Lufkin, Texas- Bob Harper of Conroe has been elected president of Texas Forestry Association (TFA) for 2012. Harper was inducted into office October 21 at the annual TFA meeting held in Galveston and he will lead the 98 year-old organization in its dedication, support and service to the forestry community of Texas.

"Bob has been actively involved in Texas Forestry Association for many years," said Ron Hufford, Executive Vice President of TFA. "He has served on our board of directors and various committees, and he has participated in many legislative and communicative events in the past.Bob is highly respected by his peers, and his knowledge and ability to pursue opportunities will be beneficial as TFA continues to strenghthen the forestry community."

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Mareña Renovables to build biggest wind
farm in Mexico with IDB support

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a loan of up to 1.1 billion Mexican pesos (or approximately $72 million) to help finance the construction of a 396-megawatt wind farm in Mexico, a project that will expand renewable energy supply in the country and contribute to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

The project, the biggest wind farm in Mexico and one of the largest in Latin America, will be located in the La Ventosa region of Oaxaca state, one of the world's best region for wind resources. The farm will supply energy to subsidiaries and affliates of Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA) and Cerveceria Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma (CCM-Heineken) under 33 self-supply agreements, helping the beverage companies save an estimated 10 percent of their total energy costs.

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Are Wood-Based Biofuels a Suitable
Alternative to Fossil Fuels?

Wood-based biofuel is considered far more sustainable than the traditional corn equivalent, yet it is not widely produced in Canada or the United States due to the high associated costs.

The University of British Columbia has recently released a report which shows how significant production savings can be achieved, which if successful could enable wood-based biofuels to become a commercially competitive alternative to traditional fuels by as soon as 2020.

The industry currently relies heavily upon government investment and the majority of projects in operation are on the smaller scale. However, large scale production can lead to significant operational cost savings and help the industry make the necessary improvements to compete and survive without government support.

"As industrial production increases, cellulosic ethannol (wood-based ethanol) is likely to become more competitive with corn ethanal for a share of the renewable fuels market," Jamie Stephen, a PhD candidate at UBC and lead author of the study, said to sciencedaily.com.

The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act in the United States requires that 117 billion litres (31 billion gallons) of ethanol be added to gasoline annually by 2022. In Canada, the federal government mandates that gasoline must include five percent renewable fuel content. This present requirement ensures that demand for biofuel is going to increase rapidly.

"Wood-based biofuel creates fewer greenhouse gas emissions and requires less water to produce. Cellulose, the maincomponent of wood, is also the most abundant polymer on Earth and unlike the starch and sugars found in corn and sugarcane, people cannot digest it. Production of wood-based ethanol fuel doesn't use food supplies for fuel and competition for agricultural land can be reduced." As reported by sciencedaily.com

"If you do a purely economic production cost comparison between wood and corn today, corn will be the lower cost option," says Stephen. "If we consider other factors, like energy security, the enviromental impact and availability of resources, cellulosic ethanol becomes a more competitive option for Canada and the United States.

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Hanna enjoys boom in mats

While pine is the tree that gives our region a name--The Piney Woods--these days, hardwood is a headliner, providing critical support material for the booming oil and gas drilling and pipeline construction in Louisiana and Canada.

Rick Hanna, president of Hanna Manufacturing Company, Inc., at Winnfield, says his log inventory and his staff of workers is more than double a year ago, and production is at a peak.

A big reason for the high demand is coming from Canada, where oil production from the tar sands of Alberta province has the prospect of supplying a large part of U.S. demand for imported crude oil. To get the crude to refineries on the U.S. Gulf coast, major pipeline construction is required. Drilling and pipeline construction requires the tough hardwood mats that allow the heavy hauling across wild terrain that would otherwise be impossible to cross.

A pipeline called Keystone is under construction from the tar sand sites in Canada, headed for Cushing, Oklahoma, the junction point for pipelines transporting crude oil and natural gas from where it is taken out of the ground throughout North America to where it must go to be processed, refined, and consumed throughout the nation. From Cushing, pipelines will also be laid to refineries in Texas and Louisiana, from where finished fuel products will be delivered by pipeline and tanker trucks throughout the country.

