Expanding Biofuel Production and the Transition to Advanced Biofuels Lessons for Sustainability from the Upper Midwest: Summary of a Workshop (2010) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Appendix C: Description of Agency Activities on Biofuels and Sustainability
Appendix C: Description of Agency Activities on Biofuels and Sustainability
Pages 49-100
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 49... ...
production goal of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, of which 21 billion should be advanced biofuels made from biomass products other than corn starch, such as cellulose, algae, and waste materials. Meeting this goal will require: significant and rapid advancements in biomass feedstock and conversion technologies; availability of large volumes of sustainable biomass feedstock; demonstration and deployment of large-scale integrated biofuels production facilities; and biofuels infrastructure development efforts.
|
From page 50... ...
of water requirements for the pro duction of advanced biofuels, corn ethanol, sugar cane ethanol, and competing petroleum fuels. The four main areas addressed in the LCA are: land use and soil sustainability, water use impacts, air quality impacts, and greenhouse gas (GHG)
|
From page 51... ...
OBP also participates in the Council for Sustainable Biomass Production www.csbp.org aimed at developing principles for bioenergy feedstocks, and as well as in the Federal Biomass Research & Development Board Interagency Sustainability working group charged with developing criteria and indicators for sustainable biofuel production. A significant amount of work is being undertaken at Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and at National Renewable Energy Laboratory to address various aspects of biofuels LCA.
|
From page 52... ...
PROJECT PERIOD: Ongoing FUNDING LEVELS (CURRENT OR PROPOSED) : $ 12.3 million in FY2008/2009; $10 million planned for FY2010
|
From page 53... ...
The design and implementation of innovative agronomic management strategies can address sustainability issues increasing access to agricultural residues supporting biofuel production goals. Limiting Factor Analysis Approach Determining sustainability of residue removal within an agronomic system requires analysis taking into account the full suite of factors which limit residue
|
From page 54... ...
This particular run of the integrated model set is looking at a 25 acre experiment that is part of the DOE Regional Biomass Feedstock Partnership network of field trials. The site is on highly productive central Iowa soils.
|
From page 55... ...
This approach is working toward including each of the previously identified six limiting factors, and plans going forward include developing the ability to quantify key ecosystem services provided through the innovative strategies to potentially provide growers with added value for sustainable agronomic management.
|
From page 56... ...
Among the charges of the partnership is a nationwide network of field trials assessing and developing biomass feedstock resources. This project is le veraging five of these field trials to collect data relative to critical sustainability indicators.
|
From page 57... ...
APPENDIX C Sustainability Data Three primary sustainability indicators have been selected as critical for the specific biomass production systems being investigated are: • Soil Carbon Sequestration potential Impact on productive capacity • Hydrology and Water Quality Field scale implementation Nutrient transport Water holding capacity • Direct Green House Gas Emissions N2O flux CO2 flux The Field Trials Projects at 5 locations: • Ames, IA; St. Paul, MN (corn)
|
From page 58... ...
, USDA ARS, Idaho National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory PROJECT PERIOD: 1/15/09 through 9/30/13 FUNDING LEVELS (CURRENT OR PROPOSED) : Current funding at 400K per year.
|
From page 59... ...
Study will examine projected changes in landscapes and ecosystem services1 in the Midwest. Given its immediate influence, biofuel production will be studied as a primary driver of landscape change.
|
From page 60... ...
There will also be a reduction in enrollment in land con servation programs, and corn stover will be the primary feedstock for cellulosic ethanol. This future landscape, which will be analyzed to evaluate the increased pressure on soil and water quality and other ecosystem services, will reflect a configuration that could be realized in 2022 under these conditions.
|
From page 61... ...
Evaluating many ecosystem services will require that we draw upon the expertise of other federal agencies. Collaboration is underway with the USDA Farm Service Agency, USDOI Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S.
|
From page 62... ...
The regulatory purpose of the lifecycle GHG emissions analysis is to determine whether renewable fuels meet the GHG thresholds for the different categories of renewable fuel. Lifecycle GHG emissions are the aggregate quantity of GHGs related to the full fuel cycle, including all stages of fuel and feedstock production and distribu tion, from feedstock generation and extraction through distribution and delivery and use of the finished fuel.
|
From page 63... ...
, as determined by the Administrator, related to the full fuel lifecycle, including all stages of fuel and feedstock production and distribution, from feedstock generation or extraction through the distribution and delivery and use of the finished fuel to the ultimate consumer, where the mass values for all greenhouse gases are adjusted to account for their relative global warming potential.2 As mandated by EISA, the GHG emission assessments must evaluate the full lifecycle emission impacts of fuel production including both direct and indirect emissions such as significant emissions from land use changes. We recognize the significance of using lifecycle GHG emission assessments that include indirect impacts such as emission impacts of indirect land use changes.
|
From page 64... ...
