North Dakota Energy News: Oil, Wind Power And Biowaste
1 Comment Published September 24th, 2008 in Energy, Politics and Government, Uncategorized.Yesterday was a busy day for energy issues in North Dakota.
Senator Conrad and his Gang of 20 met with T. Boone Pickens, according to this article. Apparently Conrad and the Gang of 20 have created their own plan, called the New Energy Reform Act, which includes some of Picken’s ideas. The Pickens plan aims to reduce dependence on oil by increasing the amount of clean energy like wind power and solar power.
Conrad’s stance on various energy issues can be found here.
Yesterday also saw Nobel Prize winner Dr. Steven Chu in Bismarck to discuss the three generations of biofuels we’ve experienced: 1) burning wood, 2) ethanol from corn, and 3) using biowastes to produce energy.
From the KX News article:
(Dr. Steven Chu, Nobel Prize Winner) “I think you have to go to this generation of biofuels so that it is not seen as a direct competion with food, and also it’s energy inputs are far less than growing corn, which is a very heavy energy intensive crop due to the fertilizer, tillage everything else.”
I am intrigued by the idea of using biowastes to produce fuels. To me, that sounds like recycling.
And finally, according to Biofuels Digest, a new campaign to promote ethanol use in North Dakota begin this week.
Bismarck has a biofuels solution at their new building at the city landfill. It uses biomass (wood chips) waste from the landfill’s tree disposal area in a specialized furnace to heat the facility. There’s no shortage of tree waste to use, either…plus, what they don’t burn, they’re able to sell to customers for landscaping use. They bought a tub grinder to turn the waste into fuel and/or landscaping material, and it’s going to pay for itself if it hasn’t already.
Cf