Feb 11 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Chris Woodka The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

The same things that draw people to farms -- sunshine, fresh air and beautiful rows of crops -- could provide the energy needed to sustain agriculture.

Solar energy, wind power and biofuels can be produced through farm-scale technology on farms, farmers learned last week at the Fourth Annual Farm, Ranch, Water Symposium. About 150 people attended.

"Our belief is to use the resources of an area in that area," said Ravi Malhotra, executive director of the International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology.

The economics of producing power on the farm will drive the future development of farm-scale renewable energy technology, Malhotra said.

"If you belong to the camp who thinks energy prices are going to go down, you are sitting in the wrong place," Malhotra said. "You have to go out on a limb and think energy prices are going to go up."

Malhotra spoke about wind power, which has attracted large-scale operations to the Southeastern corner of the state. Environmental concerns about coal-fired power plants and new legislation requiring more renewable energy in the mix for utilities are driving this development, he said.

But there is a growing effort to develop wind power on a smaller scale as well, Malhotra said. His agency in January announced a state grant for $100,000 in Baca County to help farmers install wind turbines with capacities ranging from 1.8 to 250 kilowatt hours.

"A large wind farm requires a lot of money, and then they sell it to the utility wholesale," Malhotra said. "What we sell is used to offset the retail cost."

Wind power may not be for everyone, Malhotra said.

The agency -- iCast is a Lakewood nonprofit that grew out of research at the University of Colorado -- will provide a wind-energy survey that looks at the prevailing wind-speed conditions and topography of a site.

The next step is an energy audit, that looks at when energy is used. Irrigation pumps are more likely to be running in summer months, when the wind is not blowing as much, so a load pattern needs to be determined.

Finally, iCast helps farmers look at the economics of investment in wind power. It might take 2-10 years for a wind system to pay for itself, but there are incentives, financing and grants available to help with costs.

Biodiesel fuel, as well as straight vegetable oil which can power converted engines, can be produced easily on a farm, said Raphael Shay, iCast outreach coordinator.

To demonstrate, he made a small batch at the symposium, using a tabletop system of truly scaled-down equipment. The versions used by farmers would be larger, and could make anywhere from 40-175 gallons of oil in a batch. To make 4.4 gallons of oil takes 100 pounds of oilseed such as canola or sunflower, while the oil yield from soybeans would be about 1.9 gallons from 100 pounds.

"The great thing about it is you can grow the seeds yourself," Shay said.

Seeds are ground in what resembles an old-fashioned meat grinder to produce vegetable oil, with meal as a by-product. The meal can be fed to livestock, since no chemicals are added in this part of the process. The vegetable oil must then be filtered to remove impurities.

Converted engines can burn straight vegetable oil, but the oil can also be converted to biodiesel with the addition of lye and methanol. After a washing process, this produces biodiesel and crude glycerin, which can be added to fertilizer, added to feed for ruminants or burned at high temperatures. Glycerin can also be refined and sold for soap-making or other industrial uses, but the market currently is glutted because of the interest in biodiesel, Shay said.

Using the biodiesel for farm equipment or generators may be more economical than producing it for retail sale, Shay said.

"About 80 percent of the cost is seed," Shay said.

Right now, sunflower oil is selling for $4 a gallon for use in food processing, making $3 per gallon biodiesel fuel less profitable. Those growing their own seed, however, are able to produce fuel for as low as 75 cents per gallon. There are also state fuel taxes if the fuel is used in highway vehicles.

The subsidies for biodiesel are expiring as well, Malhotra added.

Solar energy is making a resurgence in Colorado, said Lynn Hirshman, executive director of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association.

"There's been a revolution in solar energy in Colorado since the passage last year of a bill that requires electric producers to give rebates," Hirshman said. "The solar industry is absolutely booming in Colorado and we're trying to bring it to parts of Colorado where the rebates aren't available."

A residential solar program is being offered to areas of the state outside Xcel and Aquila service areas, Hirshman said.

The program offers solar incentives for both electric and thermal systems, and is now seeking utilities, cities or counties to participate. About $500,000 in $25,000 grants are available to sign up participants.

Once in place, rebates of up to $12,000 per system for electric and $3,000 per system for geothermal will be available through metered sales from the provider.

Solar energy, which is available 50 percent of the time year-round, makes sense for farms, which have higher energy loads in summer, added Malhotra.

"If you have to pay thousands of dollars to put up a wire, put in solar," Malhotra advised. "You can use solar, wind and have biodiesel for a backup."

ON THE NET

International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology: http://www.icastusa.org

Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association: http://www.coseia.org

Wind energy manufacturers: http://awea.org/smallwind/smsyslst.html

Grant availability: http://www.dsire.org

State solar rebates: http://www.colorado.gov/energy

Biodiesel information: http://www.biodieselcommunity.org     http://www.planetbiodiesel.com   http://www.cubiodiesel.org      http://www.journeytoforever.org/