2007 Harvesting Energy Summit:
FARM TO FUEL

Kathy Bryan’s family started making ethanol in the early 1980s on their Minnesota farm and as she opened the 2007 Intermountain Harvesting Energy conference, she noted, “”What we dreamed of for all those years is finally happening and it’s very exciting!’’

Bryan, President of BBI International, offered a broad survey of the biofuels market, predicting corn will remain king for the near term, but producing 30 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol by 2030 is possible as research has lowered the cost of enzymes 10-fold in recent years. Grain ethanol and cellulosic ethanol industries will be able to work together to build bridges from one technology to the next, she predicted.

“Biodiesel is far sexier than ethanol ever was,’’ Bryan said, adding that the European Union is far ahead of the U.S. Promising feedstocks abound but quality must be held to high standards, she noted.

BBI presented a comprehensive session on how to launch a project, available with other presentations by clicking on the agenda below.

Gayle Gordon of the Western Governor’s Association led a panel on “Growing an Intermountain Industry. Presentations shed light on the National Biomass Partnership, the Western Sun Grant Center, and Colorado’s Woody Biomass Program.

The range of possible technologies for making biofuels is staggering and eight of them were highlighted at small group roundtables. Featured were: corn ethanol; cellulosic ethanol; biodiesel; algae to biodiesel; animal manure into power; methane from landfill gas; fuels to schools and small biomass technologies.

Craig Jones,of the Colorado Office of Energy Management and Conservation, talks about the Woody Biomass Program.

AGENDA and PRESENTATIONS : FARM TO FUEL