, E20, E30 and E85 in motor vehicles specifically selected for test purposes will be permitted on a trial basis until January 1, 2012. During this period the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Division of Weights & Measures will monitor the performance of the motor vehicles. The hydrous blends will be tested for blend optimization with respect to fuel consumption and engine emissions. Preliminary tests conducted in Europe have proven that the use of hydrous ethanol, which eliminates the need for the hydrous-to-anhydrous dehydration processing step, results in an energy savings of between ten percent and forty-five percent during processing, a four percent product volume increase, higher mileage per gallon, a cleaner engine interior, and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions:
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biobutanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: sorghum :: efficiency :: Louisiana ::

HB 1270, entitled “The Advanced Biofuel Industry Development Initiative,” was co-authored by 27 members of the Legislature. The original bill was drafted by Renergie, Inc. Representative Jonathan W. Perry (R - District 47), with the support of Senator Nick Gautreaux (D - District 26), was the primary author of the bill.

I am pleased that the legislature and governor of the great State of Louisiana have chosen to lead the nation in moving ethanol beyond being just a blending component in gasoline to a fuel that is more economical, cleaner, renewable, and more efficient than unleaded gasoline. The two pilot programs, providing for an advanced biofuel variable blending pump trial and a hydrous ethanol trial, established by the State of Louisiana should be adopted by each and every state in our country. - Brian J. Donovan, CEO of Renergie, Inc.

State Agencies Must Purchase or Lease Vehicles That Use Alternative Fuels

Louisiana’s Advanced Biofuel Industry Development Initiative further states, “The commissioner of administration shall not purchase or lease any motor vehicle for use by any state agency unless that vehicle is capable of and equipped for using an alternative fuel that results in lower emissions of oxides of nitrogen, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, or particulates or any combination thereof that meet or exceed federal Clean Air Act standards.”

Advanced Biofuel Price Preference for State Agencies

Louisiana’s Advanced Biofuel Industry Development Initiative provides that a governmental body, state educational institution, or instrumentality of the state that performs essential governmental functions on a statewide or local basis is entitled to purchase E20, E30 or E85 advanced biofuel at a price equal to fifteen percent (15%) less per gallon than the price of unleaded gasoline for use in any motor vehicle.

Economic Benefits
The development of an advanced biofuel industry will help rebuild the local and regional economies devastated as a result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita by providing:

increased value to the feedstock crops which will benefit local farmers and provide more revenue to the local community;
increased investments in plants and equipment which will stimulate the local economy by providing construction jobs initially and the chance for full-time employment after the plant is completed;
secondary employment as associated industries develop due to plant co-products becoming available at a competitive price; and
increased local and state revenues collected from plant operations will stimulate local and state tax revenues and provide funds for improvements to the community and to the region.

Picture: Test plots at the Texas A&M Research and Extension Center at Beaumont: in the foreground is grain sorghum, used primarily for animal feed, and in the background, efficient sweet sorghum for the biofuels industry. Credit: Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.

References:
HLS 08RS-2553, HOUSE BILL NO. 1270: Advanced Biofuel Industry Development Initiative.

Biopact: Renergie receives $1.5 million grant for sweet sorghum ethanol production - March 08, 2008

Research into desert plant could help development of energy crops for arid regions

2008-06-20T17:57:00.006+02:00

Scientists at the University of Liverpool are investigating how a Madagascan plant could be used to help produce crops in harsh environmental conditions. The plant, Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi, is unique because, unlike normal plants, it captures most of its carbon dioxide at night when the air is cooler and more humid, making it 10 times more water-efficient than major crops such as wheat.

Kalanchoe is a good example of how plants can flourish in harsh environments. If we can understand how it is able to photosynthesise using much less water than current crops, we may be able to use its genetic code to develop a crop able to withstand harsh environmental conditions. - Dr James Hartwell, biological scientist

The scientists will use the latest next-generation DNA sequencing to analyse the plant’s genetic code and understand how these plants function at night. The project will generate a genome sequence database that will be used as an Internet resource for plant biologists throughout the world.

The researchers believe that the novel genes found in Kalanchoe could provide a model of how energy crops could be grown on un-utilised desert and semi-arid lands, rather than on farmland needed for producing food:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy crops :: photosynthesis :: water :: efficiency :: deserts :: arid :: Madagascar :: biotechnology :: plant biology ::

The genetic code of the plant will be deciphered using a DNA sequencing machine that uses an enzyme found in fireflies as a flash light to help read the DNA strand.

Liverpool is one of only two universities in the UK with the technology, which can read up to half a billion DNA letters in a few hours compared to more widely used technology that can only process 50,000.

