July-August, 2008 ---
FAQ’s Regarding the Proposed BioEnergy Plant
There has been a lot of discussion over the past several weeks regarding the bioenergy plant which Atlantec BioEnergy Corporation (ABC) is proposing to build. If you are following this story through your favorite media type, be it newspaper, television, or on-line you have undoubtedly noticed that there are several passionate opinions regarding this project, both for and against.
Unfortunately, most of the information being debated is related to the highly publicized corn based ethanol industry in the US and is not relevant to this project. If we are going to continue this healthy debate, let’s do it with a better understanding of the proposed plant. Following are several FAQ’s and their corresponding answers regarding this project as prepared by Wayne Simmons, the lead consultant engineer in the conceptual design of ABC’s bioenergy plant.
1. Who is going to own the plant?
Farmers and Atlantec BioEnergy Corporation
The plant will be owned by shareholders of ABC. Farmers have an opportunity to become shareholders through a federal government program called ecoABC, designed specifically to allow farmers to acquire an equity position in bioenergy production facilities. In summary, the ecoABC program enables farmers to own up to a 30% equity position in the plant.
2. How much money is ABC requesting from the government?
ABC has not requested any money for the construction of the plant. As mentioned above, the plant will be owned by shareholders of ABC, including farmers.
3. Where will the plant be constructed?
The company is working with the province to identify and source a suitable site. Ideally, an existing clean industrial site with access to rail and water for shipping.
4. What technology is being used in the plant and is it unique?
Technology is unique to North America / Integration is unique in the world
ABC has designed a micro bioenergy facility (20% the size of traditional ethanol facilities), which will serve as a demonstration project for world class technology.
Research included visits to two ethanol plants in Canada, five sugar beet factories in Canada, the United States and Europe, and three AD facilities in Canada and Europe. In addition, several industry workshops throughout North America were attended and related industry articles (both pro and con) were referenced.
As discussed below, the main components of the plant design are unique to North America and the overall integration of several key technologies is unique in the world. More importantly, the design showcases how modern technology can help us better manage our crop nutrients so that they are produced and managed in a sustainable process.
5. How may acres of land is required to support this project and will this land displace other crops currently being grown?
17,600 acres
These numbers were significant for ABC’s planning, as the agriculture land available to support the operation had to be considered. It was never the intention of ABC to divert acreage from other crops. It was understood that other crops were facing hard times and were considering alternatives. The combination of these events led ABC to develop their conceptual plant design and business plan based on the availability of a four year crop rotation of 17,600 acres per year at 22 tons of beets per acre with a 16% sugar content. Subsequently, the 2007 test crop indicated much higher tons per acre are possible in our growing climate.
6. Why are energy beets being used and what are their main characteristics?
75% water, 16% sucrose, 5.5% pulp, nitrate mopping potential
Energy beets contain approximately 75% water, 5.5% pulp, and sucrose. (By comparison, corn contains 15.5% water.) In North America, average energy beet crop yields are 22.7 MT/acre with 16% sucrose content. These USDA numbers were used to generate the business plan for ABC. The results from the 40 acres of energy beets which were grown as a test crop on PEI in 2007 showed that PEI farmers can meet or exceed the average North American numbers.
It is important to note that to grow a successful energy beet crop (high in sucrose content), the energy beet plant cannot be over nitrated. Over nitrating causes the plant to become lazy and not create any sugars. Fields must be tested for their soil nitrate level and then only the proper amount of nitrogen can be applied to ensure proper plant growth and sugar production.
The energy beet plant also has the capability of “mopping up” soil nitrates which have remained in the soil from a previous crop. In fact, Dr Shock from the University of Oregon has done considerable research on the use of energy beets as a crop to follow potato and onion crops, as a control for residual soil nitrates.
7. What will be the capital cost for a grower to convert to growing energy beets?
None
The objective is to use custom planting and harvesting for the energy beets as well as the other rotational crops required for the plant. Custom harvesting will allow farmers to pool their resources and will not require any one farmer to invest in the equipment. Initially, ABC will purchase the custom field equipment but is open to the concept of the growers involved in energy beet production to buy into a custom “cooperative” jointly owned by the growers and ABC. There are no requirements for storage of energy beets at the farm level or at ABC’s production facility.
back to top8. Can I burn ethanol in my vehicle and does it help the environment?
