Category: Agriculture Grants

April 20, 2010 Agriculture Grants, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Scientists Try Algae ‘Alchemy’ to Grow Oil in Paddies – BusinessWeek

Bloomberg

By Shigeru Sato and Yuji Okada

April 20 (Bloomberg) — As Japan’s rice fields turn fallow and its farming communities decline, a new army of workers is preparing to make the countryside fertile again. This time the crop is motor fuel and the laborers are microscopic algae.

At least 75 developers globally are studying algae, which has the potential to generate more energy per hectare than any other crop used for making fuel, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The technology has attracted the U.S. Department of Energy and big oil including Exxon Mobil Corp., which plans to spend as much as $600 million on research over five years.

Japan abandoned a $132 million algae project in the 1990s, when oil prices dropped below $10 a barrel and climate change took a back seat to reviving the economy in what became known as “the Lost Decade.” Now companies including Toyota Motor Corp. and refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co. may join a study into the microorganisms that can turn waste water into oil, scrub carbon dioxide out of the air and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

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April 10, 2010 Agriculture Grants, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Is biofuel Hawaii’s next great industry? – Pacific Business News

Potential exists to turn state’s renewable-energy needs into a cash crop

Save the last of the Surgar Cane industry in Hawaii
Sugar on Maui FOREVER!
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Hawaiian Electric Co.’s search for long-term suppliers of biofuels derived from local feedstocks stands to ignite a new form of agriculture in Hawaii.

But major challenges lie ahead for both the utility and potential producers.

Acres of fallow pineapple and sugar fields across the state potentially could be converted to high-oil-yielding plants such as jatropha, soybean and microalgae.

The utility says it is interested in buying enough biofuels to run its power plants on Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and the Big Island.

Clean-burning biofuels are attractive to HECO because they can be used in its existing generators, which currently run on liquid fossil fuels including bunker oil and diesel.

“We’ve talked and talked about biodiesel in Hawaii, and now we can guarantee that we’ll purchase their products down the road, so we’re looking for people to make proposals,” said HECO spokesman Peter Rosegg. “If we’re going to get to the state’s mandate of 40 percent renewables by 2030, which is just 20 years away, a chunk of that will have to come from biofuels. The best situation would be one where the feedstocks are grown here.”

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April 8, 2010 Agriculture Grants, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Hawaii’s last sugar plantation to be biofuel ‘lab’ – BusinessWeek

Photo by Maui Tropica
CLICK HERE for more Maui Sugar Cane images

By AUDREY McAVOY
HONOLULU

Hawaii’s last sugar plantation could start producing jet fuel for the Navy.

Federal agencies on Wednesday announced they would spend millions of dollars to study producing advanced biofuels from sugarcane grown at Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar’s fields on Maui.

The Office of Naval Research is budgeting $2 million annually for the project through 2015, with a focus on producing diesel and jet fuel from sugar.

The Department of Energy is spending $2 million a year to have the University of Hawaii study energy crop development and energy conversion technologies.

HC&S General Manager Chris Benjamin says his company will be a "working laboratory" to test the potential of biofuel production.

"This federal funding represents a vote of confidence in Hawaii and in the future of HC&S," Benjamin said in a news release. "It is a significant step toward our goal of transforming HC&S into a large-scale energy farm, playing a key role in securing Hawaii’s energy future."

The company, a unit of Alexander & Baldwin Inc., said its vast fields, access to water, farming infrastructure and labor force make it an ideal candidate to produce biofuels on a large scale.

HC&S has long diverted water from East Maui streams to irrigate its fields in arid Central Maui. But this practice is currently facing challenges.

Taro farmers have petitioned the state’s Commission on Water Resource Management to restore more flow to the streams, and prevent HC&S from diverting its usual volumes of water. The case is pending before the water commission.

Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, who met Wednesday with HC&S and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials about the project, said the research could benefit biofuel development efforts not just in Hawaii but also across the country.

"The sugar industry’s infrastructure in Hawaii … will be put to good use producing a variety of biofuels," said Inouye in a statement issued by the department.

Hawaii’s last sugar plantation to be biofuel ‘lab’ – BusinessWeek

April 3, 2010 Agriculture Grants, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Hawaii crops, algae may get funded for military biofuel | The Honolulu Advertiser

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Navy are hoping to jumpstart the growth of crops and algae in Hawai’i that can be used for military fuel as part of an aggressive drive by the Pentagon to reduce its dependence on foreign oil and increase renewable energy sources.

An industry forum Tuesday and Wednesday at Marine Corps Base Hawaii will bring together government officials and potential biofuel companies from Hawai’i and the Mainland. As many as 40 companies and 250 people are expected to attend.

The Navy and the Agriculture Department want to evaluate the use of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to set up biofuel projects in Hawai’i "as soon as possible."

How much funding remains unclear, but Hawai’i was selected for the initial collaboration between the two federal entities "because Hawai’i’s energy costs are among the highest in the nation and imported oil supplies 90 percent of the state’s energy," the USDA said. "A viable agricultural sector in Hawai’i can enhance Hawai’i’s energy security, and energy projects like those anticipated by the Navy’s needs can help rural economies."

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April 1, 2010 Agriculture Grants, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

HECO seeking proposals for locally-based supply of biofuel | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Hawaiian Electric said today it is looking for a long-term supply of biofuels made from feedstocks produced and processed in Hawaii.

HECO Executive Vice President Robbie Alm said that the formal quest for proposals is the next stage in the company’s commitment to create a clear market for locally grown biofuels.

He says this first call for proposals will test the market and determine what HECO’s next actions must be.

The company is looking for biofuel supplies it can use at generation sites on Oahu, Maui, Molokai and the Big Island.

Proposals may use land- or water-based crops, waste animal fat or yellow grease feedstocks that may be converted to liquid biofuel.

Respondents are being encouraged to think broadly about the larger benefits of their approaches.

HECO says letters of intent are due by May 7, 2010 and that the final acceptance date for submitted proposals is June 18, 2010.

HECO seeking proposals for locally-based supply of biofuel | honoluluadvertiser.com | The Honolulu Advertiser

March 18, 2010 Agriculture Grants, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY ANNOUNCE HAWAII RENEWABLE ENERGY OPPORTUNITY


WASHINGTON, March 18, 2010 – The U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Navy are co-hosting an all day forum in Hawaii on April 6, 2010, to share information about a recently announced collaborative energy opportunity. Among those providing remarks are Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen A. Merrigan and Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, assistant secretary of the Navy for installations and environment. The program is taking place on the Marine Corps Base-Hawaii in the Kaneohe Bay Officers Club.

Earlier this year, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support President Obama’s initiative to reduce energy consumption derived from fossil fuels and increase energy production from renewable energy sources. This energy initiative in Hawaii is a direct result of that MOU.

Hawaii has been selected as the location for the initial collaboration between USDA and the Navy because Hawaii’s energy costs are among the highest in the nation and imported oil supplies 90 percent of the State’s energy. A viable agricultural sector in Hawaii can enhance Hawaii’s energy security, and energy projects like those anticipated by the Navy’s needs can help rural economies.

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