BBI BIOFUELS WORKSHOP & TRADE SHOW SERIES: BUILDING AN INDUSTRY
Western Region: October 9-11, 2007, Portland, OR;
Eastern Region: November 28-30, 2007, Philadelphia, PA
>Western Region Details: http://www.biofuelsworkshop.com/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=Registration1
>Eastern Region Details: http://www.biofuelsworkshop.com/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=Registration

7TH PELLETS INDUSTRY FORUM
October 9-10, 2007
Stuttgart, Germany
>Details: http://www.pelletsforum.de/

INTERPELLETS: TRADE FAIR FOR WOOD PELLETS TECHNOLOGY
October 10-12, 2007, Suttgart, Germany
>Details: hhttp://www.interpellets.de/en/home/

CELLULOSIC ETHANOL SUMMIT
October 15-17, 2007, Washington, DC
>Details: http://www.infocastinc.com/cell07.html

MAKING WOOD WORK: LOCAL ENERGY SOLUTIONS
October 16-18, 2007, Holiday Inn Parkside, Missoula, Montana
National 3-day workshop on implementing woody biomass energy systems.
>Details: http://fuelsforschools.org/biomass_boiler_workshop.html

INTERNATIONAL DISTILLERS GRAINS CONFERENCE: EDUCATING & EMPOWERING END USERS
October 21-23, 2007
Schaumberg, Illinois
>Read more: https://www.distillersgrainsconference.com/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=1

2ND ANNUAL MIDWST AG ENERGY NETWORK SUMMIT: NEXT GENERATION AG ENERGY: POLICIES TO ADVANCE REGIONAL GROWTH
February 5-6, 2008
Madison, WI
>Details: http://www.midwestagenergy.net/index.html

GROWING THE MARGINS: ENERGY, BIOPRODUCTS AND BYPRODUCTS FOR FARM AND FOOD SECTORS
April 2-5, 2008
London, Ontario.
>Details: http://www.gtmconf.ca/welcome.htm

INTERNATIONAL BIOMASS '08 CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW: POWER, FUELS, AND CHEMICALS
April 15-17, 2008, Minneapolis, MN
Call for Presentations: Submission deadline: October 1, 2007
>Details: http://www.biomassconference.com/speaker.aspx

WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY CONFERENCE 2008
March 4-6, 2008
Washington, DC
>Details: http://www.wirec2008.gov/

THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL BIOENERGY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION
June 3-5, 2008, Prince George, BC
Details: http://www.bioenergyconference.org/index.php

ASSESSMENT OF OUTDOOR WOOD-FIRED BOILERS
Prepared by NASCAUM, March 28, 2006
This report was undertaken by NESCAUM (Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management) to provide policymakers with an assessment of concerns relating to the growing use of outdoor wood-fired boilers (OWB), also known as outdoor wood-fired hydronic heaters or outdoor wood-fired furnaces. The increased use of OWBs in populated areas represents a potential public health problem because of the severity of health effects associated with residential wood smoke inhalation.
>Read more: http://www.nescaum.org/documents/assessment-of-outdoor-wood-fired-boilers
>More on health concerns: http://www.epa.gov/pmresearch/

BREAD—AND BIOENERGY, TOO? YES!
Food and Nutrition Research Briefs, July 2007
Scientists at the North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory, Brookings, SD, are looking at the old idea of using DDGs flour in place of some or all of the wheat flour in familiar recipes. An array of foods low in calories and carbs—but high in protein and fiber—could result.  Right now, DDGs—left over after ethanol is distilled from corn—are accumulating in unprecedented amounts, as a result of the surge in U.S. ethanol production, and are currently used primarily as livestock feed ingredients.
>Read more: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/fnrb/fnrb0707.htm#grains
>Read more: http://arsserv0.tamu.edu/main/site_main.htm?modecode=54-47-00-00

EFFECTS OF THE BIOFUEL BOOM
Vaughan  Scully
Business Week Online, 8/28/07
As biofuels become an economically competitive power alternative, life is changing fast for the whole agricultural sector.  This article reports on the biofuels industry.  As corn and other crops become increasingly important raw materials for biofuels, such as ethanol or biodiesel, the companies that make and process them are starting to act more like energy companies. And as more acreage is being planted with sugar cane, corn, and soybeans to make biofuels, other crops are being displaced, decreasing their supply and spreading the effect of high-energy costs across a wide range of food products.
>Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/aug2007/pi20070824_143619.htm?chan=search

ENERGY QUEST ANNOUNCES ITS MODEL FS324 GASIFIER
Marketwire, September 13, 2007
Energy Quest, Inc. announced the completion of the research and development of the company's small Modular Bio-energy plants and their use for converting waste biomass or coal to useful energy.  The model, capable of providing up to 7 KW per hour of electricity and 33 thousand BTU of gas for heating and cooking purposes over a 24-hour period, will supply electricity and heat for a single family home.
>Read more: http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=769553

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF A 125 KW TWIN-FIRE FIXED BED GASIFICATION PILOT PLANT AND COMPARISON TO THE RESULTS OF A 2 MW COMBINED HEAT AND POWER PLANT (CHP)
Robert Kramreiter et al.
Fuel Processing Technology, September 12, 2007
Fixed bed biomass gasification is a promising technology to produce heat and power from a renewable energy source.  The plant described in the article has been built in Wr. Neustadt, Austria and consists of a so called twin-fire fixed bed gasifier with a fuel power of about 2 MWth, a cyclone and a RME (rapemethylester)/H2O gas cleaning system followed by a wet electrostatic precipitator (ESP). The purified product gas is utilized in a gas engine with a capacity of 550 kWel. The exhaust gas from the gas engine in led into an existing biomass boiler in order to meet the emission limits.  The feedstock of this plant is freshly chipped wood from forestry.
>Contact the ITC Library to obtain this paper.

