By Patrick Mazza,
Climate Solutions

Burgeoning interest in profitable opportunities for farms and rural areas to produce, use, and market clean energy was demonstrated by the large turn-out for "Harvesting Clean Energy: Farming for Energy Independence," a conference Feb. 26-27, 2002 in Pasco, Washington.

The conference registration of 272, substantially exceeding hopes of conference organizers, was ascribed to a number of factors. Farmers and ranchers are seeking for new revenue streams. Utilities need to serve growing numbers of customers who want clean power, and are also seeking energy sources that provide long-term price reliability. Rural utilities in particular are looking for economic development opportunities for their service areas. Meanwhile, national security concerns are increasing the priority on domestic energy production. Those security concerns were evidenced in the U.S. Senate passage Feb. 13 of the first ever Clean Energy Title in the Farm Bill, with $570 million budgeted over five years. (The measure must still survive a conference committee with the House, which had no parallel title in its bill.)

The attendance included a significant number of farmers and ranchers, as well as representatives of agricultural organizations, public utility districts, rural electric cooperatives, county governments, clean energy companies, native tribes, public interest groups, educational institutions, research centers, and federal and state public agencies. Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo sent the conference greetings through his aide, Don Dixon, and Mary McBride brought greetings from her boss, Washington Sen. Patty Murray. Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber sent his good wishes and his energy policy advisor, Roger Hamilton. Washington Gov. Gary Locke declared Feb. 27 "Harvesting Clean Energy for Energy Independence Day" in honor of the conference.

Addressing the gathering were experts on a wide range of farm-ready clean energy sources including biodiesel, ethanol, wind, sun and geothermal. They covered energy production both for the marketplace and for use on the farm.

For example, on the market side, Dave Eakin with Pacific Northwest National Lab briefed the conference on plans for a 17 million-gallon-per-year biodiesel plant planned by Go Green Diesel for Richland, Washington. Eventually, the plant could draw oil crops from 120,000 acres in the Columbia Basin. Larry Flowers, a top wind expert with the National Renewable Energy Lab, detailed how wind power is bringing $2,500-$4,000 annually per turbine to rural landowners who lease their land to wind developers. Each turbine requires only around one-quarter acre, so harvesting wind draws far more revenue per acre than virtually any other crop. In addition, for every 100 megawatts (MW) installed, local taxing authorities are gaining $1 million in revenue annually, while 100-200 workers are employed during construction, and up to 5 operations and maintenance people are permanently on board. Driving the wind boom is a drop in production costs that is making windpower competitive with the cheapest new fossil fuel power source, natural gas.

Clean energy can also reduce on-farm operating costs. The conference heard presentations on using small wind turbines and solar panels for stock watering and irrigation, power sources already economical for off-grid applications. Geothermal heat, abundant in Northwest areas including Idaho and Eastern Oregon, can warm greenhouses and aquaculture. For instance, attendees learned the largest aquaculture farm in the U.S. is in Idaho. Tracey Liskey, whose family farm has an acre of geothermally heated greenhouse in the Klamath Basin of Oregon, described the development of a bedding plant business that grossed $320,000 in 2001.

Other speakers dealt with financing for farm-based energy, and new initiatives for clean energy in the Northwest, including the Last Mile Electric Co-op through which rural electric co-ops in the region are supporting small-scale clean energy generation, the Bonneville Power Administration fuel cell pilot project, and support for clean energy through carbon offsets offered by the Climate Trust.

Climate Solutions released two installments in its Harvesting Clean Energy for Rural Development report series, biodiesel and biogas, adding to previous reports on wind and ethanol. All are available at www.climatesolutions.org.

The first day of the conference saw a well-attended Policy Workshop. Speakers included Russ Hendricks of the Idaho Farm Bureau, detailing the bureau's support for state-level clean energy policies, and Gretchen Borck of the Washington Wheatgrowers Association with a briefing on the federal Clean Energy Title. The Workshop included a wide-ranging exchange between speakers and the audience on ideas to develop clean energy in the Northwest. Based on that discussion, a proposed Harvesting Clean Energy Action Plan will be drafted as a basis for discussions between farm organizations, utility groups, rural economic development officials and clean energy advocates. The aim is to build coalitions that can approach 2003 legislative sessions in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington with solid proposals to build farm-based energy production in each state.

The conference was organized by Northwest Cooperative Development Center and Climate Solutions, and sponsored by 24 other organizations with interests in clean energy development, including the Washington PUD Association, Washington Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Bonneville Power Administration, Washington Office of Trade and Economic Development, Oregon Office of Energy, USDA Rural Development, USDA Farm Service Agency, Bullitt Foundation and seven rural utilities.

The Pasco meeting was the second "Harvesting Clean Energy" conference. The first was in January 2001 in Spokane. A strong consensus is developing to make it an annual event.