Utter scam. Cellulosic ethanol is a century old, and still an energetic loser. Odd that the story doesn't mention the cost. This is only a stepping stone to more graft and greed, not to "commercial production," as there is no market for ethanol whatsoever, absent the infinite subsidy of mandated use.
The funny/sad part is that the oil lobby is laughing all the way to the bank at their success in duping scientifically illiterate legislators and enviros and turning them into biofuel advocates who wind up carrying Big Oil's water (as far as Big Oil is concerned, ethanol and biodiesel are wonderful, because it means extending the liquid fueled transport model longer, so that even more profits can be wrung out of fracked gas and oil and carbon-intensive tar sands).
As Oregon grapples with its budget problems, eliminating all tax credits and subsidies for biofuels and getting rid of the state mandate for biofuel blending is a great place to cut.
Oregon needs the food security that comes from a diverse network of local growers who serve their communities with a wide variety of foods, with an increased emphasis on low input and organic production. Instead we get Big Ag and Big Oil pushing gigantic industrial monocrop, high input Ag, and genetically modified canola and nonsense like this cellulosic subsidy sucker.
Biorefinery in Boardman announces its first ethanol from woody biomass and ag residue
By
The Oregonian
on March 13, 2013 at 5:24 AM, updated
March 13, 2013 at 6:44 AM
ZeaChem Inc. announced a milestone Tuesday after years
of research and development, it produced commercial-grade cellulosic
chemicals and ethanol at its Boardman biorefinery.
The
Colorado-based company said it is among the first operational cellulosic
biorefineries in the world, which means it turns woody biomass and
agricultural residues into fuel. Think poplar trees, wheat straw and
corn stalks and leaves. The company says the demonstration plant can
produce 250,000 gallons per year. And it serves as a key stepping stone
toward large-scale commercial production.
ZeaChem gets
its feedstock from nearby GreenWood Resources tree farms
and other local agricultural residue processors.
Backed
by a conditional loan guarantee of $235 million from the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, the company is working on a commercial facility with
the capacity to produce 25 million gallons per year of the cellulosic
chemicals and ethanol.
-- The Oregonian
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The ZeaChem plant in Boardman.
ZeaChem Inc.