Quantum_sloth, 2023-04-04 16:14:16
Renewable Energy From Agriculture
Despite support for programs that convert corn into ethanol and soybeans into biodiesel to fuel vehicles, the United States has never before viewed farming as a primary energy producer. This changed when in August Congress passed the climate provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides $140 billion in tax incentives, loans and grants to replace fossil fuels with cleaner renewable energy sources that lower emissions of carbon dioxide.
Raw Materials Needed
Along with the wind and the sun, much of the raw materials needed for this energy come from farming — alcohol from fermenting corn, and methane from the billions of gallons of liquid and millions of tons of solid manure produced by large dairy, poultry and swine operations. Although environmental groups are concerned about increased pollution from farm waste, developers across the country are seeing opportunities to build renewable energy projects for the conversion of crops and agricultural wastes.
Push for Renewable Energy
“There is not a single renewable energy producer in the country that is not looking at or already taking steps to install new technology, expand their facilities, or thinking about building new plants in response to the federal tax incentives passed last year,” said Geoff Cooper, the president and chief executive of the Renewable Fuels Association, an industry trade group. This emphasis on energy production is a huge shift in American farm policy, which began when Secretary of Agriculture, Earl Butz during the Nixon administration, urged farmers to plant “fence row to fence row”, which changed farms from family-managed small businesses to an export-focused, commodity-producing industry.
Government Support
The government’s plan to turn agricultural products into energy is meant to increase economic output, said John E. Ikerd, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri. Environmental groups, however, are concerned about the additional waste that this effort might create as phosphorus and nitrogen discharges from US farms are “the single greatest challenge to our nation’s water quality”, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Farm-To-Flight Initiative
Gevo, a Colorado developer, broke ground for Net-Zero 1, an $875 million refinery to turn corn into low-carbon jet fuel near Lake Preston, South Dakota. Gevo asserts that their “farm-to-flight” project will release 80 percent less carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than ethanol made by a conventional plant, as wind power will be used to operate the plant and corn from about 100 South Dakota growers will be used to make 65 million gallons of jet fuel a year. Every step of the Net-Zero 1 production and a good portion of its revenue benefit from tax incentives, grants, payments for low-carbon renewable energy and the nearly $20 billion that Congress has approved since 2021 for the disposal of carbon dioxide.
Additional Projects
In addition, Greenfield Nitrogen is developing a $400 million plant near Garner, Iowa to produce 96,000 tons of zero-carbon fertilizer from ammonia, with wind farms generating the electricity to separate hydrogen from oxygen in water molecules to create this “green hydrogen”. Roeslein Alternative Energy is building six biodigesters at large cattle and swine operations in Iowa and Missouri to produce methane for transportation fuel and electricity.
Tax Benefits
Virtually every renewable energy project benefits from tax incentives and subsidies. For instance, Net-Zero 1 will qualify for a clean fuel tax credit of $1.75 a gallon, plus an $85 tax credit for every ton of carbon dioxide it disposes of in deep subsurface caverns. Congress also directed $40 billion to the Department of Energy for loan guarantees to finance innovative carbon-reducing projects, and the Department of Agriculture awarded a $30 million grant to pay corn growers a bonus if they use “climate smart” growing practices to produce their crops.
Carbon Reduction
According to Gevo executives, farms focused on producing energy can reduce carbon from agriculture, which now accounts for 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Contracts Gevo is developing with corn growers in South Dakota are intended to keep carbon in the ground by reducing the use of commercial fertilizer, increasing soil fertility and reducing erosion.
The push for new renewable energy from agriculture is a game changer for the industry. Government support in the form of tax incentives, loans, grants and payments for low-carbon energy has spurred ambitious projects across the US. Environmental groups are still concerned about additional waste these efforts might produce and the need to regulate the industry, but the additional revenue and subsidies could be beneficial for farmers, reduce carbon emissions and keep carbon in the ground.