Agriculture and Green Energy
AGRICULTURE AND GREEN ENERGY
Agriculture and Green Energy Background
Overview
Clean air and clean water.
No two aspects of a state symbolize a high quality of life quite like these two essential elements. If the water is fouled or the air quality poor, then no economic, educational or social factors can overcome the perception that a polluted state is not an inviting state.
New Jersey, clearly, has recognized this fact. In the past few year alone, major initiatives have been passed to protect the state’s drinking water and to meet or exceed air-quality standards. The Highlands Act acknowledged that protecting a large portion of the groundwater in New Jersey is a priority that cannot wait for future generations. The state’s movement to create the most stringent mercury rule in the nation is just one example of steps taken to meet or exceed the Clean Air Act.
This desire to create as pristine an environment as possible in the nation’s most densely populated state is no easy task. Sometimes, addressing one component of the environment can inadvertently cause concerns about another, such as those raised by the use of the additive MTBE in gasoline. Scientific evidence suggests that the very additive designed to create cleaner air is, in fact, polluting the water . The balancing act needed to reverse decades of past practices and to make gains in cleaning our air and water requires constant innovation and adaptation.
In this effort, vehicle emissions are a perennial concern. New Jerseyans rely heavily on their motor vehicles. One look at rush-hour traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike or Garden State Parkway, Interstate 80 or the Atlantic City Expressway is all that is needed to drive home that point. With so many cars on New Jersey’s roads, not to mention commercial trucks traveling to destinations in the state (and through the state to points north and south), controlling emissions will always be among the major challenges in maintaining a clean environment.
Fortunately, New Jersey’s vast diversity of landscapes, industries and academic expertise can help provide the answers to its environmental questions. Since the state is a unique combination of densely populated urban centers, bustling suburbs and wide-open agricultural spaces, the concentrations of pollution and the sources of solutions are in relative proximity to each other.
The state’s vast agricultural base can play its greatest role in this regard by providing the raw materials needed to develop alternative fuels that help reduce vehicle emissions while also avoiding further contamination of groundwater. In addition, the state’s farmers are leading the way by integrating renewable energy like solar and wind power into their operations.
As both consumers of energy and producers of the raw materials that can be used to produce renewable fuels, New Jersey’s farmers can take an important leadership role in shaping New Jersey’s energy future.
To view the resolution supporting renewable energy that was passed by the delegates to the 2005 New Jersey Agricultural Convention, click here.
Footnote 1: “A Preliminary Assessment of the Occurrence and Possible Sources of MTBE in Groundwater of the United States, 1993-94, U.S. Geological Survey, Squillace, Paul J.; Wilber, William; and Price, Curtis V.
Green Energy Components
SUN: Energy from the sun can be harnessed to create electricity or to provide heat.Installation of solar panels for converting the sun’s energy into electricity has greatly increased in New Jersey. Programs are now available to help agricultural producers take advantage of this technology.
U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
www.eere.energy.gov/RE/solar.html
WIND: The power of a strong wind can be captured by a turbine (windmill), then turned into electricity.
While not all areas of the state have consistant wind to make an electricity-generating windmill viable, many coastal and Northwestern areas do. More efficient turbines are making this option more attractive as means of cutting energy costs on the farm. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy)
U.S. Department of Energy, National Wind Technology Center
www.nrel.gov/wind
"Alexandria Man's High Electricity Bills Are Gone With the Wind," published in the Hunterdon County Democrat
www.state.nj.us/agriculture/windmillarticle.htm
RENEWABLE FUELS:
Ethanol: Made by distilling the starch and sugar in a variety of plants, ethanol is an alcohol that can be blended into gasoline.
New Jersey’s corn and grain farmers may be positioned to capitalize on the growing national movement toward ethanol-blended fuels. More than 3.4 billion gallons of ethanol were produced in the United States in 2004. Ethanol can stretch the current oil supply, while offering a fuel “oxygenate” that does not contaminate groundwater like MTBE, the current oxygenate in use in New Jersey.
The Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol: An Update
www.usda.gov/oce/oepnu/aer-814.pdf
Garden State Ethanol Corp.-- Pursuing an ethanol plant in New Jersey
www.gardenstateethanol.com
Ethanol Pricing -- Spot prices on the Chicago Board of Trade
www.cbot.com
United States Geological Survey, Water Resources Data
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis
Bio-Diesel: An alternative to diesel fuel from petroleum, bio-diesel can be made from the oils of soybeans, leading to it sometimes being referred to as “soy diesel.”Bio-diesel offers an alternative to petroleum diesel, which has come under increased scrutiny for sulfur emissions. Bio-diesel blends can be used in today’s diesel engines without modification, and significantly reduce the harmful fumes produced by pure petroleum diesel.
www.biodieselamerica.org
www.biodiesel.org
Agriculture and Green Energy Background
Bio-Gas: The gas that is created from decomposing
waste in a landfill.
Capturing the gas produced by decomposing waste in a landfill, prototype bio-gas facilities can turn what used to be a noxious waste into an energy source. Already, bio-gas is providing heat and power to a demonstration greenhouse in Burlington County.
RUTGERS EcoComplex, RUTGERS University's Environmental Research and Extension Center
http://ecocomplex.rutgers.edu
Austrian Energy Agency
www.eva.ac.at/(en)/projekte/ren-in-a06.htm
Biofuels: Trends Alert
The Council of State Governments
www.csg.org
To encourage use of renewable energy sources, state and federal agencies offer the following grant programs:
New Jersey Clean Energy Program: Provides financial incentives (rebates of 30% - 70% of system costs) to owners who install qualifying clean energy generation systems such as fuel cells, photovoltaics (solar electricity), small wind and sustainable biomass equipment. www.njcep.com/
Biomass Research and Development Initiative Grants: Up to $15 million is available through the United States Departments of Agriculture and Energy to support development of renewable energy and expand the economic prospects and environmental benefits of biomass. These grants are available to eligible entities to carry out research, development and demonstrations on biobased products, bioenergy, biofuels, biopower and related processes. This funding opportunity is intended to promote greater innovation and development related to biomass, and to support Federal policy calling for greater use of biomass-based products, feedstock production, and processing and conversion. The focus of this year’s grant program is on development and demonstration projects that lead to greater commercialization.
To apply: www.fedgrants.gov/Applicants/USDA/NRCS/2890/67-3A75-5 22/Attachments.html#upload4211
For more details: www.bioproducts-bioenergy.gov
Other helpful links:Sun Grant Initiative:
A concept to solve America's energy needs and revitalize rural communities with land-grant university research, education, and extension programs on renewable energy and biobased, non-food
industries. search for renewable energy sources and the most effective ways to use them
http://sdaes.sdstate.edu/sungrant/
Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas
www.peakoil.net
Environmental Protection Agency MTBE Information
www.epa.gov/mtbe/water.htm
Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Pricing
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp
Green Building:
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System® is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Members of the U.S. Green Building Council representing all segments of the building industry developed LEED and continue to contribute to its evolution.
www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19
The Willow School is situated in the New Jersey countryside on a 34-acre forested site. The school buildings incorporate many environmentally sensitive design features, allowing the school to seek a high level of certification from the United States Green Building Council in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
The Willow School: www.willowschool.org/campus/environment.htm
The Willow School: A LEED Registered Project: www.nesea.org/buildings/be/nj/The_Willow_School.pdf
Green Roofs
The LEED building principles can be augmented in community planning and design through the use of the “green roof” concept. The thin layer of plants covering a roof can reduce heating and cooling costs, absorb storm runoff and help in cutting air pollution. The Silvercup Studios building in New York City, where “The Sopranos” series is shot in part, has received attention for its use of the green roof concept.
www.greenroofs.org
www.greenroofs.com
www.greenroofplants.com