The project is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Image: Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi. Credit: Wikimedia commons.

References:
University of Liverpool: Desert plant may hold key to surviving food shortage - June 19, 2007.

Carbon-negative cars could mitigate 646% of global transportation CO2 emissions

2008-06-20T12:16:00.022+02:00

The all-electric Tesla Roadster. Will this car become a machine that helps remove CO2 from the atmosphere, instead of being merely a 'zero emissions' vehicle?

Imagine driving your car and, while doing so, taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Forget 'zero emissions' vehicles. Think 'negative emissions' cars instead. This bizarre idea can become reality when the car in question is powered by carbon-negative bioenergy. Electric and fuel cell cars powered by negative emissions electricity or hydrogen made from biomass the carbon of which has been captured and stored, can help save the climate by cleaning up our emissions from the past.

Scientists (like NASA's Dr James Hansen) are increasingly taking the exotic concept of negative emissions energy (also known as bioenergy with carbon storage) serious, and have begun to explore its potential. A series of articles in the April issue of the leading journal Climatic Change is entirely devoted to it.

In the editorial essay, Dr Peter Read (Centre for Energy Research, Institute for Technology and Engineering, Massey University) outlines ways to manage global carbon fluxes by relying on biomass systems capable of capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while generating energy in the process. Nuclear power and renewables like solar, wind or hydropower are often seen as green energy technologies, but in truth they are condemned to remaining 'carbon-neutral' at best; that is, they yield low emissions energy, but can never actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere, which is something we might want to begin doing. Carbon-negative bioenergy systems on the contrary are far more radically green, because capable of providing energy while sequestering atmospheric CO2.

If implemented on a large scale, such negative emissions energy systems can at the same time power our societies and take us back to pre-industrial CO2 levels, writes Read. In the event of 'abrupt climate change', these biobased 'geo-engineering' options are the only safe way to prevent catastrophy. (Note, in his seminal paper on the carbon-reduction aim humanity should set itself, James Hansen sees carbon-negative bioenergy systems as key to achieving his 350ppm target - previous post).

In a comment to Read, James S. Rhodes (Dept. of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University) and David Keith (ISEEE Energy and Environmental Systems Group, University of Calgary) analyse [*.pdf] both the constraints to and the most efficient use of negative emissions energy systems.

According to them, the largest potential for carbon-negative bioenergy, as far as its carbon mitigation capacity is concerned, can be found in coupling it to the transport sector, because this is the sector in which reducing emissions is most difficult. Liquid biofuels used in internal combustion engines are not a smart way to use biomass, because these fuels are 'carbon neutral' at best. Instead, using the biomass to produce negative emissions electricity or biohdyrogen for use in EVs and fuel cell vehicles can take us much further.

So how much CO2 can be mitigated in the transport sector? If an optimistic scenario about future biomass supplies is taken (a supply worth 1130 Exajoules by 2050), Rhodes and Keith obtain the following numbers:

The percentage that can be mitigated with substitution by (carbon-neutral) liquid biofuels only is 134% maximum
The percentage mitigated with substitution and offsets via CCS is 565% (calculated by multiplying the potential biomass supply (Mt year−1 ) by an assumed mass fraction carbon in biomass of 50%, multiplying by an assumed carbon capture rate in production of 50 to 60%, converting to Mt CO2, dividing by the fossil CO2 emissions (Mt CO2 year−1 ) and adding the percent mitigated with substitution only)
The percentage mitigated by using decarbonised fuel (hydrogen) from biomass with CO2 capture is 646% (calculated by multiplying the potential biomass supply (Mt year−1 ) by an assumed mass fraction carbon in biomass of 50%, multiplying by an assumed carbon capture rate in production of 90%, converting to Mt CO2, and dividing by the fossil CO2 emissions (Mt CO2 year−1 )

So what does this mean? It means that vehicles using carbon-negative bioenergy could potentially reduce emissions not only to zero, but go beyond this and capture up to 6 times as much CO2 from the atmosphere than is put into the atmosphere if all cars were fossil fuel powered vehicles. In other words: the more we were to drive such carbon-negative cars, the more actively we would be mitigating climate change... Cars would become carbon-mitigating machines.