FARMERS TOUT ALFALFA AS FUEL
Mary Hopkin
Tricity Herald, September 11, 2007
Alfalfa could be a leading feedstock to produce cellulosic ethanol.  Beth Nelson, NAFA's executive director, said that although a lot of research has gone into determining if switchgrass is a potential feedstock for ethanol, alfalfa makes more sense.
>Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/9293795p-9208281c.html

IOWA STATE RESEARCHER STUDIES THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE BIOECONOMY
Iowa State University News Service, August 30, 2007
What if farmers decide against crop rotations and plant corn on the same fields, year after year? Or, what if farmers begin growing biomass crops such as switchgrass for the production of ethanol from plant fiber?  Will soil lose fertility? Will erosion increase? Will the amount of energy needed to produce biofuels go up or down? Will farm income increase or decrease?  Will the bioeconomy be sustainable?  Iowa State University researchers who recently published “Potential for Enhanced Nutrient Cycling through Coupling of Agricultural and Bioenergy Systems are studying these questions."  The paper reports that as much as 78 percent of the nitrogen fertilizer needed for crops could be recovered from an integrated biological and thermochemical process that converts switchgrass to ethanol.
>Read more:  http://www.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2007/aug/sustain.shtml

PRODUCTION COSTS OF CELLULOSIC BIOFUELS SIMILAR TO GRAIN-ETHANOL
Globe-Net, August 15, 2007
Second generation biorefineries - those making biofuel from lignocellulosic feedstocks like straw, grasses and wood - have long been touted as the successor to today's grain ethanol plants. But, until now, the technology has been considered too expensive to compete. However, recent increases in grain prices mean that production costs are now similar for grain ethanol and second generation biofuels.  The switch to second generation biofuels will reduce competition with grain for food and feed, and allow the utilization of materials like straw which would otherwise go to waste.
>Read more: http://www.globe-net.ca/new_products/listing.cfm?ID_Report=1248

SMALLER, CHEAPER BIOFUEL REACTORS
Kevin Bullis
Technology Review, August 9, 2007
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a fast way to convert sawdust and waste biomass directly into a mixture of gases that can be burned to generate electricity or made into liquid fuels such as diesel. If the process can be scaled up, it could be a more energy-efficient method for making biofuels by allowing for small, fast reactors located close to biomass sources.  This might be good "green" news for furniture and millwork manufacturers.
>Read more: http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/19199/

RESEARCH PROJECT TO INCREASE VALUE OF BY-PRODUCTS FROM ETHANOL FUEL PRODUCTION
Manitoba News Release, August 16, 2007
The University of Manitoba will receive funding for further research to enhance the value of livestock feed uses for distiller’s dried grain, a high protein by-product of ethanol production. The Canada-Manitoba Economic Partnership Agreement is contributing $202,820 towards the project.
>Read more: http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/press/top/2007/08/2007-08-16-130000-2182.html

IMPERIAL COUNTY IS BULL’S-EYE FOR POTENTIAL CALIFORNIA ETHANOL BOOM
Cary Blake
Western Farm Press, September 10, 2007
The new "gold rush" for California may just be coming out of Imperial County, with a handful of proposed renewable fuels plants in the concept, permit, or construction stage.  Sugar cane, corn, and other vegetable crops are a few of the bioenergy crops interesting California investors.
>Read more: http://westernfarmpress.com/news/091007-California-ethanol/

FUND LAUNCHED FOR RENEWABLE FUELS
Globe-net, September 12, 2007
The future of renewable fuels in Canada took a big step forward with the launch of the NextGen Biofuels Fund(TM). The new fund of $500 million provided by the Government of Canada will be managed by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC).  The Fund will support up to 40%, of eligible project costs for the establishment of first-of-kind large demonstration-scale facilities for the production of next-generation renewable fuels.
>Read more: http://www.globe-net.ca/search/display.cfm?NID=3115&CID=8
>Read more: http://www.sdtc.ca/en/news/media_releases/media_12092007.htm

