Assuring Sustainability in Biomass Production: Works in Progress

Examples of these critical works in progress include: 1) A comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs in reducing soil and nutrient loss from row crop agriculture in the Great Lakes watershed; 2) Ongoing research by USDA and the Department of Energy (DOE) Biomass Program concerning the sustainable production of biomass feedstocks; and 3) The development of international standards and certification systems for biomass production.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has released a new report in a series assessing the effectiveness of voluntary agriculture conservation programs in reducing the loss of soil and nutrients into regional watersheds. The report, focusing on the Great Lakes watershed, shows important progress in reducing the environmental impacts of row crop agriculture (and associated corn-based ethanol production), as well as the need for greatly expanded and better focused conservation efforts and improved agricultural practices. As previous NRCS studies have found in other watersheds, much more needs to be done to make corn production for feed and fuel (and the production of other row crops) more sustainable and to help restore water supplies and aquatic ecosystems to health.

Can we do better as we develop and deploy new sources of biomass for advanced biofuels? A recent online publication from the Soil and Water Conservation Society, “Sustainable Feedstocks for Advanced Biofuels,” explores the latest scientific research concerning the sustainable production of biomass for advanced, next generation biofuels. It compiles the papers and proceedings from a 2010 workshop sponsored by the USDA and DOE Biomass Program. It provides an overview of what is known today about the opportunities and challenges for producing a variety of types of biomass at commercial scale sustainably. The authors sketch six distinctive biomass/biofuel roadmaps for different regions of the country. Much more research will be needed moving forward as biofuel production shifts to new biomass sources.

It is one thing to try to understand in theory how to produce biomass sustainably at commercial scale, but it is another thing to try to develop a workable system to assure that it actually happens in practice. 25x25 recently hosted a webinar “Biofuel/Bioenergy Certification and Standards: What It Means for the U.S. Bioenergy Industry” to examine recent progress in the development of standards and certification systems for sustainable biomass production. Panelists included Melinda Kimble of the UN Foundation International Bioenergy and Sustainability Initiative, Cassie Phillips of the Weyerhaeuser Company, Gerard Ostheimer of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, and Matthew Rudolf of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels. International standards have been developed through extensive, multi-year, international consultative processes. On October 18, the Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels launched its new independent certification branch RSB Services .