ArcGIS Network Analyst is a software that can be used to analyze biomass transport over a given distance. Since many agricultural producers and biomass sources are usually distributed to different geographic locations, computing the transport costs of the entire operation over time is useful information for helping to determine net return on investment, decision making surrounding infrastructure and the monitoring and maintenace of transport vehicles and biomass equiment.

The European based BioEnergy NOE is a project based upon integrating bioenergy knowledge across many disciplines and brings together 8 research institutions for that purpose. Included are specialization in agriculture, communication, forestry and socio-economics among others.

From the project — “The Bioenergy Network of Excellence (NoE) is a European group of eight leading bioenergy institutes. We are integrating our RD&D activities to create a Virtual Bioenergy R&D Centre that will contribute to a competitive bioenergy market in Europe.”

Willie Smits is a remarkable man who has founded a university in Borneo, Indonesia, holds a Ph. D. in molecular biology, and is close to completing a second Ph. D. in Agro-Forestry. Smits has also long been an advocate for Borneo’s orangutan population, and has run an orphanage to take in the young of parents that have been killed.

Much of the reason behind the orangutan’s plight on Borneo has to do with the growing number of large oil palm plantations that have clearcut the native rainforest to set up a monoculture of these trees, and have taken away natural orangutan habitat. Oil palm is an important ingredient in many of the foods that we eat, and it is being developed as a leading source of biodiesel.

Smits has witnessed the rapid decline in native rainforest habitat, and the growing number of orangutan orphans has taxed his ability to care for all of them. Seeing this tipping point of the balance of nature close at hand, he has tried to reason with the oil palm plantation owners, pointing out the best soils for the growth of their crops and the ideal locations for transportation to market. While these habitat conservation efforts have had some results, much of the plantation activity is carried out illegally in areas where there are no resources for enforcement.

Instead of simply stopping there, Smits became fascinated with the sugar palm, a close cousin to the oil palm that secretes a sugary juice and is an important food source for Borneo’s indigenous people. Smits pursued the idea that sugar palm juice could be turned into ethanol as a fuel source and devised an ingenious method to tap and transport the juice from a web of these plants toward a central processing center using a network of gravity-fed pipes.

The benefit of this sugar-palm plantation is that these plants do best in their native rainforest habitat among trees of many types. They can grow on steep slopes where other plants can’t, and they hold back erosion that has been a problematic result of the clear-cutting for the oil palm plantations. The sugar palms secrete a large amount of juice that can easily be turned into ethanol, and this ability doesn’t take away from the plants other uses as a food source. The ethanol fuel is provided back to local villagers as a fuel for cooking, which replaces the need for them to cut down trees for firewood.

With the idea in place, Smits set out to prove that a large sugar palm plantation would work. He obtained land that had been deforested and planted 5 million sugar palm trees, as well as more than 1,200 native tree species. After just five years, his plantation is now yielding abundant fuel, and he’s successfully restored the biodiversity of the local wildlife, returned the balance of rainfall to the area, and has improved water quality.

The idea has been such a success that Smits is now being invited to other countries to share his ideas. Smits is speaking to governments in South America and Africa where these plants would do well, in addition to leaders throughout Asia.

The idea of linking conservation with energy production clearly has many benefits, and fits with the symbiotic balance of nature.

Researchers around the globe are working to harness algae’s unique ability to produce fatty oils and to grow quickly as a means to provide biofuel. Several recent high-profile technology investments by NASA and the U.S. military’s research arm will help speed research and development. But, can algae become the fuel of the future?

Scaling for Great Demand

For several decades, algae oil has proven to be a viable fuel source in small-scale lab-based experiments. The trick now is to scale production up to meet significant demands. Both the military and NASA provide the impetus for large-scale development. The U.S. military alone spent $12B on fuel in 2007, and they’re investing $35 million in algae research with the hopes to produce 50 million gallons of fuel a year at less than $3 per gallon.

The commitment by these two entities immediately elevates the profile of algae as fuel. Both the military and NASA set high technical standards for production, and they both have a history of commercializing their technical breakthroughs. The fact that the emphasis of both research efforts is on mass production means that these investments could provide the impetus for a whole new industry.

Economic Interference

The economics and efficiency of large-scale algae production is an unknown. Calculations done by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory put the costs of production between $10 to $40 per gallon, so there’s need for significant production improvements to meet the military’s stated goal of $3 per gallon.

The goal to produce oil from algae has multiple motivations for the military. The priorities range from weaning themselves from foreign oil, producing fewer carbon emissions, and developing a portable production capacity that would limit supply chain vulnerabilities.

While the price of a barrel of oil will likely dictate the speed with which oil from algae becomes available to consumers, the multiple motivators speak to a military commitment that will speed development for all uses.

Breakthroughs Needed

Scientists are still working to determine the best algae strain that both grows quickly and produces significant amounts of oil. To date the optimum plants for production haven’t been found, with some growing quickly and producing little oil, and others growing slowly and producing more oil.

There’s also the matter of where algae can be optimally grown. Researchers are testing large open air ponds vs. closed systems, and there’s even an initiative to grow algae in large tethered bags that float in the ocean and feed off of sewage water. The open air systems could pose problems with invasive plants, the closed systems are costly to build, and the open water solution is expensive and more likely to meet unfavorable public reaction.