All cars built after 1982 can blend up to 10% ethanol and, yes, it helps the environment
The starting point on the ethanol debate is whether or not burning ethanol in our vehicles (E10 to E85) is a better alternative environmentally, than burning gasoline. Like most of the ethanol debate we can find many opinions. The majority of the environmental studies on the subject state the burning of ethanol in vehicles reduces harmful green house gas emissions. Suffice to say, even the leader of the Green Party of Canada, has said publicly on more than one occasion, that she supports the use of ethanol as a gasoline alternative. Once we agree that burning ethanol in our vehicles is a better alternative than burning gasoline then the debate turns to how the ethanol is produced.
The auto industry has also embraced the burning of ethanol blends. Most of the major manufacturers already produce FlexFuel vehicles. General Motors, a leader in FlexFuel vehicles, announced 18 existing lines being produced for 2009 will be E85, Flexfuel vehicles and 50% of its new vehicles will be able to accommodate E85 by 2012.
9. Does ABC require a mandate to proceed with the project and, if so, how much and by when?
ABC has requested a Renewable Fuels Strategy which includes a mandate.
The federal government has implemented a 5% (E5) mandate for Canada starting in 2010. This proposal is for an average 5% blend for gasoline consumption in the country. Some provinces could have a higher blend and other provinces could have a lower blend but as long as the average 5% is achieved then the mandate will be met.
ABC feels that a Renewable Fuels Strategy (RFS) is more advantageous to the growers and the province. A RFS would state, generally, that biofuels produced from crops grown in the province by farmers will have a local market place at a competitive price. An RFS could also ensure that any biofuel consumed in the province would meet or exceed a set environmental standard for carbon reduction.
ABC has requested that the province implement an E5 mandate for all fuel sold in 2010 on top of the federal E5 mandate resulting on a provincial E10 mandate.
10. What does “net energy” mean as it pertains to ethanol production?
The term “net energy” is used extensively by both advocates for and opponents against ethanol production. It has become a simplified way to express whether the energy produced by burning ethanol is greater or less than the energy of all the inputs required to produce the ethanol. If the net energy number is positive, it suggests that the ethanol produces more energy than it took to produce it and vice versa.
The reason there are such a wide range of opinions on this number is related to the inputs used in the equation. Energy numbers can vary substantially for such things as plant efficiency and design, chemical fertilizer production, farm equipment and practices, and the values assigned to co-products.
The baseline net energy number for gasoline from crude oil is generally accepted to be 4.52, while gasoline from oil sands is 1.69. The net energy for ethanol produced from corn is 1.56. A study recently completed by the company publishing these net energy numbers assigns a net energy of 9.28 for our energy beet.back to top
11. Is this project going to increase the use of chemical fertilizers?
No, the use of chemical fertilizers will decrease.The major technology in the ABC facility is not related to the processing of energy beets or the production of ethanol. The major innovation will be in the development of a nutrient management / natural fertilizer production facility. This facility will generate enough natural fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) to fully supply the growth needs of the energy beet crop or other rotational crops.
This nutrient facility will be the first of its kind in North America and one of just a few in the world. It will showcase a sustainable crop rotation, one that is self-sufficient on crop nutrients and which significantly decreases the overall use of chemical fertilizers.
12. How much groundwater will the plant require?
None
The large quantity of water contained in energy beets means that the plant will be water self-sufficient and will not require any ground water. There are several sugar beet factories operating in the world today which are water self-sufficient.
13. What is the energy requirement of the plant and what is the energy source?
Energy requirement is 1/3 traditional plants, energy source is biogas
This facility will use energy beet pulp, rye silage, red clover silage and liquid manure to produce over 5 MW of both thermal and electrical energy from biogas. These crops will be grown in a four year rotation resulting in a cash crop each year for the farmer. The energy produced will allow the plant to be net energy neutral – meaning that over the span of a 12 month period the plant will produce as much or more energy then it requires.
The combined cost for the development of the biogas and organic fertilizer production facilities will represent over half of the equipment costs of the overall project.
14. Has the environmental impact assessment (EIA) been started and what is the process for completing this?
EIA started but needs to be completed
ABC has prepared a document outlining the EIA process with the timelines required to have it completed. The reason that the EIA process is not further along is that the assessment is “site specific”, meaning that the site location must be finalized before the EIA can be completed.
The EIA will require a comprehensive review of the project by both provincial and federal governments. The project must be acceptable from both an environmental perspective as well as a technical perspective. An important part of the process is public consultation where the general public will be explained the details of the project and will have an opportunity to comment.
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