- Author: Milton E McGiffen
Announcement from California Energy Commission Networking Hub - Energy Innovation Showcase
A new Energy Commission website has been released called the Energy Innovation Showcase. This website gives the public the opportunity to learn about research and development projects funded through the Commission's Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program.
The graphically visual webpage provides insight to the various projects, lists the award recipients and funding amount and explains how the project benefits ratepayers. Projects can be searched by location, by areas of support and by research topic. Visitors can also see what energy activity activities are trending.
The page also highlights the Commission's goal of increasing diversity in the energy sector and its expanded outreach to efforts to women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT communities.
For more information on EPIC or PIER funding projects, contact Lorraine Gonzalez at 916-445-5295.
- Author: Milton E McGiffen
Closing the Circle:
Linked Responses to California's Critical Environmental Challenges
David Morell, Sonoma Ecology Center
California faces three difficult environment-based challenges: water shortages and high costs related to the drought, especially in agriculture but also in urban areas; risks of massive forest fires associated with millions of dead trees caused by the drought and its related bark beetle infestation; and ongoing need to increasingly reduce CO2 emissions in response to climate change imperatives. An efficient new integrated response to these challenges is now available: biochar.
Biochar is a specialized form of charcoal made at high temperature in a low oxygen environment (a process termed "pyrolysis"). Combined with compost or similar nutrients, biochar has been demonstrated in usage in many different global settings to retain and improve soil moisture, improve soil health through an increase in beneficial microbial communities, increase crop yields, and sequester carbon safely for decades or longer.
Using biochar as a soil amendment in California agriculture can save water —millions of acre/feet of expensive water saved annually. This is feasible in the state's almond orchards, vegetable fields, row crops, vineyards…across the board. Research efforts and field demonstrations suggest significant savings —sometimes more, sometimes less, with variations due to soil conditions, historical farm practices, altitude, and irrigation techniques in used. New financial instruments can be designed to allow eligible farmers to repay the upfront costs for their new biochar over 10 years or so from the value of their water savings—at no added cost. Loans can be guaranteed by the state's new Water Bond or AB 32 funds.
Where can we obtain all this new biochar? At what cost? Here's where the forest challenge comes in and we begin to close the circle, since the biochar can be made inexpensively using the millions of dead trees in California's drought-ridden forests. The state's dozen or so existing biomass-to-energy facilities can be readily converted make biochar rather than wood ash as the byproduct of their using dead/dying trees as their feedstock. One such facility in Shasta County has already been so converted —it is now producing high-quality biochar at prices never before available: less than $100/cubic yard delivered to California farms. These facilities face closure as their electricity sales contracts come to an end; biochar sales can sustain them, retaining their highly skilled operators. Using these trees as feedstock allows us to thin the state's forests carefully, thereby greatly reducing forest fire risks. At the same time, many jobs will be created in rural areas that already need more employment. (Cost concerns? California in recent years has spent over $3 billion fighting these fires —on top of the costs of the devastation caused to nearby residences and families forced to evacuate.)
Finally, what about climate change? Where do we close this third part of the circle? California is already leads globally in creating renewable energy supplies (solar/wind/geothermal), encouraging energy conservation in residential and commercial buildings, and creating appropriate legislative incentives: AB 32 and Sonoma Clean Power are two excellent examples. While these initiatives all help reduce new carbon emissions into the atmosphere (moving us towards “carbon neutral”), none of them sequester carbon underground (truly “carbon negative”). Using biochar in California agriculture does just this, burying thousands of tons of elemental carbon in the ground for decades where it will save water while reducing forest fire risk. Now the circle is truly closed, proving once again the classic ecological principle that all systems are linked to one another in nature.
- Author: Milton E McGiffen
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAOC/bulletins/14979a6
USDA Office of Communications sent this bulletin at 05/16/2016 11:57 AM EDT
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.
|
/table>/table>/table>/span>/span>/h1>
- Author: Milton E McGiffen
USING WOOD TO MAKE RENEWABLE ENERGY
Space is still available for the Wood to Renewable Energy Workshops next week in Eureka, CA on May 17th, 2016 and Hopland, CA on May 19th, 2016. Although both events are free to attend, we ask that you register ahead to time at:
• Eureka: Call the UC Cooperative Extension office at 707-445-7351, or go online to http://cehumboldt.ucanr.edu/.
• Hopland: Call the Hopland Research and Extension Center office at 707-744-1424, or go online to http://hrec.ucanr.edu/.
Who Should Attend:
Anyone with an interest in learning more about where Humboldt and Mendocino source their electric power, or who may be interested in exploring local choice for future renewable energy is invited to attend.
________________________________________
EUREKA HOPLAND
________________________________________
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Thursday, May 19, 2016
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
________________________________________
Agricultural Center
5630 South Broadway Eureka, CA 95503 Hopland Research and
Extension Center
4070 University Rd, Hopland, CA 95449
________________________________________Cost:
Free
The public is invited to join the University of California Cooperative Extension and the Hopland Research and Extension Center for an evening in both Eureka and Hopland to explore opportunities to develop a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) – a program that enables counties to source energy for local electricity consumers. Participants in these evening events will also learn how woody biomass is utilized locally in the production of bioenergy; how woody biomass utilization compares with other renewable resources; and how woody biomass is linked to healthy forests and healthy local economies.
Event speakers include:
• Matthew Marshall, Executive Director of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (Eureka);
• Greg Brehm (invited), Director of Power Resources for Marin Clean Energy (Hopland);
• Angie Lottes, Biomass Program Manager for the Watershed Research and Training Center; and
• Peter Tittmann, Academic Coordinator for the UC Berkeley Center for Forestry who specializes in woody biomass.
________________________________________
Where and when?
Both events will take place from 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. and are wheelchair accessible.
• Eureka: Tuesday, May 17th, Agricultural Center, 5630 South Broadway.
• Hopland: Thursday, May 19, Hopland Research and Extension Center, 4070 University Rd.
Who should attend?
Anyone with an interest in learning more about where Humboldt and Mendocino source their electric power, or who may be interested in exploring local choice for future renewable energy is invited to attend.
Cost
Both events are FREE, although registration is required as space is limited.
Registration
• Eureka: Call the UC Cooperative Extension office at 707-445-7351, or go online to http://cehumboldt.ucanr.edu/.
• Hopland: Call the Hopland Research and Extension Center office at 707-744-1424, or go online to http://hrec.ucanr.edu/.
More Information
• Eureka Meeting: 5/16/2016 Agenda
• Hopland Meeting: 5/19/2016 Agenda
- Author: Milton E McGiffen
The USDA just sent out the grant notice below. I could see a simple pyrolysis system for small and medium size growers that turned tree trimmings into biochar as a biochar added product: Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. You are subscribed to USDA Office of Communications.
If you have questions about USDA activities, please visit our Ask the Expert page. This feature is designed to assist you in obtaining the information you are seeking. |
Mathieu (Mat) Ngouajio, Ph.D.
National Program Leader
NIFA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Waterfront Centre, Ste. 3441
800 9th Street SW
Washington DC 20024
Tel: (202) 401-4895
Fax: (202) 401-1782
Email: mngouajio@nifa.usda.gov
Web: www.nifa.usda.gov
/table>/table>/table>