Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Integrative Regional Action Planning of Biomass Utilization Creating an EnergyShed Approach for Biomass Management organized by the California Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils April 25, 2006 Ernest Lowe Indigo Development Mantaray Team © 2007 Ernest Lowe [email protected] www.indigodev.com Overview What biomass is depends on your point of view. Don’t get stuck in a tar baby! Shape the whole ball of wax. We need a 360 degree vision . . . developed through integrative . . . regional . . . action . . . planning © 2007 Ernest Lowe Biomass is A large portion of solid waste generated in a region; A source of high leverage greenhouse gas emissions or of renewable energy; A source A public A high of water and air pollution; health threat & local nuisance; risk condition for firestorms and property loss; A waste to be disposed of through landfills or incineration; © 2007 Ernest Lowe Biomass is Often intermixed with plastics, composites, & other nonbiomass materials; A major soil nutrient & source of tilth; A carrier of heavy metals, antibiotics, growth hormone; An economic development opportunity attracting venture capital and public subsidy; A basis © 2007 Ernest Lowe for building community wealth. A Chinese Tar Baby Petro China & Dept of Transp propose 40K hectares of Jatropha curcas plantation in Yunnan & Sichuan to feed biodiesel refineries. (Yunnan targets up to 800K h.) How many small farmers will be displaced? What other agricultural and ecosystem functions will be displaced? What is level of threat to food security? Ecological impacts of monocultures include soil depletion, erosion, & invasive species. Yunnan is a world treasury of biodiversity. How will China protect this? © 2007 Ernest Lowe A Giant Tar Baby China’s State Forestry Administration plans 13M hectares of Jatropha plantation by 2010. That’s over 32M acres or 50K square miles: one third the area of California. © 2007 Ernest Lowe The Three Es of Sustainable Development Environmental management restores and preserves local and global natural systems; Economic development seeks a dramatic increase in efficiency of resource use, within the limits of carrying capacity; An equitable path of development, shares benefits across society and reduces disparity of income & wealth. All three are based upon involvement of popular social and political will and positive forces in the political economy. © 2007 Ernest Lowe Environmental Integrative Policies ` Programs Investments Economic © 2007 Ernest Lowe Social Dimensions of Sustainable Biomass Planning & Management Environmental Learning systems research, education & training GIS, internet, other information systems Inter -agency -discipline -profession collaboration Economic Integrative Policies Programs Projects Sustainable economic development: renewable bioenergy & biomaterials biorefineries resource recovery Sustainable agriculture source of bioenergy crops & residues in balance Public/private partnerships with food security © 2007 Ernest Lowe Agro-eco-industrial parks enterprise incubation link to regional conservation Energy & ag R & D Social Conservation planning Water, soil, energy, forest, air Climate change adaptation Regional Integration of Sustainable Biomass Planning & Management Model all regional biomass resources by volume, location, alternative uses, & net value. Create a vision & strategic plan. Establish a public private partnership -- mobilize community wealth & investment for all biomass processing, farming, other renewables. Economic Sustainability Conduct feasibility studies for biorefinery, possibly in an agro-eco-industrial park. Create and expand local ventures in bio-energy, biomaterials, & support to sustainable farming. © 2007 Ernest Lowe Plan adaptation to impacts of climate change A Regional Biomass Initiative Modify policies & regs to optimize recycling & reuse of biomass & support sustainable farming. Biosphere Environmental Sustainability Analyze regional carrying capacity. Reduce & sequester greenhouse gases through farming, forestry & bioenergy practices. Support transition to sustainable farming & forestry. Recycle, reuse, & compost all biomass resources, including residues of biorefinery. Balance bio-energy crops & residues with need for food & healthy soil. Restore soil quality and protect water/air quality. Link farming & biorefineries into regional conservation & eco-restoration. A Regional Biomass Initiative Define standards, indicators & benchmarks. Plan adaptation to impacts of climate change. © 2007 Ernest Lowe Biosphere Improve quality of life in the region. A Regional Biomass Initiative Enable citizens to participate fully in visioning, planning, & sharing economic benefits. Provide entrepreneurial & workforce training. Share the model with other regions. Improve & involve educational, research & training resources. Social Sustainability Increase opportunities for low income and unemployed workers. Plan adaptation to impacts of climate change. © 2007 Ernest Lowe Biosphere Environmental Integrative Policies ` Programs Investments Economic © 2007 Ernest Lowe Dimensions Social of Sustainable Biomass Planning & Management Provide R & D & extension services. Regional Sustainability Sequester greenhouse gases through soil