Perennial plants can provide a sustainable feedstock supply for emerging biofuel and bio-product industries throughout the Midwest. Examples of perennial plant materials used for biofuels include native grasses, switchgrass, and short rotation willow.

All of the Green Lands Blue Waters partners are helping to advance biofuels systems based on perennial vegetation that contribute to the viability of rural communities and enterprise development, while providing longer term environmental benefits. Universities and other partners are engaged in research and development projects that advance plant material selection, yield, cropping systems, measure water quality improvements, and evaluate the economies of these systems. In addition, education and outreach programming is being provided to landowners, policy/decision makers and agency staff across the region to increase understanding and elevate adoption of these multifunctional agricultural production systems.

stand of native grasses
Stand of native grasses.
Photo courtesy of Rural Advantage/L. Meschke.

State biomass working groups and research networks have formed across the region in recent years.

Examples of state biomass working groups:

Wisconsin Grasslands Biomass Network

Illinois Biomass Working Group

New projects in Illinois and Minnesota are set to demonstrate at production-scale the effectiveness of perennial vegetation as a profitable biomass feedstock that also provides environmental benefits.

In Illinois, the Local Bioenergy Initiative is helping to expand use of perennial grasses as a biomass energy feedstock and demonstrating technologies for converting biomass to a fuel used for heating. You can read more about the Initiative here and from the Agricultural Watershed Institute.

A project getting underway in Southern Minnesota will convert biomass to gasoline and diesel. When fully operational, the project will process 300 tons of biomass per day, grown on 35,000 to 50,000 acres depending on the mix of feedstock used, with 75% of production coming from perennial vegetation. Read more about this exciting technology and the economic and environmental benefits the project will bring to this rural community. Green Lands Blue Waters partner Rural Advantage has been a major organizer of the Madelia Project.