By focusing attention on these key parameters, the comments we receive as well as additional investigation and TABLE 1 Draft Lifecycle GHG Emission Reduction Results for Different Time Horizon and Discount Rate Approaches 100 year, 30 year, 2% Discount 0% Discount Fuel Pathway Rate Rate Corn Ethanol (Natural Gas Dry Mill) –16% +5% Corn Ethanol (Best Case Natural Gas Dry Mill)
|
From page 65... ...
Domestic Land Use Change International Ag (w/o land use change) International Land Use Change Fuel and Feedstock Transport Fuel Production Tailpipe FIGURE 2 Net lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by lifecycle component with 30 year time horizon and 0% discount rate.
|
From page 66... ...
As explained in more detail in the section VI of the proposal, EPA is specifically seeking peer review of: our use of satellite data to project future the type of land use changes; the land conversion GHG emissions factors estimates we have used for different types of land use; our estimates of GHG emissions from foreign crop production; methods to account for the vari able timing of GHG emissions; and how the several models we have relied upon are used together to provide overall lifecycle GHG estimates. Each component of our analysis is discussed in detail in the preamble and the Draft Regulatory Impact Analysis that accompany the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
|
From page 67... ...
, allowing field-validated simulations of potential biofuel crop species. Field-level simulation is used to determine on-farm sustainability including production, profitability and economic risk, break-even biomass prices, nitrate and pesticide leaching, sediment and nutrient run-off, wildlife value, and soil carbon storage.
|
From page 68... ...
This research is the first scientific attempt at assessing the environmental benefits that result from the public in vestment in agricultural conservation programs through the USDA Farm Bill Conservation Title. Field-level simulations have been conducted for the entire Minnesota River watershed, and the results have been used to evaluate potential field-scale eco nomic and environmental impacts for alternative crop production practices, and to generate regional biomass supply curves, and relate biomass supply to ag gregate environmental impacts for a biomass gasification facility constructed at Morris, MN.
|
From page 69... ...
FUNDING LEVELS (CURRENT OR PROPOSED) : Recurrent USDAAgricultural Research Service base funding.
|
From page 70... ...
Agricultural drainage -- both surface and subsurface -- is essential for achieving economically viable crop production. As agricultural producers strive to meet the demands of producing grain and biomass feedstocks for food, feed, renewable energy generation, more production will be required from each unit of land.
|
From page 71... ...
NRCS provided funding for this CIG project, and the water quality and economic benefits of the DWM practice are being quantified, tested, and demonstrated at the field scale at more than 20 locations across the Midwest. The primary objectives of the CIG project are to demonstrate reductions in flow and nutrient load to receiving streams, and to assess the potential yield benefit of crop season drainage water management through additional soil water available for crop use.
|
From page 72... ...
FUNDING LEVELS (CURRENT OR PROPOSED) : Recurrent USDA-Agricultural Research Service base funding.
|
From page 73... ...
The ARS Integrated Management Systems for Biofuel Production in the Western Corn Belt effort contributes to a USDA nationwide effort known as the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP)
|
From page 74... ...
Funding to conduct landscape-scale experiments on biofuel crop production under management control is needed to exploit fully the potential of this monitoring and modeling effort. Several additional field-scale sub-watersheds have been identified that could provide a sequence of experiments aimed at assessment of crop management for biofuel production and its impacts on multiple soil, water, and air quality endpoints.
|
From page 75... ...
FUNDING LEVELS (CURRENT OR PROPOSED) : Recurrent USDA-ARS base funding.
|
From page 76... ...
stover, have been identified as a primary feedstock for second-generation lingo-cellulosic biofuel production. However, success for cellulosic-based biofuels production will de pend on science-based guidance that guides the sustainable harvest crop residues so that croplands will still be protected from erosion, and enhance soil organic carbon (SOC)
|
From page 77... ...
An interdisciplinary approach is used that includes soil and plant scientists, engineers, economists, and rural sociologists from the various participating institutions are leveraged by the core activities to address broader aspects of sustainable feedstock production. The REAP effort is also supported by the USDA-ARS nation-wide research watersheds and greenhouse gases and carbon flux networks.
|
From page 78... ...
FUNDING LEVELS (CURRENT OR PROPOSED) : Recurrent USDAAgricultural Research Service base funding.
|
From page 79... ...