For readers new to this counter-intuitive concept we will quickly summarize the different ways to produce negative emissions energy. They all rely on a supply of renewable biomass. Once we have access to such a supply, the following options emerge:
energy :: sustainability ::biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: carbon capture and storage :: carbon-negative :: bioenergy with carbon storage :: biochar :: negative emissions :: climate change ::

1. use the biomass to produce electrictity in integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) or oxyfuel combustion power plants, which allow for the easy capture of the carbon. After the carbon has been captured in the form of CO2 gas, it can be safely sequestered in geological formations like saline aquifers or depleted oil and gas fields (mind you, the gas is biogenic in origin, so any CO2 leakage would not constitute a problem; this in contrast with CO2 of fossil origin). After you have used the energy and applied carbon capture and storage (CCS) to it, regrow the biomass. As they grow, the crops will again take CO2 out of the atmosphere. Then repeat the process: extract the energy from the crops to power cars (or whatever needs to be powered), and sequester the CO2 once more.

2. the biomass can also be used to make biohydrogen directly. During the production phase (biological or thermochemical pathways), CO2 is released and can again be captured before it enters the atmosphere. It is then geosequestered via CCS, as in the first option.

3. a third technique to make negative emissions energy consists of using the biomass in slow pyrolysis plants that simulatenously yield syngas and biochar. The biochar is stable black carbon that can be sequestered in a solid form in soils for millennia. When biochar is stored in nutrient-poor soils (like the soils in the tropics), it can make agricultural land more fertile (allowing for even faster and better growth of the biomass). The syngas from the slow pyrolysis operation can then be used to generate electricity.

Any of these types of negative emissions energy can then be used in an electric vehicle or in a hydrogen fuel cell car.

Carbon-negative bioenergy does not present any of the troubles typical of classic 'geoengineering' concepts which are aimed at halting abrupt climate change. The effects of such geoengineering ideas, like blowing large amounts of sulphur into the atmosphere, feeding iron to oceans to induce algae blooms, or launching mirrors into space, are far more uncertain. These techniques are also much more costly than negative emissions energy.

Rhodes and Keith conclude that despite social, economic and environmental constraints:

Biomass-CCS and its unique attributes should be more deeply integrated in climate policy making. The implications of biomass-CCS are potentially large and are inadequately reflected in current climate policy debates.

It will take a while before mainstream climate policy makers, environmental organisations and media outlets catch up with the radically green potential of carbon-negative bioenergy systems. But eventually they will. One of them, Norway's Bellona Foundation, has already done so. In its most recent report on options to mitigate climate change, it referred to negative emissions energy for the first time ("you can watch TV and by doing so take CO2 out of the atmosphere"). Others are being introduced to the concept because of Hansen's crucial paper. And of course, still others are learning about it by reading Biopact - the only organisation that has been actively reporting on this issue.

Because the use of carbon-negative bioenergy in the transportation sector implies the use of electric vehicles and/or fuel cell cars, Biopact will be tracking news about the development of such vehicles more in-depth. If we want to use biomass and the land needed to grow it in the most radical way to solve the climate problem, we might want to abandon liquid biofuels and the internal combustion engine altogether. What is more, the concept of carbon-negative energy as the basis for transport is interesting for the developing world. Instead of investing in liquid biofuels, poor countries could 'leapfrog' beyond the internal combustion engine, and choose for electric transportation infrastructures. Such infrastructures could at once tap into other renewables, like solar or wind, even though these energy sources remain carbon neutral at best.

Over the coming months, we will explore what carbon-negative bioenergy in the transport sector might mean for developing countries. We will especially focus on the biochar route, because this pathway seems to be the most feasible and least costly of the negative emissions energy production options.

Image: Tesla Roadster. Credit: Tesla Motors.

References:
Peter Read. "Biosphere carbon stock management: addressing the threat of abrupt climate change in the next few decades: an editorial essay", Climatic Change, Volume 87, Numbers 3-4 / April, 2008, page 305-320, doi: 10.1007/s10584-007-9356-y.

James S. Rhodes and David W. Keith, "Biomass with capture: negative emissions within social and environmental constraints: an editorial comment" [open access], Climatic Change, Volume 87, Numbers 3-4 / April, 2008, page 321-328, doi: 10.1007/s10584-007-9387-4.

Biopact: Carbon-negative bioenergy making headway, at last - June 06, 2008.

Geotimes focuses on the biochar revolution

2008-06-19T20:24:00.005+02:00

The upcoming July issue of Geotimes, a publication of the American Geological Institute which deals with earth, energy and the environment, will focus on the growing biochar revolution. Check out this short teaser video, but don't forget to watch the second, much more in-depth presentation as well:

This second video offers a very good, longer introduction to 'terra preta' and its modern variant known as biochar. It was made by ABC News in Australia, where the concept is making serious head way.

It seems like the idea to use soils as carbon sinks - by putting biochar obtained from the production of carbon-negative energy into them -, is rapidly becoming one of the winning technologies with which to combat climate change. One advocate of the concept of biochar is NASA's Dr James Hansen, who says we need to implement it in order to put humanity on track to reach a goal of reducing atmospheric CO2 levels from today's 387ppm to 350ppm (previous post).

