Grants Now Available for Advancing Biofuels Commercialization in NC
The story of David and Goliath is one that should bring courage to advanced biofuels innovators. So should a new round of grants from the Biofuels Center of North Carolina.
Looking beyond Solyndra to REAP big rewards
Yes, Solyndra was disappointing. But we must not forget the many successful projects that have also received taxpayer support. Here are a few great examples of REAP solar projects in the Southeast region.
House cuts vital rural energy programs, their fate lies in the Senate
Contributors: Sam Gomberg, John Bonitz, Anne Blair Disappointing news came out of the House of Representatives’ Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday concerning energy programs for America’s rural businesses and farms. The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) were eliminated from the fiscal year 2012 appropriations bill. REAP is [...]
Alarming Estimates of Forest Loss Linked to Bioenergy Projections
Tuesday’s release of the draft Southern Forest Futures Project (SFFP) report raised an alarm that the South could lose as much as 23 million acres of forest over the next four decades. From the press release: According to the report, urbanization, bioenergy use, weather patterns, land ownership changes and invasive species will significantly alter the [...]
Who has the Power? You Do! Take this Quiz
There are persistent myths in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency. One such myth – promoted by the coal industry and their utility friends – is that the Southeast doesn’t have any renewable energy resources. This myth appears in different forms – from renewable energy resources are too expensive or too diffuse, to [...]
Is Biomass Electricity a Smart Thing to Do?
Visiting with relatives over the holidays, I was asked, “is biomass electricity a smart thing to do?”
The Good and The Bad on Biomass News in North Carolina
Rumor has it that Duke Energy plans to convert the Dan River power plant from coal to biomass fuel. However, the NCUC reached its decision when considering the relatively insignificant amount of biomass being used in two pilot co-firing projects. There was big news for biomass issued out of North Carolina this month (Charlotte Business [...]
Update to our blogpost on Gainesville’s GREC biopower plant
We got some excellent feedback to our blogpost on the Gainesville Renewable Energy Center (GREC), both in the comments section and via email. [For the uninitiated, this is the 100MW biomass electricity project launched by the Gainesville Regional Utility (GRU).] We received questions like * Did SACE consider whether the plant is “needed”? and * [...]
Gainesville Renewable Energy Center creates new opportunities
Why SACE supports smart biopower like Gainesville Renewable Energy Center (GREC).
Dams in the desert, windmills in the doldrums, biopower in the Berkshires
From SACE’s perspective, the Manomet study of biomass and carbon offers an important new way to describe and think-through the possible impacts on the climate from biomass energy. Although the study’s findings are limited in geographic scope, the methodology can be applied elsewhere to great benefit.