With the optimum algae strain, and significant infrastructure investments, you could be fueling your personal vehicle with oil from algae, but it’s still early to predict when such a fuel source would be hitting a gas station near you.

Nawaro BioEnergie Park “Güstrow” GmbH is now generating biogas and feeding it into the regional gas grid. It is expected to generate enough gas to power 50,000 homes. The plant accepts biomaterial from farmer’s within 50 kilometres of the site ensuring a stable market contribution to the power plant located at Nawaro BioEnergie Park in Güstrow.

A study by the International Institute for Sustainable Development entitled ‘Biofuels – At what cost? Government support for ethanol and biodiesel in Canada’ says that government subsidies are an expensive alternative.

From the study – “Public subsidies for biofuels have been justified on their environmental merits, as well as the economic boost they provide to rural economies,” said IISD associate Stephan Barg. “However, our research shows that these policies are an extremely expensive and inefficient way to conserve fossil fuels and reduce GHG emissions.”

While the report does cite the entire chain of biofuel production, from research to refining to vehicles, in fairness, the costs are likely not unlike the early costs for producing other fuels, and that as the markets mature the costs are reduced.

Andris Piebalgs,  Member of the European Commission responsible for Energy spoke at the eBio 1 European Bioethanol Fuel Conference in Brussels 1 April 2009 on the topic of  ‘The Future of Biofuels.’ Importantly, he outlined the criteria for using biofuels in the EU, which serves to clarify some misconceptions about what can and cannot be included in the production of energy.

The criteria include the following – from the speech:

• Firstly, biofuels have to guarantee at least a 35% greenhouse gas saving compared to traditional fuels, increasing in 2017 to 50% for existing installations, and to 60% for new installations. In addition, incentives were added in the text to promote second generation biofuels and electric- or hydrogen-fuelled cars. In fact second generation biofuels will count double towards the target.

• Secondly, areas that contain high carbon stock should not be converted for biofuels. This is to avoid the risk of causing big greenhouse gas losses through the release of carbon stored in the soil and in plants.

• Thirdly, areas with high biodiversity should not be used for biofuels production in order to avoid disturbing biodiversity and disrupting natural habitats.

As shown, biofuels must be able to achieve high levels of ‘clean’ production and purposely avoid the use of high carbons such as conifer trees and peats. Biodiversity is maintained in the production of energy.

The University of Stuttgart is now offering a new “Renewable Energy” course. Students will be offered courses in thermal, electrical and kinetic types of energy.  “From the 2009/2010 winter semester, the university will be preparing young people for the variety of fields in this growth industry. The technological diversity within renewable energies will be reflected in the interdisciplinary structure of the course, with mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science and aerospace technology modules. 21 institutes from seven faculties will be cooperating in the course.”

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany have been able to produce 30% more biogas yield through a process that depends solely upon agricultural residues, as compared to those processes which include foodstuffs. The process is also able to reduce the fermentation time from 80 days down to

Energy is two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional 4D). Any land manager looking at a map, mine drawing or a global positioning (GPS) instrument will be familiar with 3D. Designers, planners and those involved in calculating volume will know about 3D. Those working in 3D through time – wind, solar, mining, pipelines and so on, will readily appreciate 4D. How do they impact energy?

Every workflow connected to energy can be understood through space and time. They are not only located somewhere on the planet, but our ability to plan, build and operate energy related projects involves space and time. Wind energy is dependent upon location. Determining where to site a wind turbine is not simply a flip of the coin, instead, it involves the calculation of wind speed and duration present upon certain points across the landscape.

Consequently, knowing the landscape in 3D is important – hills, valleys and mountains matter. Sometimes these are not as easily identifiable by eye though, and this is where detailed elevation models of the terrain come in. These models are calculated through airborne measurement technologies  usually, and the data for whole regions can be purchased, leased or rented.

Many pipeline operators will know that terrain also has a role to play in terms of the landscape. It impacts construction costs for building pipelines and operating them. The calculation of volume within geological basins is similarly dependent upon the determination of 3D volumes. When data is viewed within the office through visualisation technologies, it is often available in 3D form, which alows decision makers to move through the data in a simulation environment, determining where and how geology relates to the findings.

Waves are not always consistent. They vary over time and are impacted by climate conditions, water depth and other factors. As a result they are 4D in nature, moving up and down over time – their volumes change over time. Additionally, their occurence also changes spatially. A growing number of building architects and plant design specialists are interested in designing structures that consider the environment. With changing climate and location, the meteorological impacts on a given structure, as it relates to the design, can be considerable.

This directly connects to the ability to design structures that are energy efficienct, or use energy more efficiently and effectively. The development of specialised sensors that are capable of acquiring 2D, 3D and 4D spatial information is constantly under research. With each new sensor comes the ability to understand the processes of wind, solar, geothermal, oil and even nuclear energy management, for example.

We should not lose track of the fact that new technologies bring new possibilities for designing wind turbines, solar panels and their placement. Similarly, the management of facilities infrastructure and the design of those structures is also impacted by understanding the dynamics surrounding the workflows and processes.

Policy and administration are now becoming more significntly connected to energy supply, operation and management. Greater transparency and accountability in terms of energy use and efficient will need to be communicated. That communication area, particularly through collaboration, is going to become more specialised and involve 3D and 4D technologies – so they can understand – and speed up the design, build and operations.

Both non-renewbable and renewable resources will see greater use of these tools and technologies in the future. The economics and communication factors will demand that.