# Presentation: 708868

## Operational Support andEvaluation Task

**Bioenergy Feedstock **
**Development Program**
**Oak Ridge National Laboratory**
**Research Coordinator: **
**Mark Downing**
**November 2001**

## Presentation Outline

**Mission**
**Approach**
**Focus on projects**
**Significant Benefits**
**Future research**

## Mission

**To facilitate the development of commercial scale bioenergy projects by documenting and quantifying biomass feedstock:**
**production costs**
**production practices**
**productivity**
** ****	****...in a consistent manner across projects under operational conditions**

## Approach

**In partnership with universities, government agencies, private industry, state and local governments, ensure that large scale feedstock production costs are monitored, documented, and analyzed in a consistent manner.**

**Notes:**
- Cooperation involves existing organizations and cooperators
- New partnerships are forged between existing cooperators
- New companies and business entities are established 
	specifically to do business

## Approach

**Provide technical support to DOE cost-shared projects developing and demonstrating a range of bioenergy and bio-based products**

**Notes:**
Work that actually began with the Economic Development Through Biomass Systems 
	Integration Feasibility Studies in 1993.

## Approach

**To provide a link between research- and operational-scale feedstock development and utilization efforts for:**
**bioenergy project developers**
**rural economic development community**
**BFDP/DOE research programs**

**Notes:**
This is a communications link.

## Operational support and project evaluation timeline

**1994**

**1995**

**1997**

**1998**

**1999**

**2001**

**Biomass Power for Rural Development RFP issued**

**MNVAP COOP formed**

**Prairie Lands Bio-products **
**COOP formation**

**330 acres switchgrass **
**planted in Alabama**

**7000 ac switchgrass harvested - Iowa**

**Co-firing test results public**

**Operational support and ****project evaluation timeline**

**2000**

**1993**

**500+ acres Salix planted in NY**

**Feasibility Study **
**RFP issued**

**1996**

**Completion of planting 5000 acres Populus in Minnesota**

## Focus

**Biomass Power for Rural Development & **
**	****	****Co-firing Projects**
**Feedstock Production Scale-up Projects**
**USDA CRP Pilot Projects**

## Motivation for BFDP project involvement was to:

**Provide a consistent contact **
**Use a consistent approach in:**
**collecting data **
**understanding full economic costs**
**Collect data with intent to analyze and utilize for inputs to national scale biomass modeling efforts**
**Consistently and collaboratively build models for operational scale activities**

## Operational scale RD&D projects

**Operational scale RD&D projects**

- Feasibility Studies
- Biomass Power for Rural 			Development 	& Co-firing
- Feedstock Production Scale-up
-      Projects

- (Hawaii)

- (Puerto Rico)

## Other significant benefits of operational scale projects

**Policy**
**application for and granting of CRP waiver for R&D**
**identifies a real need for tax credit legislation**
**identifies specific tax credit needs**
**types of biomass**
**to whom the benefits accrue**

## Other significant benefits of operational scale projects

**Demonstration**
**pilot scale blending operation for switchgrass and coal**
**3000 acre planting of Populus in Minnesota**
**330 acres of switchgrass in Alabama**
**consistency of data collection methods and analyses**
**harvesting, handling, processing, and transportation**
**linking equipment and manufacturers in a single chain process**

## Other significant benefits of operational scale projects

**Business Development**
**Joint ownership of conversion and processing facilities**
**Minnesota Agroforestry Cooperative**
**Prairie Lands Bio-products, Inc.**
**Minnesota Valley Alfalfa Producers Cooperative**** **

## Other significant benefits of operational scale projects

**Interagency Cooperation**
**State energy agencies**
**State and local agency coordination**
**Minnesota Environmental Policy Act and the NEPA process**
**DOE/USDA cooperation and coordination**
**Rural Conservation and Development Councils  **

## Future Research

**Refinement and definition of markets for:**
**energy sector co-products and by-products**
**existing agricultural & forest residues**
**biomass crops**
**environmental ****amenities**
**Applicability of methods of nonmarket valuation**

## Future Research

**Provide flow of more information to BFDP researchers and Program Managers to influence R&D proposals to sponsors**

## Future Research

**Expansion to include biofuels and bioproducts because we can:**
**easily transfer lessons learned**
**associate cost and risk with:**
**geographic locations**
**industry sector partners**

## Future Research

**Provide information**
**differences between actual feedstock production costs and assumed costs of n****th**** generation feedstock supply**
**Provide analyses**
**why  actual costs vary from predicted costs in scenarios based on local factors of production**

## Future Research

**Provide information on risk**
**technical and non-technical barriers**
**Provide suggestions for overcoming barriers**

## Slide 20