By STEVE BINDER
Illinois Correspondent
 
URBANA, Ill. — Indiana businessman Terry Bailey joined a newly formed biomass group based at the University of Illinois in part because he believes a significant change in energy use is developing.

“One aspect of renewable energy has to catch, whether it’s solar, thermal, wind, biomass … there’s no question in my mind that we’ll see a major change during our lifetimes,” said Bailey, owner of Genesis Business Services in Carlisle.
He said he works to bring new ventures interested in supplying or facilitating the growth of alternative energy sources, and is a member of the National Renewable Energy Foundation.

“I’ve been working with a large Japanese company that wants to bring the production of solar panels to Indiana, and there are other positive developments happening,” Bailey said. “With biomass, we have to find a way to get the right plants in the ground to get things going.”

The new group, called the Illinois Biomass Working Group, consists of university members, business interests and energy industry representatives. Ted Funk, with the UoI Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, helped found the group.

“We felt there was a need to pull people together and talk about what we could do near-term to use biomass,” he said. “What are the markets today that could accept large quantities of biomass if the price was right, and how do we go about getting those supply chains put together?”

The new group, which meets again this week, first identified three markets that could be tapped near-term for biomass use for heat and power, Funk explained. “We know we can pelletize many types of biomass, such as miscanthus and switchgrass, to burn in a pellet stove,” he said.

“There are a dozen manufacturers of pellet stoves out there, and we’ve talked with a manufacturer in Christian County (Ill.) who has converted a shelled-corn furnace to burn wood and grass pellets. So we know we have local people interested in a community-scale industry for using biomass in residential and small commercial heating appliances.”

One market is propane gas users. “We think we can produce grass and other kinds of pellets for around $200 per ton, so the economics look pretty favorable compared to recent prices for LP gas.”

A second market is tied to coal use. “There are always new emissions regulations and other things coming up that change the landscape when it comes to burning coal,” Funk said. “It’s going to make burning coal more expensive and people are looking for ways and reasons to replace some of the coal with biomass material.”

A third market for biomass is gasification, he said. “Eastern Illinois University is in the process of decommissioning their coal-fired steam plant, and replacing it with a pair of gasifiers that are designed to burn wood chips,” he explained.
The group’s website is www.illinoisbiomass.org

In addition to Funk and Bailey, members include Loka Ashwood, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Hans Blaschek, UoI; Natalie Bosecker, Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research (CABER); Bob Bush, Bush and Associates; Timothy Collins, Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs; Michael A. Cotta, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research; Dave Dornbusch, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Jody Endres, UoI Energy Biosciences Institute; Marsha Fernandes, Mt. Pulaski Products LLC; Randy Fisher, Prairie Power, Inc.; Ron Fuller, CPM Roskamp Champion; Alyson Grady, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Illinois Energy Office.

Other members include Doug Gucker, Agricultural Watershed Institute; Molly K. Hammond, USDA Rural Development; Fred Iutzi, Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs; Jack Jannsen, JMJ’s Services; Steve John, Agricultural Watershed Institute; Emil Korchiyev, Western Illinois University; Gary Letterly, UoI extension; David G. Loomis, Illinois State University; Dan McGovern, Innovated Energy, Inc.; Jack Moody, McLean County Facilities Management; Mike Myers, American Pellet Supply; T.J. Paskach, Frontline BioEnergy; Pete Pohlman, Great River Economic Development Foundation; Nicholas A. Pohlman, Northern Illinois University; Kevin S. Richman, CNH America LLC; Bill Ridgley, Growmark; Timothy A. Slating, UoI Energy Biosciences Institute; and Norbert Ziemer, AgTech New Uses Entrepreneur Development Center at NIU.