USDA Conservation Innovation Grants and Energy

According to the website of the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a division of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Conservation Innovation Grants are given to groups in order to "stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies..." An article on the online version of Wallace's Farmers says that a total of $20 million was awarded to 36 states in order to fund 51 projects. Among those projects were several involving energy projects that may indicate the future direction of energy policy in the years ahead.

Here are the highlights of some of the projects according to the NRCS website:

A Multi-State Project to Accelerate the Use of Biofuels. The project, to be undertaken by 18 states, will encourage the voluntary use of what are known as "High-Benefit" Liquid Biofuels. These are fuels that combine high energy production with large reductions in carbon emissions.

A key to the program is the use of environmental credits on a voluntary basis. According to Wikipedia, environmental credits usually involve a governing body setting an upper limit on allowable pollution. Companies that exceed the limit can buy "credits" from companies whose pollution is lower than the limit. The principle is that constantly buying environmental credits will become so expensive that the offending companies will work to reduce their own emissions to a financially feasible level.

The project will use a form of environmental credits to encourage participating farmers to move from fossil fuels to environmentally friendly biofuels.

The Midwest Forestry and Biofuels Project. This project, to be undertaken by Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri, will utilize maclura pomifera, commonly known as the Osage Orange tree (named for the Osage Indian tribe that had its homeland near the home range of the tree and for the aroma given off by the fruit of the tree).

The project will research ways to reduce the use of non-renewable energy resources, while also addressing the ongoing loss of habitat for wildlife. The Osage Orange tree has been studied in the past and offers many potential uses in connection with energy as well as soil conservation. The project will investigate ways the tree can be used in biofuel production as well as in reducing energy use.

A University of Georgia Project to Convert Poultry Waste and Fruit and Vegetable Waste Into Methane Gas. This project will use anaerobic digestion (basically, using bacteria) to break down the wastes from fruits and vegetables and the water used to flush the buildings containing large poultry operations in order to produce methane gas. The gas can then be stored and used later or used as it is produced. According to a Colorado State publication, the two major drawbacks to the process are the high cost of initial investment for equipment and the fact that the wastes must still be disposed of after they are treated with the bacteria.

The Albert Wayne Jones Project in Mississippi to Capture Methane Gas. The project site will be a relatively small four building poultry operation. One aspect of the project is to generate the methane gas from poultry litter. The other aspect of the project is to find ways to dispose of the remaining poultry litter. According to the NCRS website, Mississippi is the fourth largest poultry producing state in the U.S. and produces about 2.2 billion pounds of litter each year. New regulations and concerns about mad cow disease and the contamination of the water supply are putting more pressure on poultry producers to address the problem of litter. The project will utilize anaerobic digestion as the basic method of methane production, and will also investigate the use of an experimental litter digester that is currently in use at a larger poultry operation in the state.

Sources:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/cig/2007awards.html
magissues.farmprogress.com/WAL/WF08Aug07/wal015.pdf
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissions_trading
www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/farmmgt/05002.html