This 350ppm target means we do not merely need to 'reduce' our emissions, which we could do by investing in carbon-neutral energy technologies like wind or solar. No, we need to go much further. 350ppm means we actively need to take CO2 out of the atmosphere. Biochar based 'negative emissions' energy is capable of doing this.

One of the organisations testing the concept is the Biochar Fund. It studies the application of biochar at the tropical forest frontier, because it is there where it may yield many additional benefits - from ending rural poverty, and slowing deforestation, to reducing hunger and putting an end to energy poverty.
ethanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: biochar :: agrichar :: terra preta :: carbon-negative :: climate change ::

Ocean temperatures and sea level increases 50 percent higher than previously estimated

2008-06-19T01:22:00.002+02:00

New research suggests that ocean temperature and associated sea level increases between 1961 and 2003 were 50 percent larger than estimated in the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. The results are reported in the June 19 edition of the journal Nature.

An international team of researchers compared climate models with improved observations that show sea levels rose by 1.5 millimeters per year in the period from 1961-2003. That equates to an approximately 6.3 centimeters (2½-inch) increase in ocean levels in a 42-year span.

The ocean warming and thermal expansion rates are more than 50 percent larger than previous estimates for the upper 300 meters of oceans.

The research corrected for small but systematic biases recently discovered in the global ocean observing system, and uses statistical techniques that “infill” information in data-sparse regions. The results increase scientists’ confidence in ocean observations and further demonstrate that climate models simulate ocean temperature variability more realistically than previously thought.

This is important for the climate modeling community because it demonstrates that the climate models used for assessing sea-level rise and ocean warming tie in closely with the observed results. - Peter Gleckler, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory climate scientist

Estimates of ocean heat content and sea surface temperature. Upper: Comparison of our upper-ocean heat content with previous estimates (red1 and blue12) for the upper 700 m. The straight lines are linear fits to the estimates. The global mean stratospheric optical depth(arbitrary scale) at the bottom indicates the timing of major volcanic eruptions. The brown curve is a three-year running average of these values, included for comparison with the smoothed observations. Lower: Comparison of thick black line, as in a with the thick red line; thin red lines indicate estimates of one standard deviation error) results with sea surface temperature (blue; right-hand scale). All time series were smoothed with a three-year running average and are relative to 1961.

Climate model data were analyzed from 13 different modeling groups. All model data were obtained from the WCRP CMIP3 multi-model dataset archived at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison (PCMDI).

Although observations and models confirm that recent warming is greatest in the upper ocean, there are widespread observations of warming deeper than 700 meters:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: renewables :: fossil fuels :: ocean temperatures :: sea level :: glaciers :: ice sheet :: climate change :: climate model ::

Results were compared with recent estimates of other contributions to sea-level rise including glaciers, ice caps, Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, and thermal expansion changes in the deep ocean. When these independent lines of evidence are examined collectively, the story is more consistent than found in earlier studies.

The oceans store more than 90 percent of the heat in the Earth’s climate system and act as a temporary buffer against the effects of climate change. The ocean warming and thermal expansion rates are 50 percent larger than previous estimates for the upper 700 meters of oceans, and greater than that for the upper 300 meters.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. Our ability to quantify structural uncertainties in observationally based estimates is critically important. This study represents important progress. - Peter Gleckler

The team involved researchers from the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research (CSIRO), the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre and LLNL.

Image: Rising ocean and atmospheric temperatures affect glaciers such as Alaska's Hubbard Glacier. Photo by Bob Hirschfeld.

Graph, courtesy of LLNL.

References:
Catia M. Domingues, John A. Church, Neil J. White, Peter J. Gleckler, Susan E. Wijffels, Paul M. Barker & Jeff R. Dunn. "Improved estimates of upper-ocean warming and multi-decadal sea-level rise", Nature 453, 1090-1093 (19 June 2008) | doi:10.1038/nature07080

DR Congo becomes test case for true sustainable development

2008-06-18T14:26:00.012+02:00

A range of conflicting interests is playing itself out again in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the vast Central African country that just came out of the most lethal of wars. The DRC, roughly the size of Western Europe, is blessed (or cursed) with a wealth of natural resources: minerals, petroleum, agricultural land, water, landscapes of an excessive beauty, and the world's second largest tropical rainforest that holds both hardwood and a unique reserve of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The question is whether Congo can develop economically while keeping its extremely valuable ecosystems intact.

