According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the United States consumes over 367 million gallons of gasoline each day—the majority of which is derived from imported oil.
In an effort to reduce America’s foreign oil dependence, and encourage renewables, the Obama Administration has issued a $105 million dollar loan to Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc., whose subsidiary will convert 147 thousand tons of municipal waste into 10 million gallons of ethanol annually at a planned facility in Northern Nevada.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the Fulcrum Sierra BioFuels project will advance the country’s efforts to develop a cleaner, more sustainable alternative energy source.
Trash is cheap and plentiful. Vilsack says the trash-to-gas concept “has the potential to substantially reduce the pressure on landfills.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans generated some 250 million tons of trash in 2010, the most recent figures available. If that waste was converted into fuel, it has the potential to generate ~15 billion gallons of ethanol!
Most biofuel refineries are in competition for raw resources, like woody biomass and corn, which drives up conversion prices. Waste-to-energy plants receive their fodder free of charge. Most fuel sold today contains 10 percent ethanol, so this project could to lower prices at the pump for consumers.
Let’s hope similar companies emerge to help expand the United States’ alternative energy portfolio and reduce the strain on U.S. landfills and our wallets.
Web Link
http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=23&t=10
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/06/fulcrum–sierra–biofuels-_n_1748737.html?utm_hp_ref=energy
http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/index.htm
Photo, taken on January 11, 2007, courtesy of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources via Flickr.