OECD WARNS AGAINST SUBSIDIES FOR INEFFICIENT BIOFUELS IN THE NORTH, CALLS FOR LIBERALISATION OF MARKET - MAJOR BOOST TO IDEA OF 'BIOPACT'
Biopact, September 11, 2007
The case for a 'Biopact' has received another major boost by the release of a report that assesses the damaging impacts of subsidies and trade barriers for biofuels produced in the North and that calls for a liberalisation of the market. The study was written by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and states that biofuels made from low yield crops such as corn or wheat can only play a marginal role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions; such fuels result in increased food prices; and subsidies and trade barriers prevent competitive and climate-friendly biofuels made in the South from entering the market.
>Read more: http://biopact.com/2007/09/oecd-warns-against-subsidies-for.html

POLAND; BIOFUELS MARKET 2007
Globe-net, September 6, 2007
Poland’s biodiesel sector is still in the early development stage, producing 120 thousand tons of biodiesel annually.  EU regulation requires 5.75% of liquid fuels used for transportation to be of renewable energy origins. In Poland, part of this requirement is met through rapeseed cultivation. In 2006 Polish producers harvested approximately 1.5 million tons of rapeseed, but will need to increase production significantly in order to comply with EU regulations.
>Read more: http://www.globe-net.ca/search/display.cfm?NID=1266&CID=6

RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY R&D
The Renewable Energy Technologies Program (RETP) helps industry to generate competitive and environmentally responsible alternatives to conventional energy generation. Technologies include small hydro, active solar, wind energy and bioenergy.
>Read more: http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/es/etb/cetc/cetc01/htmldocs/Publications/factsheet_renewable_energy_tech_r&d_e.htm

PUBLICATIONS

2007 Growing the Margins Energy Conference Presentations
Papers from the 2007 “Growing the Margins Energy Conference: Energy Conservation and Generation for Farms and Food Processors Conference and Exhibition“ are available on this site.  Topics include Byproducts as an Energy Resource, Field Crop Opportunities, Biogas Opportunities, and Biofuels -- to name just a few.  Due to the success of this conference, held in Ontario this past April, another conference is planned for April 2008 in London, Ontario.
>Presentations: http://www.gtmconf.ca/2007_presentations.htm

WEB SITES

ARS RESEARCH IN BIOBASED PRODUCTS & BIOENERGY
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has been conducting research to find new uses for agricultural commodities and byproducts for over 60 years. Research related to biobased products focuses on developing technologies leading to new and improved non-food products, including fuels, that expand markets for farm products, replace imports and petroleum-based products, and offer opportunity to meet environmental needs. Research also addresses the development of appropriate feedstocks for biobased products and bioenergy.
>Web site: http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/themes/biopande.htm

BIOMASS CONVERSION RESEARCH LABORATORY (MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY)
The mission of the Biomass Conversion Research Laboratory at Michigan State University is to develop cost effective and environmentally attractive means of generating fuels, chemicals, materials, foods and feeds from renewable plant biomass.  MSU will partner with the University of Wisconsin-Madison in establishing the Department of Energy (DOE) Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), one of three new DOE bioenergy research centers (BRC) -- to the tune of $50 million over 5 years.
>Web site: http://www.everythingbiomass.org/

GreenEnervyTV
Green Energy TV is an Online Television Channel that is dedicated to airing Green/Alternative/Renewable Energy videos for millions of viewers around the world to see.  Green Energy TV is passionate about sharing innovative ideas to help educate individuals and organizations of all sizes to use cleaner alternatives in their every day environment.  Every step counts and everyone can make a difference!  They want to see what individuals, schools, companies/organizations, inventors, etc. all around the world are doing to make a difference.  Individuals and groups can upload videos to help educate others in becoming Green.  Videos include such things as new inventions to Johnson & Johnson's Green Power corporate energy plan.  You can also identify videos by topic.
>Web site: http://www.greenenergytv.com/

THE MATRIX
The Matrix is the USDA's Navigational Aide USDA’s energy related programs.  USDA has many programs that help farmers, other rural residents, and the nation respond to energy-related issues and opportunities.
>Web site: http://www.usda.gov/rus/index2/0208/EnergyPrograms.htm

SUN GRANT BIOWEB
Sun Grant BioWeb is a non-commercial, educational website that provides current information about using biomass resources for bioenergy and bioproducts.
>Web site: http://bioweb.sungrant.org/

SIMON ROBINSON'S BIG BIOFUELS BLOG
>Weblog:  http://www.icis.com/blogs/biofuels/

BIOFUELS SWITCH A MISTAKE, SAY RESEARCHERS
Tristan Farrow
The Guardian, August 17, 2007
Dr Righelato and Dominick Spracklen from the University of Leeds are the first researchers to calculate the impact of biofuel carbon emissions across the whole cycle of planting, extraction and conversion into fuel.  Their study revealed that increasing production of biofuels to combat climate change will release between two and nine times more carbon gases over the next 30 years than fossil fuels, according to the first comprehensive analysis of emissions from biofuels.
>Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/aug/17/climatechange.energy
>Read more: http://reporter.leeds.ac.uk/press_releases/current/biofuels.htm

COULD BIOFUELS DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD?, OECD ASKS
Jess Halliday
FoodNavigator.com, September 11, 2007
European ministers met to discuss whether propounding use of biofuels is justified given their impact on food prices, and whether first generation technologies are causing more environmental harm than good.
>Read more: http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?id=79644