The extractive industries are being developed in Congo en masse, but so are initiatives from highly developed countries who want to protect the rainforest. Over the coming decades, the country will therefor become a crucial test case showing whether 'sustainable development' is truly possible or a ultimately a mirage. Can the drama that played itself out in Indonesia, Malaysia or Brazil - the wholesale destruction of large stretches of rainforest in the name of modernity - be prevented in Congo? The challenges are huge, the potential rewards equally so.

Towards modernity
The Congo Wars, which have killed an estimated 4 million people, have had a devastating effect on the forests. Displacement and abject poverty have forced many of the country's 60 million inhabitants to prey on nature as a way to survive. Instead of utilizing forest resources in their traditional, sustainable way, the trade in bushmeat, poached treasure, illegally harvested wood, minerals and charcoal, have destroyed and fragmented large parts of the forest. Icons like the great apes, the white rhinoceros or the forest elephants are under threat.

After the successful democratic elections in 2006 and the return of stability, the formal economy began growing rapidly, even though corruption and generalised poverty remain the norm today. Despite the weakness of the state and its services, the Congolese are gradually beginning to find their normal ways again. This growing stability is also attracting foreign investors who are interested in the country's key natural resources.

First there is, of course, China. The People's Republic recently poured its largest African investment in Congo: $9 billion to develop thousands of kilometers of roads, railroads, schools, hospitals, universities and sport stadiums, in exchange for control over some key copper mines (more here and here). Besides being interested in minerals, China also wants to tap Congo's vast agricultural potential. A partly state-owned company recently bought (or leased) not less than 3 million hectares of land which it wants to use for the development of palm oil plantations (previous post).

Likewise, India, Brazil and several Arab oil states are pouring large sums of money into the country's agriculture, oil and mining sectors. Forestry is back on track too, making foreign companies and local elites wealthy, while 'opening up' the forest to further degradation.

Responding to the world food crisis, Congo's Ministry of Agriculture recently said the DRC can become a leading food exporter (even though it currently is a net food importer). In principle, the ministry is right: agricultural experts have shown that, if it uses its land in the most optimal way, the country can produce food for around 3 billion people. Add that Congo is becoming aware of its very large potential to produce biofuels (earlier post, and here), and we are looking at a scenario of extra environmental pressures:
energy :: sustainability :: bioenergy :: agriculture :: deforestation :: logging :: mining :: extractive industries :: climate change :: carbon :: biodiversity :: ecosystem services :: Congo ::

Meanwhile, megaprojects like the plan to develop the Grand Inga dam - which would become the world's largest hydroelectric power plant rated at 40GW - prepare the country for a future of rapid industrial development.

To all this must be added Congo's very fast population growth (fertility rates are around 6.5 children per woman). Taking a medium growth scenario, Congo's population is projected to grow from its current 62 million inhabitants to 186 million in 2050 (check the UN Population Division's database, for alternative demographic scenarios).

Clearly, the stresses on Congo's environment become ever larger with every analysis of the socio-economic drivers that will determine its future development.

Dead or alive?
The question is whether these stresses can be counter-acted in such a way that the Congolese can be lifted out of poverty - the DRC is one of the planet's absolute poorest countries - while keeping the rainforest systems more or less intact. Today, a dead forest is worth more than a standing one. This is true for both the large industrial interests (logging, palm oil, mining) as for the local people who make a living from slash-and-burn based agriculture or who dwell in the forests. Stories of Pygmees selling vast swathes of their forests in exchange for a few bags of soap, are common.

So what can be done? Are there alternatives to the classic, modernistic development parcours that seems to be taking its course in Congo? Can deforestation be slowed? Perhaps.

The key to solving the problem could be in looking at the rainforests as systems which generate valuable ecosystem services that can be expressed in monetary terms. There are no markets yet valuing the immense biodiversity sustained by such a forest; capitalism does not put a price on the fresh water and rain that is produced by tropical forests. Clean air and oxygen produced by these trees are seen as free services.

One ecosystem service, however, is beginning to be 'marketable', namely the large amount of carbon stored in the standing trees. When these trees get cut down and burned to make way for agricultural land, a huge amount of greenhouse gas emissions is released into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. So the idea is to put a price on this carbon and to compensate countries and farmers who can prevent or reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

The question is: will the carbon price suffice? That remains to be seen. Another question is whether the carbon money will ever reach the people on the ground, or whether it will stick to the hands of corrupt governments and bureaucracies. Also, when the people living in or at the forest margin are no longer allowed to cut down trees for their survival, they will have to be given new types of jobs in economic sectors that have to be developed from scratch (ecotourism, agroforestry, etc). This is a tall order. Moreover, the risk exists that deforestation is simply displaced and left to continue elsewhere. Monitoring this will not be easy.