Anticipating the spring thaw in Canada, drillers and pipeliners are laying in hardwood mats as fast as they can have them delivered--thus the booming hardwood mat business at Hanna Manufacturing Company, Inc., in Winnfield.

But, there's a catch: not everyone is happy with the proposed route of Keystone. Inside the U.S., the proposed route through the state of Nebraska crosses the environmentally sensitive Sandhills land occupied by endangered bird species. The On Nov. 14, TransCanada announced it supports proposed legislation within the State of Nebraska to move the Keystone XL pipeline project forward. If passed, this legislation, introduced the same day in the State legislature, will ensure a pipeline route will be developed in Nebraska that avoids the Sandhills.

These developments in Nebraska follow the Nov. 10 announcement by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) that further assessment of alternative routes for Keystone XL was needed in Nebraska to move forward with the National Interest Determination. So, final route of the Keystone awaits study.

The U.S. consumes 15 million barrels of oil each day and imports 10 to 11 million barrels per day. Industry forecasts predict oil consumption will continue at these levels for the next two to three decades, so a secure supply of crude oil is critical to U.S. energy security.

TransCanada, the developer, says Keystone XL is shovel-ready. TransCanada is poised to put 13,000 Americans to work to construct the pipeline - pipefitters, welders, mechanics, electricians, heavy equipment operators, among other jobs - in addition to 7,000 manufacturing jobs that would be created across the U.S. Additionally, local businesses along the pipeline route will benefit from the 118,000 spin-off jobs Keystone XL will create through increased business for local goods and service providers.

A company statement says, "TransCanada looks forward to concluding the U.S. regulatory review process and beginning the important work of building Keystone XL. The safe and reliable operation of our pipelines and infrastructure has been TransCanada's priority for 60 years."

Meanwhile, Hanna Manufacturing Company, Inc., is enjoying the strong demand for its hardwood oil field mats.

"We've got $1.5 million in hardwood logs on the yard," Rick Hanna said. Employment at the mill is at 85, up from 40 a year ago, and log trucks roll into the 40-acre yard daily to keep production rolling.

The hardwood operation was started by Hanna's father, cutting hardwood for barrels and other applications including hardwood lumber.

As production for logging, oil field, and pipelining mats has ramped up, the company has developed systems for production efficiency, with crews working in teams to assemble the mats. With current production, the company uses 16,500 heavy-duty metal bolts.

While pine continues to be the major timber crop in the region, Hanna says there is no shortage of hardwood. "It's out there," he said, indicating with a smile that foresters tend to nurture the hardwood-producing bottomland areas which also are favored for hunting. "There's more than people think."

That should be good news for the oil patch, which continues to lay in supplies of mats for their go-anywhere operations.

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• Alexandria

Sundrop Fuels, a Longmont, Colorado based biofuels energy company, announced on November 22 that it will build a $450 million biofuels refinery in Rapides Parish that will bring 150 new direct jobs averaging about $58,000, plus benefits, to Central Louisiana and result in an estimated 1,150 indirect jobs in the region.

Sundrop CEO Wayne Simmons said the new biofuels refinery will take wood waste from the forests in Central Louisiana and turn that biomass into gasoline.The plant will salvage wood waste from renewable forests in Central Louisiana and adjacent regions and use that biomass as a feedstock. Sundrop Fuels also will extract hydrogen from abundant supplies of Louisiana natural gas, combining the hydrogen in a proprietary reactor with carbon extracted from wood waste. The result--up to 50 million gallons of fuel a year--will represent the world's first renewable green gasoline that is immediately adaptable to existing pumps, pipelines, engines and transportation infrastructure.

By 2020, Sundrop Fuels expects to produce more than 1 billion gallons of renewable fuel annually through its process (including but not limited to its Louisiana facility), meeting nearly 10 percent of the federal government's stated goal for renewable fuels refined from cellulosic material and other alternatives to crude oil.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, announcing the new facility, said "When I ran for Governor, I told you that it was for one main reason--I was tired of seeing friends and family move away from Louisiana to pursue their dreams in other states because they couldn't find opportunities here at home. Four years later, and a big reason that we are here today with you, is that our state's economy is not just growing: We are competing and winning in the national and global economy.

