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Switchgrass is a perennial warm-season grass native to Iowa, grown for decades on marginal lands not well-suited for conventional row crops. It is now being recognized as a potential energy source and alternative cash crop for Iowans.
DNR Involvement
The DNR provides support, funding and information to help promote switchgrass production for use as a biomass energy crop. DNR representatives serve as liaisons between switchgrass project partners and state government, as well as bringing together key switchgrass stakeholders through meetings and correspondence.
Major Projects and Accomplishments Across Iowa
Chariton Valley RC&D is coordinating Iowa’s first major switchgrass demonstration project, which is also the premier switchgrass production site in the United States. The organization is currently promoting switchgrass’ potential for large-scale production across Iowa through its Biomass Project. The project goal is to demonstrate switchgrass as an energy source by co-firing it with coal at the Ottumwa Generating Station.Alliant Energy and Chariton Valley RC&D conducted initial switchgrass co-firing tests at the Ottumwa Generating Station in November and December of 2000. The co-firing was the first in a series of tests to be performed through 2003, demonstrating the technical feasibility of burning switchgrass with coal.
A major accomplishment of the Chariton Valley RC&D has been the formation of Prairie Lands Bio-Products, Inc., a nonprofit organization of farmers that researches the commercial aspect of switchgrass development, especially effective supply and marketing practices.
In the fall of 1997, the Chariton Valley Biomass Project received national attention when U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman visited a switchgrass plantation on Loren and Wilma Eddy’s southern Iowa farm. Glickman praised Iowa for its pioneering efforts to establish switchgrass as an alternative fuel.
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Switchgrass Products
- Electricity production
- Residential heating from pellets and logs made from switchgrass
- Ethanol
- Animal bedding
- Mulch
- Fiberboard
- Paper
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Benefits of Switchgrass
- Creates a new agriculture market for Iowa’s economyCan be grown on marginal lands
- Serves as a resource for a variety of potential products, especially energy production
- Can be co-fired with coal at a utility plant to produce electricity
- Serves as a renewable energy resource, decreasing Iowa’s reliance on fossil fuelsOffers another potential feedstock -- along with corn -- for ethanol production
- Can be transformed into a combustible gas that can be used as an energy source
- Prevents soil erosion due to extensive root system
- Reduces chemical and sediment run-off when used as buffer strips and in other forms of erosion control
- Provides nesting and cover habitat for wildlife
- Reduces air emissions related to fossil fuels when used to replace coal in electricity production
Reports and Publications
- Carbon Sequestration Project Final Report,*.pdf
Conducted at the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge
Summary: Sponsored by the The United States Department of Energy, Office of Science, Iowa State University and the Iowa DNR. As part of it’s overall strategy to address the potential for carbon sequestration to offset anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the Department of Energy has identified enhancing the natural terrestrial carbon cycle as one of its primary research goals (USDOE 2002b). This research is intended to identify ways to enhance carbon sequestration of the terrestrial biosphere through CO2 removal from the atmosphere by vegetation and storage in biomass and soils.
- Improved Swithchgrass Biomass Production in Iowa: Cropping Systems Alternative,*.pdf
Summary: Sponsored by the Iowa DNR and conducted by Chariton Valley RC&D and Iowa State University, this study evaluates biomass cropping systems to determine the effective of growing crops with switchgrass. Ten producers grew biomass crops on more than 500 acres for this study.
- Switchgrass as a Biomass Crop in Iowa: Assessment of the Wildlife Impacts,*.pdf
Summary: Also sponsored by the DNR and conducted by Chariton Valley RC&D and Iowa State University, 15 landowners participated in this wildlife study to evaluate impacts of switchgrass harvesting on wildlife habitats.
Links
DNR Contact:
Jim Bodensteiner
(515) 281-8416
Jim.Bodensteiner@dnr.state.ia.us
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