DRE ia a research and consulting firm working with farmers, landowners and small pellet mill companies using locally grown bio-mass to produce pellets to be used in local homes and businesses. DRE believes existing fields upgraded with miscanthus or replanting with canary grass will be the most profitable for farmers and landowners.

Miscanthus, a perennial warm-season grass, has been identified by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as one of its main species with emphasis for development into an herbaceous biomass fuel crop. The cool-season grass species with the highest production potential for biomass within the Northeast, is canary grass. Canary grass can be grown on all agricultural soil types in the State of NY. Canary grass is best suited for heavy, wetter soils. This will allow us to utilize more farmland by choosing the most efficient grass for each field being planted.

Another source of bio-mass is willow. DRE will also look to utilize this material if and when it becomes a reliable source. It can be mixed with the grass to produce an even lower ash pellet.

The complete fuel cycle (farm production of bio-mass, chopping, pelleting and household delivery) has a minimum net gain of about 14 barrels of oil energy equivalent per acre. This compares favorably to other commercial biofuel alternatives. Corn ethanol, for example, only produces enough net energy on one acre to replace 1.5 barrels of oil. Corn also requires moderate to high quality farmland for its production; miscanthus and canary grass can be grown on lower quality lands.

Our area is dotted with under-utilized farm land and a shrinking farming income. DRE is working with mills to use locally grown bio-mass grasses, which will allows better control of raw materials and keep production costs down. DRE will create a reliable source of raw materials without the need to rely on other industries for that supply. DRE also knows there is an immense potential market to sell these pellets to local residents, retail outlets and businesses.

There is also good potential for farmers to profit once bio-mass fields reach full production. And with eight American homes burning fuel oil for everyone burning pellets, plus institutional users, DRE projects this untapped market will be the buzzword in pellet markets for years to come. And for a vision of what else is possible, we only need to look to Europe, where pellet plants are powering industries, heating and lighting whole neighborhoods and helping coal burn more cleanly.

How long can this last? With vision and innovation, DRE believes it can last indefinitely. Sawdust supplies are limited, but growing bio-mass is not, and the pellet industry is looking toward emerging technologies that can create high-quality pellets from various grasses, farm byproducts and other vegetative matter.

Those are not common themes in the current economic climate. There is a great change going on in our economy and our society, largely spurred by rising energy costs and the growing realization that the sources we have relied on in modern times are going to be in short supply at times, along with spikes in prices. As a society, we face many challenges.

But challenge and opportunity go hand in hand. Rising fuel costs have been staggering to the U.S. economy, but this also is creating opportunities for those who can offer cheaper alternatives. The prospect of higher fuel prices fills many with fear of what the future might hold, but it also creates opportunities for those who can provide clean, green energy sources. Wars, alliances and political entanglements have many wondering about the roles of the United States in the world, but they also highlight the importance of renewable domestic sources of energy, to remove oil from the political equations.

Those seem like grand statements for simple bio-mass pellets, but they address all those things. They are cheap, green, renewable, local and domestic, and those are all compelling reasons to believe they are among the fuels of the future. It also provides a needed boost to the local economy by creating wealth by keeping the money local.

They are also starting to get noticed by government agencies. With the increasing focus on alternative fuels, this is a good time to be investing in bio-fuels and unlike most alternative fuels, pellets are profitable.