"Louisiana's innovation in the energy industry has always been part of our state's economy and our heritage. Today, I am proud to announce that we are here to again build on our state's legacy in the energy industry, while also continuing our winning streak of job creation projects. We are turning our economy around and making Louisiana the best place in the world to pursue a rewarding career."

Sundrop Fuels will invest $450 million, will create 130 manufacturing jobs and 20 research and development jobs in Louisiana, with construction of the facility beginning in 2012, hiring beginning in 2013 and full commercial operation starting in 2014. Pay at the biofuels facility will average more than $58,000 a year, plus benefits. Because of the refinery's broad use of suppliers and support industries, Louisiana Economic Development estimates nearly eight indirect jobs will be created by the project for every direct Sundrop Fuels job.

LED's Lead Development Group identified and began actively cultivating Sundrop Fuels in early 2011, and the Alexandria area emerged as a promising location because of its access to major electrical and natural gas supplies and because of the abundance of wood byproducts the region boasts. The state's targeted incentives for workforce training and research and development helped Louisiana win the project over several other states in the South and Southwest.

"Sundrop Fuels' first facility will provide America with millions of gallons of renewable gasoline and establish our transformative gasification technology while supporting Louisiana's natural gas and sustainable forestry industries," said Simmons, the Sundrop Fuels CEO. "Our decision to locate in Rapides Parish underscores Louisiana's commitment to the advanced biofuels industry, and we look forward to our partnership in helping meet the nations growing energy needs."

Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp., which holds the leading position for natural gas reserves in the Haynesville Shale in Louisiana, has provided major investment backing for Sundrop Fuels. Other investors include a pair of major venture capital firms, Oak Investment Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

To secure the project, LED offered Sundrop Fuels performance-based grants for building and financing costs ($14 million over 10 years), as well as $4.5 million to reimburse relocation costs of research and development operations and key employees. Sundrop Fuels also will receive assistance from Louisiana FastStart(tm), ranked by Business Facilities magazine as the nation's No. 1 workforce development program. And the company is expected to utilize Louisiana's Quality Jobs, Industrial Tax Exemption and Research & Development Tax Credit programs. Sundrop Fuels also will apply for a private activity bond allocation of $330 million or greater, which will help the State utilize capacity that otherwise would have gone unused; the private activity bond allocation will enable the company to reduce its project financing costs.

"This project is a terrific win for Louisiana in terms of traditional measures of jobs and capital investment, and it also will help position our state as a leader in developing alternative fuels," said LED Secretary Stephen Moret. "Sundrop Fuels will employ a technology that produces green fuels, without subsidies, that can successfully compete with conventional gasoline refined from crude oil."

The Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance played a key role in helping Sundrop Fuels locate and acquire the proposed refinery site eight miles northwest of Alexandria at the junction of Rapides Station Road and Interstate 49, where the company will build on approximately 1,200 acres and have space available for future expansion.

Sundrop Fuels Inc. is a gasification-based, drop-in, advanced biofuels company based in Longmont, Colo. Backing for Sundrop Fuels comes from its strategic partner, Chesapeake Energy Corp., and from two of the world's premier venture capital firms, Oak Investment Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Sundrop Fuels plans to build and operate large-scale biorefineries, with each generating more than 200 million gallons of drop-in, transportation biofuels annually

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Torrefied Wood Pellet Joint Venture

•Washington, DC

Enviva LP, a leading manufacturer of prcessed biomass fuel in the United States and Europe, announced that it had partnered with ConocoPhillips, a prominent international oil and gas producer, to create a new company, ECo Biomass Technologies ("ECo Biomass"), which will bring torrefied biomass fuels to market.

ECo Biomass, jointly owned by Enviva and ConocoPhillips, will use a combination of proprietary and acquired existing technologies to manufacture and sell renewable, torrefied wood pellets. The company's initial facility, scheduled to be operational in 2013, will produce wood pellets that will be sold under agreeements with major utilities.

The torrefaction process involves superheating biomass to create a uniform, hydrophobic, dense, and highly efficient fuel akin to coal but with a superior enviromental profile. Given torrefied fuel's unique properties and combustion benefits, this "drop-in" renewable solution manufactured by ECo Biomass provides an attractive alternative for utilities seeking to reduce their carbon emissions and extend the life of existing coal burning facilities and infrastructure without significant capital investment.

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