Biomass, baby!
Another Minnesota company wades into the burgeoning biomass industry, as this Associated Press piece reveals:
It was announced June 27 that Northern Excellence Seed -- a handler of turfgrass seed to the nation and the world -- will be one of the first commercialized applications of smaller-scale biomass energy in the U.S.
U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, made the announcement. The $230,000 grant will go to the Giziibii Resource Conservation & Development Council in Bemidji, which channels the money to Northern Excellence to fund the equipment. It is one of a set of annual Conservation Innovation Grants issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service.
The project will use some of the 2 million pounds of screenings at Northern Excellence, as well as perennial grass seed straw from two specific producers in the Giziibii and Pembina Trail economic development areas. The biomass will be burned in a "low-water use gasification system" to produce "syngas," or synthetic gas, to generate electricity for the plant.
The gasifier for the Northern Excellence Seed plant will produce 100 kilowatt hours -- enough to take care of the electricity needs for the plant itself and perhaps a little extra that could be sold on the grid. The electricity would displace the seed company's electric bill, which typically runs in the $50,000-per-year range. If successful, it would eliminate the $10,000 to $15,000 annual bill for burning the company's waste screenings.
We ardent spirits here in the provinces will some day re-read the canon of Victorian literature by light generated by biomass. Only an Philadelphia economist would narrowly frame the world as biofuels v. George Eliot.
The Post Bulletin also carries a column that touts the Campaign for a Renewed Rural Development, led by Blue Earth County commissioner Colleen Landkamer. Our friends at the League of Rural Voters and the Center for Rural Affairs are members. We'll be checking it out.
In other biofuels news, the Worthington Daily Globe editorializes about a WIRED grants for a community and tech college that's a player in the renewable energy game.
Rochester Post Bulletin: Pfeilsticker and Drazkowski endorsed for 28B special election
The Post-Bulletin reports on the endorsing conventions:
Republicans tonight endorsed Steve Drazkowski of Wabasha, and Democrats endorsed Linda Pfeilsticker to run for the state House of Representatives District 28B seat soon to be vacated by Rep. Steve Sviggum of Kenyon.
At the Republican endorsement convention, Drazkowski was chosen after the second round of balloting, getting 54 votes. Jennifer Berquam of Wanamingo got 25 votes. Berquam then moved to have her votes shifted to Drazkowski to make the endorsement unanimous.
The special election will be on Aug. 7.
At the Democratic convention, Pfeilsticker was chosen on the first ballot. She received more than 60 percent of the votes, the minimum required to win the endorsement.
Pfeilsticker is a teacher at Winona Senior High School. Drazkowski is a cable contractor.
No coverage yet from the Winona Daily News, though some will probably show up during the day.
Mankato Free Press editorial: Lake quality and Farm Bill connected
Blue Earth County's Lake Crystal is enjoying a bumper crop of algae this year, and the Free Press suggests ways to deal with it, from making sure septic systems work to better manure runoff control.
One thing the editorial board suggests is more money for conservation in the Farm Bill and less for commodity payments. The editorial concludes:
But maximizing solutions on a broad scale requires state and federal commitments. That’s why the current debate in Congress over renewal of the Farm Bill is so important. Past Farm Bills have focused too heavily on subsidies for crops and too little on providing financial incentives for farm conservation.
There is, this year, a considerable push for more money for conservation efforts in the Farm Bill.
The issue is important for anyone who has wondered why lakes often look so disgusting.
As we have said before, not a bad idea. However, one would want to know that the money is well-spent, especially following the EPA's February audit of grants to an organization charged with on-farm assessments of environmental programs. That mismanaged (and possibly embezzled) $24 million might have cleaned up a bit of algae, no?
Rowley letter in the PiPress
Former FBI agent and 2006 congressional candidate Colleen Rowley had a letter published in last week's PiPress:
Enough study
Thousands of us traveled by bus to rally in Washington, D.C., to restore law and justice on June 26. Since then, 145 congresspersons (including Betty McCollum, James Oberstar, Keith Ellison and Tim Walz) wrote President Bush a letter stating, "Guantanamo is anathema to our values as a nation, governed by the rule of law. Its continued operation undermines our efforts to combat terrorism, providing psychological ammunition for those bent on doing us harm."
Currently, 375 detainees are being held at Guantanamo; many have been there for over five years. Since the facility opened in 2002, only 10 of more than 700 detainees have been charged with a crime. More have committed suicide (four) than have had a hearing before a military commission (three) at Guantanamo.
Bush himself admitted he'd like to close Guantanamo.
The day after our rally, Sen. Amy Klobuchar signed up to co-sponsor the "Habeas Corpus Restoration Act" while Sen. Norm Coleman refused to give his position but said he would have to study it.
COLEEN ROWLEY
Apple Valley
Comments