E3 in the News
Biogas May Be Idea Whose Time Has Come
Lincoln Journal Star
May 14, 2007
Sen. Ben Nelson may have found the right moment for a legislative proposal that could put manure to good use.
With the price of gasoline leaping past $3 a gallon, Congress is receptive to ideas that encourage development of alternative energy sources.
Nelson is proposing tax incentives and guaranteed loans for development of biogas created from animal waste. "Don't waste the waste," is his slogan.
Although the concept often provokes rough attempts at humor no Shinola jokes, please the proposal deserves to be taken seriously.
In fact, a few pioneers already have put the idea to use. One of the most innovative is the E3 Biofuels plant near Mead. Billed as the world's first "closed loop" system for producing ethanol, the plant combines at one location a feedlot; the equipment to convert manure into biogas, or methane; and an ethanol manufacturing plant.
The plant produces ethanol from corn. The process leaves a byproduct called distillers grain, which is fed to the cattle. The cattle produce manure, which is collected quickly to reduce order and placed in anaerobic digester to produce biogas. The biogas is used in the manufacture of ethanol, closing the loop.
Nelson envisions this sort of operation being installed at other locations where there is a ready supply of waste. Biogas operations could be colocated with ethanol manufacturing plants as done by E3 Biofuels, or used as is on farms, Nelson said.
The Environmental Power Corporation has estimated that the biogas production potential from the nation's cattle, hog and dairy operations at the energy equivalent of about 2.5 billion gallons of heating oil per year.
Nelson, who introduced the bill with three Republican co-sponsors including Sen. Chuck Hagel, Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho and Sen. Wayne Allard of Colorado, enthuses that it would take only modest government support to encourage more biofuel operations.
His bill would provide a tax credit of $4.27 for every million British thermal units of biogas produced. In addition to loans, loan guarantees and grants, the bill proposes a safety net for biogas producers by providing price supports when the price of natural gas falls below a specified level.
While some of the details of the proposal deserve scrutiny to make sure that the legislation doesn't move in the direction of unnecessary corporate welfare, the biogas concept generally deserves support.
In addition to reducing dependence on fossil fuels, using manure to produce biogas would help control waste and provide a new source of revenue for farmers.
In an era in which some of the ideas for encouraging alternative energy verge toward the outlandish, Congress shouldn't ignore the potential from something that can be found right under foot in Nebraska, if you aren't careful where you step.