NC Bioenergy Council & Bioenergy Roadmap Project

North Carolina State Energy Conference

Tuesday 21 April 2015

Isaac Panzarella and Helene Cser

Project Investigators

1

Project Background

• Bioenergy and other clean energy sectors have been bright spots during the economic downturn and demand continues to grow globally

• Clear evidence of potential for further growth of the bioenergy industry in North Carolina

• Opportunity to leverage each others’ strengths and position the state for growth and global competition

2

Project Overview

• NC Bioenergy Council meetings to advise the process of developing a roadmap

• Bioenergy working group meetings to involve more stakeholders across the state

• Development of a North Carolina Bioenergy Roadmap for Biofuels, Biopower & Bioproducts

3

Key Project Partners

4

2007 NC Biomass Roadmap

• Developed at request of State Energy Office

• Involved a large group of experts and stakeholders

• Made 12 sets of recommendations to enhance the production and market for NC biomass

5

NC Bioenergy Highlights2014 NC Clean Energy Census Economic Impact By Sector

retrieved from http://www.cleanenergyindustry.org/

Building Efficiency; 11,277

Solar; 4,307

Biomass/ Bio-fuels; 3,246

Energy Storage, 1,306

Smart Grid; 1,045

6

Jobs Identified Across 10 Clean Energy Sectors,22,995 Total

NC Bioenergy Highlights

• Biofuel refineries being developed by Chemtex and Tyton Bioenergy in Sampson and Hoke Counties will use bioenergy crops to produce a combined 50 million gallons of ethanol per year.

Image courtesy of NREL

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NC Bioenergy Highlights:NC Renewables and Efficiency

Portfolio Standard (REPS)

*These facilities are fueled by landfill methane, wood waste, poultry waste and swine methane. This data does not reflect projects developed before 2008. (Source: NC Renewable Energy Tracking System, www.ncrets.org) 

Size in KW of New Bioenergy facility registrations accepted by the North Carolina Utilities Commission since 2008*202,779Total KW of New Renewable energy facility registrations accepted by the North Carolina Utilities Commission since 200810,382,005

Market Share and U.S. Jobs in Biobased Chemicals

• From the report “Why Biobased?” released by USDA. Estimates from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). (Authors: Dr. Jay Golden of Duke University and Dr. Robert Handfield of NC State University)

2011 2015 2025

3%-4%

40,000

>10%

100,000

~20%

237,000

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Potential Strategies

• Enhancing Technology and Innovation

• Fostering Clean Energy Clusters

• Increasing the Availability of Capital 

• Expanding Markets 

• Increasing Bioenergy Use  

• Addressing Regulatory Barriers

• Strengthening Workforce Skills

• Other 

10

Next Steps

• Held first NC Bioenergy Council Meeting yesterday to receive input from 60 participants representing industry, research, policy, regulatory and economic development interests.

• The results of this discussion will be summarized and shared at sector working group meetings and as we develop the NC Bioenergy Roadmap.