Lastly, examples of local people being chased away from their forests by force, in the name of conservation, are already legion. This approach, leading to the emergence of 'conservation refugees', is obviously not sustainable. Scientists have warned that simplistic schemes and projects which merely bank on a forest's carbon and which put conservation before people - without taking into account the social realities that lead to deforestation - could actually lead to more poverty, driving even more deforestation.

Congo Basin Forest Fund
To prevent these unwanted social and environmental effects, a comprehensive approach towards conservation and forest protection is needed - one that makes local people part of the equation. This is the goal set out by a fund created by the governments of Norway and the UK, which focuses specifically on the Congolese forest. The Congo Basin Forest Foundation (CBFF) was launched with a first action that deals with monitoring the state of the forest: a dedicated satellite camera will take high-resolution pictures of the rainforest resource.

The satellite pictures from the high resolution RALCam3 will allow us to monitor land use changes and deforestation, and point the way forward as to where interventions are most urgent. Once projects are under way, the satellite will check whether they effectively result in reduced deforestation.

The CBFF will identify and build up its project pipeline in a number of ways to achieve its strategic objectives and milestones, which consist of supporting projects that allow forest communities to build livelihoods consistent with conservation.

The Fund's principle approach will be through open, competitive bidding rounds. These will be open to eligible partners from the COMIFAC (Commission des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale) region, including governments, NGOs, civil society organisations, and other technical partners.

There are two proposed funding routes. Projects over US $100,000 will be managed directly by the African Development Bank, whilst projects below this threshold will be managed under an agreement between the bank and a fund management agent. Regardless of the size of project proposed, the CBFF is looking to approve projects which are innovative, of high quality; and will contribute to achieving the overall objectives of the Fund: to avoid deforestation and contribute to poverty alleviation in the Congo basin forests.

Open bidding is envisaged as an annual process run by the CBFF Secretariat in accordance with African Development Bank rules and procedures. In the early months of the Fund however, and to ensure a quick start to implementation, the UK Government, as the interim Secretariat of the CBFF invites proposals to reach the Secretariat by 1 August 2008.

The CBFF is different from other proposals aimed at reducing deforestation - such as carbon fund based approaches or schemes to trade the carbon stored in the forests on an international carbon market - in that it takes a 'bottom-up' approach: concrete anti-deforestation projects leading to alternative livelihoods for the many people who rely on the forest, are supported on a case by case basis.

It remains to be seen whether the CBFF can halt the logic that is now destroying the Congo forest. The Fund's financial resources (€136 million) are tiny compared with the potential profits that can be made in destructive sectors such as logging, mining and agriculture. But if its projects, however small, prove to be successful, Congo and other forest-rich countries at least have a chance to learn that the desire for modernity does not automatically have to mean the wholesale destruction of unique ecoystems.

References:
Congo Basin Forest Fund.

Commission des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale.

UN Population Division: World Population Prospects - database containing different demographic scenarios at country level.

CongoForum: Congo kan exporteur van voedsel worden [Congo can become major food exporter] - June 11, 2008.

BBC: Space cameras to monitor forests - June 17, 2008.

Biopact: Scientists warn forest carbon payment schemes could increase poverty - December 07, 2007

Biopact: China 'opening up' Congo for minerals, bioenergy with massive $5 billion loan - September 20, 2007

Biopact: DR Congo: Chinese company to invest $1 billion in 3 million hectare oil palm plantation - July 28, 2007

Biopact: DR Congo debates its enormous biofuels potential - June 05, 2008

Biopact: New Congo government identifies bioenergy as priority for industrialisation - May 03, 2007

Biopact: International roundtable looks at building the world's largest dam in Congo - October 04, 2006

Wageningen UR: biofuels not to blame for high food prices; decline in world food prices to continue

2008-06-17T19:48:00.013+02:00

According to a new study by experts from the world's leading agronomic and agricultural economics research institution - the Wageningen University & Research Centre - neither speculation nor biofuels are to blame for the current high food prices. Instead, and despite some people's attempts to focus excessively on these factors, a complex set of many other forces is at play. Wageningen UR also projects world food prices to decline again, continuing the historic long term trend towards ever lower prices for food. What is more, compared with all other commodities, food prices have increased far less dramatically.

Wageningen UR asked a number of its experts to contribute to the national and international discussion by offering analysis from different perspectives. A first memorandum on the analysis of the recent price increases, titled Why Are Current World Food Prices So High? [*.pdf], has already been presented. Given Wageningen UR's undisputed authority in all matters relating to the analysis of world agricultural markets, the memorandum carries a lot of weight.