Provide improved plant materials, and (2) Develop management practices and sustainable systems that maintain quality stands over multiple years of harvest; optimize biomass and net energy yield; optimize economic return for producers; and provide beneficial environmental services such as erosion control and carbon sequestration.
|
From page 80... ...
FUNDING LEVELS (CURRENT OR PROPOSED) : Recurrent USDAAgricultural Research Service base funding, with $1,000,000 per year, with half of the funding appropriated to bioenergy and half to forage and pasture.
|
From page 81... ...
This type of approach has never been conducted for woody energy crop produc tion. Landowners and industrial representatives will use the results of the study to evaluate trade-offs of woody energy crop production versus other uses, while
|
From page 82... ...
Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Institute for Applied Ecosystem Studies (IAES) 2 University of Wisconsin, Department of Entomology Collaborators (Regional Experts)
|
From page 83... ...
We will test several hypotheses including: (1) soil carbon and nitrogen will decrease on sites with less woody residue, thus lowering carbon sequestration rates and nitrogen availability for regeneration, and increasing soil acidity, which could influence plant and insect communities, (2)
|
From page 84... ...
Forest Service, Chequamegon–Nicolet National Forest $ 80,000: U.S. Forest Service, Institute for Applied Ecosystem Studies (NRS-13)
|
From page 85... ...
We also are addressing management practices (e.g., tillage and residual biomass in soils) that we expect to have appreciable impacts on soil organic carbon, soil erosion, FIGURE 1 The four ecoregions of the study area.
|
From page 86... ...
. We will assess environmental quality and sustainability based on total carbon accounting, agricultural productivity, greenhouse gas emissions, sediment and nutrient loadings to waterbodies, and availability and quality of wildlife habitat.
|
From page 87... ...
University of Minnesota -- Economic and econometric modeling, scenario development for landscape projections, ecosystem services valuation. NASA -- Funding support.
|
From page 88... ...
PROJECT PERIOD: 2008-2012 FUNDING LEVELS (CURRENT OR PROPOSED) : Funding across years is variable, incomplete, and highly leveraged.
|
From page 89... ...
The relative importance of these stressors is not well understood, which can hamper decision-making. Objecties: To quantify the effects of potential biofuel development on watershed scale hydrologic flows using an existing coupled ground-water/surfacewater model, and relate the degree of system change due to biofuel production to that resulting from potential land use and climate change (funded by others)
|
From page 90... ...
Geological Survey. increase of pumping for irrigation due to biofuel production, with and without expected climate change; and (3)
|
From page 91... ...
PROJECT PERIOD: 2008-2010 FUNDING LEVELS (CURRENT OR PROPOSED) : Landscape categories delineation, $15,000 (WI WSC and EROS)
|
From page 92... ...
and the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, SPARROW (a hybrid statistical ⁄mechanistic watershed model)
|
From page 93... ...
Regional SPARROW models are being developed in different areas of the country to enable accurate predictions to be made at scales finer than those made with National SPARROW models and are being used to address more regional/ local issues. RESULTS, OUTCOMES OR IMPACTS TO DATE: SPARROW models have been developed for the Great Lakes/Upper Mississippi River Basins and Entire Mississippi River Basin.
|
From page 94... ...
Four-year funding period includes the approximate sources: USGS (NAWQA) -- $510,000 EPA -- $300,000 Additional funding will be required for report preparation for the Mississippi River Basin.
|
From page 95... ...
Preliminary estimates of forest biomass supply have been used in the report by the Biomass Research and Development Board. These wood biomass supply estimates (along with county level agricultural biomass supply estimates)
|
From page 96... ...
RESULTS, OUTCOMES, OR IMPACTS TO DATE: Forest biomass supply estimates provided for the Biomass Research and Development Initiative report on increasing feedstock production for biofuels suggest forest sources could provide 40 million oven dry tons (odt) per year and produce 4 billion gallons of liquid fuels by 2022.
|
From page 97... ...
Nonetheless, agriculture plays a critical role in the way that we live, the food we eat, and the economics that drive our society. The water-quality implications of a shift toward bio-based energy -- whether derived from traditional crops like corn and soybeans, non-traditional crops like switchgrass and woody residues, or manure -- can be understood to some degree by extrapolating from our current understandings of the mechanisms by which agricultural practices affect water quality.
|
From page 98... ...
: U.S. Geological Survey, Wisconsin Water Science Center, Middleton, WI Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
|
From page 99... ...
Overall Discovery Farms annual budget approaches 1 million for all partners.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.