Renewable energy from feedstocks and other biomass produced by Florida farmers represents an important new business model for growers. And despite lingering challenges and skepticism, the opportunity is closer than ever to becoming a commercial reality.
"Florida is a state that is well-positioned to take advantage of biomass-based renewable energy," said Frankie Hall, director of the ag policy division at Florida Farm Bureau in Gainesville.
Leading the charge, along with FFB and the University of Florida, is Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam. "The commissioner's goals and our goals are to ensure stability, reliability and diversification in our fuel supply," said Patrick Sheehan, director of the Office of Energy within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. "And in particular, our interests are in ensuring diversity."
In turn, that goal provides farmers with the ability to extend their revenue, cash flow and profitability with crops that can be grown year-round, unlike food or fiber crops. "The focus now is on rotational crops they can grow 12 months of the year," Hall said.
For cellulosic ethanol, a current priority in the overall renewable energy equation, crops can include any feedstock, said Joan Dusky, associate dean for extension, agricultural programs leader, at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
"The crop can be anything that has biomass and high degrees of cellulose," she said. "And that ranges from trees to energy cane to yard waste."
For biodiesel, the other key opportunity, key biomass crops are jatropha, Brassica carinata and camelina.
The overarching issue in long-term commercial viability is sustainable, environmentally friendly growing that is governed by the same kinds of well-established best practices that now drive food crops.
The current top contender for large-scale commercial viability is energy cane that will be used for the production of cellulosic ethanol.
"It's in the same family as sugar cane," said Hall, who has been involved in the development of renewable energy crops for five years. "And it's important because we're being very cautious about not using food crops to make ethanol. That's why the focus has been on energy cane."* * * * *
Some farmers are already growing experimental energy cane crops as research trials for global energy giant BP, which is developing a major cellulosic ethanol facility in Highlands County that is expected to break ground late this year. It will eventually put 20,000 acres into cane production.
"BP has very boldly started a major project to grow energy cane and produce cellulosic ethanol on a large scale," Hall said. "That is going to be monumental in terms of cellulosic ethanol production into Florida.
"They already have a footprint here to get ethanol production going and figure out how they bring farmers into the mix. And they understand that farmers are important to what they're doing."
A new bio-refinery facility is also being developed in Perry County. Its current focus is on as many as a half-dozen crops, including trees.
And a new Polk County facility is exploring use of wood chips from plantation-grown eucalyptus.
The biggest concern for Dusky and IFAS is the development of comprehensive infrastructure to support a promising new industry.
"The BP facility is a key," she said. "But right now, the biggest constraint to this happening is that we have no place to sell these crops. We have to go out of state, for example, to the crushing facilities that process the feedstocks.
"And that's important, because it means most or all of the profit in growing goes to transportation costs, or to crushing costs for an oil-feed crop for biodiesel because the closest facility is in Georgia. We know we can grow these crops. The question is who we're going to sell them to."
Although she knows of no current plans to develop a crushing facility in Florida, there is interest, Dusky said.
"The whole process has to happen simultaneously," she said. "And everybody involved has to know this can be profitable for them."
Based on his extensive efforts on behalf of the now burgeoning biomass initiative, Hall believes that market activity will soon begin to accelerate based on the BP plant and other production facilities in development.
"What's exciting is that we will be producing good, clean, renewable energy for this country," he said.
"And the one thing farmers know how to do is grow and manage crops. So this is definitely something they will want to do once they can see a profit in it."
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