Influence on price formation
The long-term trend of world food prices shows a continued decline (figure 1, click to enlarge). This is happening because, among other things, technological developments are pushing up the production per hectare and that, in turn, is pushing the prices down, the researchers argue. Now and then brief peaks occur in food prices. It seems that the current wave of price surges is such a peak. The current peaks in the prices are lower than the peak in the food prices in the 1970s, which was the result of the oil crisis. Of course, the trend can change, but the expectation is that the response to the current, high prices - increased, large investments in agriculture - will again cause a decline.

Compared with the index for all other commodities and for oil, the food price index has remained well below the recent upward trend, remaining fairly stable over the long term, and increasing far less rapidly than the other indices (figure 2, click to enlarge).

The effects of speculative investments in food crops should not be overestimated, the researchers say. On the one hand, they can lead to a quick increase in prices. However, on the other hand, if a decrease in prices starts, the same investments will lead to a quick fall in prices.

According to the experts, the demand for agricultural products for the production of biofuels has a small effect: only 5 per cent of the oilseeds goes to biodiesel or directly to the transport sector; 4.5 per cent of the grain production is used for ethanol. Although this is a marginal demand, it still has a slight influence on the development of prices on the world market because the supply of food products on the world market is relatively small compared to what is consumed and produced locally. Countries heavily dependent on imported food may feel some effect (more than 90 per cent of all rice is produced and consumed locally; the same is true for maize and wheat, of which more than 75% is grown and consumed locally).

If neither speculation nor biofuels are having more than marginal effects on world food prices, then which are the factors influencing the current price developments? The experts list the following forces and events:

Poor harvests have caused low wheat and barley yields in Australia, the Ukraine and Europe - the key production areas. The stores of these grains are running out, and the current barley and wheat prices are therefor high.
High maize yields led to a world-wide increase of the total grain harvest in 2007. Because of this, maize prices remained relatively low. Only very recently have increases in maize prices been detected.
High energy prices lead to high costs for artificial fertilizers and fuel, among other things. Higher transport costs lead to price effects for transport over long distances (note: this is why, counter-intuitively, biofuels can help lower food prices).
Argentina, Kazakhstan, India, Vietnam and Egypt have levied export taxes to protect their own food supply. This has pushed up prices on the world market.
The production limitations for food products in the EU have pushed up prices.
In the past, the low prices for food production were not an incentive to invest in technology that increased production.
The demand in Europe and North America is stable, but the demand is growing rapidly in Asian countries as a result of income developments and changes in diet (especially the trend towards increased meat consumption).

Towards ever lower prices
In the opinion of the Wageningen UR experts, a number of developments will appear in response to the high prices. These developments will, most likely, cause a downward push:
energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: biobutanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: food :: agflation :: developing countries :: agriculture ::

The high prices will lead to the use of agricultural land that is currently not in production. Huge potential exists particularly in Brazil and Russia. In other countries, production will be intensified, and this will lead to a decrease in prices.
Because of the high prices, investments in R & D and technology will again become profitable, after many years of neglect.
To dampen price instability, strategic stocks are indispensable.
The influence of the biofuel directives on the development of world food prices is relative and depends on the technological developments around the production of biobased commodities. The investments in second generation biobased production are important because the production of second generation biobased products does not use the direct food product but the whole plant.

The development of the oil price is significant in predicting the demand from the biofuel sector. In the current price relation between oil and biofuels, most biofuels are not profitable (except for fuels based on tropical crops, such as sugarcane based ethanol). With this price relation, the volume of the biofuel market will be limited to the commitments in the biofuel EU's directive. However, with a relatively high oil price, biofuels can become competitive: the food and fuel markets will then be further integrated and the food prices will be determined, to a greater extent, by the oil price.

Problems remain
Unpredictable movements in food prices can still provide problems in the future. With high prices, the consequences in terms of hunger or malnutrition especially in poor urban areas will surface. But with low prices, the consequence for poor farmers will be large. Until recently, hundreds of millions of farmers could not lift themselves out of poverty because of low food prices. Seventy-five percent of the world's hungry people are still living in rural areas and are dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. Over time, high prices should benefit them.

In poorer urban areas of the world, the expenditure for food makes up, on average, about 50 per cent of an individual's disposable income. As such, price increases in these regions have dramatic effects. This percentage climbs to 65 per cent if the food prices rise by 30 per cent. In the wealthy lands, these effects, on the other hand, will be limited to 1 to 2 per cent of an individual's income.

Apart from this, the researchers state in their report that the hunger issue is, however, only partially attributable to the demand for biofuels and is much more attributable to bad policy and the poor performance of the markets.

All figures courtesty of Wageningen UR.

