Growing Energy Independence for America

By Dee Ann Littlefield

“There is no single answer for energy for the future,” states Marva Beck, president of the Texas and Southwest Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Association. “It’s not just oil or gas or coal. It’s not just wind. And it’s not just biofuel.

“Utility companies need a portfolio of energy sources to address various issues they face,” Beck explains. “They need to combine all of these energy sources with new technology to meet America’s growing demand.”

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Post Oak RC&D, centered in Bryan, Texas, are helping two Texas farmers respond to America’s increasing appetite for renewable energy sources.

Midway, Texas farmer Buddy Alders and his power engineering partner, George King, recently broke ground to build the first cellulose biogas plant in the United States. The plant will use hybrid forage sorghum, a dryland crop grown on fallow farmland, as its fuel source. Located near Leona, Texas, the Mustang Creek Biofuel Plant, is expected to be completed by early 2010.

The renewable energy plant will have the capability of producing one megawatt of electricity, enough to power approximately 400 homes year round. Houston County Electric Cooperative has already contracted to buy the electricity.

“This project has a huge economic and community development role,” says Allen Smith, Post Oak RC&D Coordinator. “It also addresses land management, land conservation, and water savings.”

Beck, who also serves as secretary of the National RC&D council, and Smith have been working with Alders and King for over two years, helping to provide grant research, soil and plant science data and other information to help them achieve their goals of green, clean energy. Their combined research led them to Germany, where they toured biogas plants after which they are modeling the Mustang Creek Plant.

While this is America’s first, there are over 4,000 such cellulose biogas plants in Germany.

“No other country can compete with American farmers and their ability to produce crops,” Beck states. “Especially on land that is not currently in production.”

In the 2002 Ag Census, in Texas alone there were over 21 million acres listed as cropland, but were not being harvested. For economic reasons, many farmers had let their fields go fallow and then grazed livestock on it. This fallow farmland can be put back into production by increasing the organic matter and nutrients in the soil, making it an ideal seedbed to plant a dryland crop such as hybrid forage sorghum.

“We are looking at a great potential to put a lot of farmers back in business,” Beck said. “This also gives small communities the opportunity to be energy independent.”

Beck and Smith both point out that while forage hybrid sorghum has proven to be the best crop for the 2,400 acres of Alder’s farmland in Leon County, there are many other types of crops that will work under different conditions, climates and soil types.

“Since this project is the first of its kind in the entire United States, it has taken a lot of time because there are so many ‘firsts’ involved with permits, contracts, etc.,” Beck says. “But we will soon have a template to go by when we try to reproduce this process in other locations.”

Within the next year, four more new plants will begin construction all in the central Texas. In the next eight years, King and Alders have plans to have 50 plants up and running throughout central Texas.

Based on the expected revenue from this first plant, an economic analysis using the Regional Industry Multiplier System, predicts an additional 137 jobs and 14 businesses will be created in the economic region from this first project.

“The beauty of this project is that it provides a template that will work all over the nation,” Beck says. “And the NRCS has offices and RC&D representatives all over the U.S. to provide assistance.”

For more information on this project, call the Post Oak RC&D office at 979-846-0819, ext. 2 or log on to their website at www.postoakrcd.org.

Click on thumbnail below for larger image:

USDA-NRCS Texas State Conservationist Don Gohmert and Texas RC&D Association President Marva Beck have provided extensive support and assistance with the Mustang Creek Biofuel Plant.	At the plant's groundbreaking ceremony in June 2009, NRCS Texas State Conservationist (left) and Texas RC&D Association President Marva Beck (sitting at right) applaud Midway, Texas farmer Buddy Alders' entreprenueral efforts to get America first cellulose biofuel plant off the ground.

Texas farmer Buddy Alders traveled to Germany, to tour biogas plants. He and partner George King used this information to develop the Mustang Creek Biofuel Plant in Leona, Texas.	Post Oak RC&D Coordinator Allen Smith (far right) has been working with George King (far left) and Buddy Alders (second from left) for over two years to help them develop the Mustang Creek Biofuel plant in Leona, Texas, which will provide a significant economic boost to the surrounding communities.