Minnesota

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Bioenergy > United States > Minnesota

Information about biofuels and bioenergy in the state of Minnesota in the United States.

Minnesota, with a population of approximately 5,000,000, is a major producer of ethanol in the United States. In 2004, Governor Pawlenty referred to his plan for biofuels in the state as "making Minnesota the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy."

Events

2010

• 4-6 May 2010, Minneapolis: 2010 International BIOMASS Conference & Expo. (Themes: crop residues, energy crops, wood residues, livestock and poultry wastes, MSW)

2008

• 15-17 April 2008, Minneapolis: International Biomass 08 Conference & Trade Show (Theme: biomass)

• 23-24 July 2008, Minneapolis: The 2008 Biofuels financial conference (Themes: biofuels, financing)

• 18-22 August 2008, Bloomington: Short Rotation Crops International Conference: Biofuels, Bioenergy and Bioproducts from Sustainable Agricultural and Forest Crops. (Themes: biofuels, bioenergy, bioproducts, crops, wood)

• 28-30 September 2008, Minneapolis: Advanced biofuels wokshop and trade show. (Themes: advanced biofuels, technology, feedstocks, markets)

• 28 September - 3 October 2008, St. Paul and other locations: International Bioenergy Days. (Themes: bioenergy)

News

Change in Corn Plantings as Percent of County Area, 2004-2007 in the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region.

• Corn Crowds Out Wildlife in Prairie Pothole Region, 13 January 2010 press release by National Wildlife Federation: "A new report shows how government incentives for corn ethanol are driving farmers to shift land into corn production, resulting in significant decreases in grassland bird populations throughout the fragile Prairie Pothole Region. The study analyzes the current and potential impacts of increased corn ethanol production on wildlife and habitat in the Prairie Pothole states of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota."
  • "According to the report, U.S. ethanol capacity has grown almost 200 percent since the passage of the 2005 Energy Bill, which mandated a large increase in domestic ethanol production."
  • "By identifying areas with the most dramatic land-use changes in Prairie Pothole states, researchers were able to see where there are 'hotspots' of increased corn plantings and habitat loss." The study's "results showed that counties with high increases in corn plantings had significant declines of nearly 30 percent in populations of sensitive grassland birds between 2005 and 2008."[1]
  • Download the full report:
    • Corn Ethanol and Wildlife - How increases in corn plantings are affecting habitat and wildlife in the Prairie Pothole Region (PDF file)

• EPA's peer review of indirect land use criticized, 7 August 2009 by Feedstuffs: "Today the Environmental Protection Agency released its peer review of the renewable fuel standards lifecycle analysis."
  • "House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D., Minn.) said the review panel expressed concern about using incomplete and unreliable models to indirect land use changes and indicated they didn't have enough time to review this 'convoluted and complicated proposal.'"
  • "Ethanol groups said the agency 'stacked the deck against biofuels' in its peer review process. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) criticized EPA for selecting 'peers' who have been vocal opponents of biofuels or who have released studies later called into question".[2]

• Ethanol proposal may derail climate bill, 26 May 2009 by Politico: "Rural Democrats are threatening to vote against climate change legislation unless the Environmental Protection Agency halts new proposals that could hamper the development of corn ethanol."
  • "The debate [over ethanol] intensified recently when EPA released a draft decision ruling that 'indirect land use' issues must be considered when calculating the carbon footprint of corn-based ethanol. That decision raises the overall emissions of corn ethanol by including sometimes tenuously linked activities — critics say totally unrelated activities — in its carbon count."
  • "House Agricultural Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (R-Minn.)...and the 26 Democrats on his committee say they will vote against climate change legislation passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week unless it better addresses several concerns raised by farmers, including reversing the EPA decision."[3]

• Is Biomass Harvesting Sustainable?, late August 2008 (September 2008 issue) by Biomass Magazine: "Sustainability is a buzzword in the biomass industry. But sustainable can mean many things....A collaboration of researchers studied a biomass operation...in Minnesota to look at all the different components of a sustainable biomass harvesting operation."
  • "Researchers from Minnesota and Wisconsin zeroed in on one particular system — small trees and undergrowth in the Superior National Forest — to gauge the environmental and economic costs of removing biomass from the forest."
  • The study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) found that "there are many ways to interrupt a smooth supply of biomass to a market."
  • Lead author Don Arnosti was quoted as saying, "What I have concluded is that biomass, at least woody biomass will likely forever be a coproduct....It cannot be seen as the single reason you are doing land management.[4]
  • Download the IATP study, Harvesting Fuel: Cutting Costs and Reducing Forest Fire Hazards Through Biomass Harvest.

Issues

Organizations

Governmental organizations

Nongovernmental organizations

• Great Plains Institute (GPI)
• Clean Energy Minnesota

Companies

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