References:
M. Banse, P. Nowicki, H. van Meijl, Why Are Current World Food Prices So High? [*.pdf], Wageningen University and Research Centre, Den Haag, LEI, Rapport 2008-040 - June 2008.

AlphaGalileo: Several factors influence world food prices - June 17, 2008.

UK approves 65MW biomass power plant - to power 100,000 homes

2008-06-17T16:00:00.009+02:00

Energy Minster Malcolm Wicks announced today the British government has approved Helius Energy's plan to build a 65MW energy crop and wood-burning power station in Lincolnshire. Initially waste wood will be used as fuel, with energy crops and waste from a biodiesel and ethanol factory - for which planning permission has been granted as well - being future feedstocks. The US$390.5 million biomass plant is one of a growing number of large-scale bioenergy projects in the UK.

The power station is the first phase of an integrated bioenergy development on a 36 hectare site 4km from the port of Immingham. It will produce enough renewable electricity for around 100,000 homes; most of North East Lincolnshire. The plant will save approximately 450,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year compared with a similarly sized coal-fired power station. Options to use the heat produced by the plant either on site or locally are also being considered.

Not only does [the plant] help tackle climate change and increase secure supplies of energy, but the building and running of this biomass plant will also provide jobs in Lincolnshire. This announcement takes us closer to achieving our proposed renewable energy targets. We have doubled the amount of renewable electricity to 5% over the last few years and later this month we will be launching our consultation on how we can drive this forward even further. - British Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks

Construction of Phase I, the biomass energy plant, costing circa £200 (€251.8/US$390.5) million, is expected to start later this year and to be operational by 2011. The biomass power plant will require around 430,000 tonnes of sustainably sourced feedstock each year. The power station will initially be fuelled by waste wood, specially grown crops and the leftovers from timber processing activities sourced from the UK and Europe:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: biofuels :: wood waste :: energy crops :: combined heat-and-power :: cogeneration :: bioenergy :: renewables :: United Kingdom ::

The biomass power station is expected to provide approximately 267 full time jobs during the construction phase and 75 permanent full time jobs working a shift pattern when the plant is running.

Planning permission has also been granted to build an additional biomass processing facility and bioethanol and biodiesel refinery. The intention is that spent grains from the bioethanol plant and glycerol from the biodiesel plant will eventually be used as the fuel feedstock for the power station.

The development will also include an area of approximately 20 hectares specifically set aside as a conservation area for birds and water voles.

Helius Energy is also developing a range of smaller scale (5 to 10 MW) combined heat-and-power biomass plants, coupled to food processing facilities.

The United Kingdom is lagging behind most of Europe when it comes to renewables, especially bioenergy, which is used on a large scale on the continent. However, several biomass power plants have been approved and are in various phases of construction or have been completed.

Late last year, the UK approved the construction of the world's biggest biomass plant in Port Talbot. The 350MW facility will power half of all homes in Wales and supply electricity for approximately 1.5 million people in a renewable and carbon-neutral way. When completed, the plant will produce about 70% of the Welsh Assembly Government's entire 2010 renewable energy target. This makes it Wales' single strongest weapon in the fight against climate change.

Renewable energy company Eco2 Biomass recently submitted a planning application to the North Kesteven District Council in Linconlshire to develop a new 40 MW straw fired renewable energy plant near the town of Sleaford.

E.ON's Steven's Croft biomass power station in Scotland, which is already operational, utilizes dedicated energy crops like fast growing willow. It powers 70,000 homes.

Another 25 MW plant is planned by E.ON in Sheffield. It will generate electricity for 40,000 homes and uses as fuel a combination of recycled wood and specially grown energy crops such as willow or tropical elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum).

Last year, Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) officially opened the UK's first large scale biomass power plant. The 30MW station is the first to produce renewable energy using naturally sustainable biomass without any input of fossil fuels. The plant, located at the Wilton International manufacturing site in Teesside in the Northeast of England, powers around 30,000 households.

Besides dedicated biomass power plants, several of the UK's coal-fired power stations have begun co-firing biomass, reducing their carbon emissions gradually (previous post).

References:
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR): Biomass power station to be built in Lincolnshire - June 16, 2008.

Helius Energy: Consent Granted for North East Biomass Power Plant - June 16, 2008.

Biopact: UK approves world's biggest (350MW) biomass plant: will power half of all homes in Wales - November 21, 2007

Biopact: Eco2 Biomass to build 40MW biomass power plant in the UK - November 16, 2007

Biopact: UK's largest biomass plant approved, biomass task force created - June 16, 2007

Biopact: E.ON UK submits application for 25MW biomass plant - July 20, 2007

Biopact: UK opens first large scale 30MW biomass power station - November 13, 2007