building, wetlands, hedgerows, etc. Develop an agroeco-industrial park. Use organic residues of biorefinery for soil amendment & animal feed. Set quotas for bio-energy crops (in balance with need for food.). Conserve/expand farm biodiversity. Farmers participate in regional conservation planning & eco-restoration. Transition to Sustainable Farming Use advanced sustainable ag certification programs. Plan adaptation to impacts of climate change. © 2007 Ernest Lowe Biosphere Avoid the boomtown mentality. Regional Sustainability Reduce greenhouse gases in production lifecyle. Provide R & D and due diligence services. Send organic residues to farm for soil amendment & animal feed. Locate bio-refinery in an agroeco-industrial park Participate in regional conservation planning & eco-restoration. Integrate with solar, wind, & other renewable sources. Set production quotas in terms of sustainable crop yields. Bioenergy & Biomaterials Development Use enviro-tech certification programs. Plan adaptation to impacts of climate change. © 2007 Ernest Lowe Biosphere California’s Biomass Action Plan The Biomass Action Plan is a broad strategy which fails to note many of the factors for sustainability we’ve outlined: A positive net energy balance; Environmental impacts of conventional farming; Sustainable production of bio-energy crops in balance with food security and soil regeneration; Adaptation to impacts of climate change. It is basically an economic development plan without the larger context. © 2007 Ernest Lowe The California Bioenergy Roadmap The Roadmap details the Action Plan and raises the critical questions for research on energy balance, climate impacts, balanced sustainable production, as well as tech R & D. http://www.energy.ca.gov/pier/reports.html The questions will take time to answer. Who will do it? Proposed highly controversial British Petroleum funded Energy Biosciences Institute @ UCB? A boomtown mentality in bioenergy and biomaterials is promoting action before we know the consequences. © 2007 Ernest Lowe Some Guidelines for Tech Evaluation Priority on solving high volume and high impact problems; Proven at commercial scale; Effective business model for application (build-ownoperate as a self-validating model); Systems integration, not just isolated technologies; Positive financial, environmental, and social impacts; Appropriate level of energy and water to function; Capacity for support and maintenance; Highest and best use. © 2007 Ernest Lowe Another View of the Biomass System Follow the metabolism of biomass through economic flows from suppliers to the processing system and back to natural systems. Always see technologies as a subsystem within natural systems. © 2007 Ernest Lowe Metabolism of biomass Products Suppliers Virgin Discarded/ recovered transp Collection & Distribution transp Biomass Processing Complex Satellite Processing Facilities Each stage of cycle uses resources and produces negative impacts upon land, water, and atmosphere (sinks) © 2007 Ernest Lowe Energy Water transp Materials By-products Emissions Suppliers of Biomass Households Harvesting Farms Forests Rivers/oceans Commercial Primary processing On-site & distributed processing of residues © 2007 Ernest Lowe Manufacturing Construction Land, water, and atmosphere resource base and sinks Biomass processing system Public infrastructure MSW collection Niche collection Sewage plant sludge Regional Biomass Processing for Optimal Utilization Dedicated Crops & Residues from Sustainable Farms Procurement Logistics Sorting & Allocation Bio-refinery Digestion Fermentation Hydrolysis Pyrolysis Catalysis Gasification Reforming Links to Oil Refinery (an option) Discarded biomass from urban, rural, and wild sources © 2007 Ernest Lowe Animal Feed Plant Building Products Plant Bio-energy Bio-materials Market Water By-products Sustainable Farms in Region Constructed Wetlands Residuals or waste treatment What the Mantaray Team Does We’ve very quickly walked through complex whole systems models that enable teams to see sustainable biomass utilization in an integrative way. In a full planning process we go into these models in depth, discussing the resources, needs and issues of a specific region with the people who have the local knowledge and connections. Work together in a highly interactive fashion with input from all critical stakeholders. Use geographic information systems, knowledge mapping tools, simulation, role playing, the internet . . . © 2007 Ernest Lowe What Mantaray Does We build a vision, strategy, and action plan for holistic approaches specific to your region. Identify the critical issues that serve as focal points for integration. Emphasize local and regional economic development and community wealth building, linked to resource conservation and development. © 2007 Ernest Lowe A Final Question Could California’s RC&DCs act as the sustainablility commissions for their regions? © 2007 Ernest Lowe For more information Integrative regional action planning www.indigodev.com/IRAPsum.html Building Community Wealth www.community-wealth.org Manure into Gold, an Indigo report for a Canadian economic development Centre http://www.indigodev.com/crestech.htm A Roadmap for Development of Biomass in California http://www.energy.ca.gov/pier/reports.html © 2007 Ernest Lowe © 2007 Ernest Lowe