Gretna project would turn switchgrass into heating oil

by Heather B. Hayes
for Virginia Business
July 2007

As energy prices continue to rise, a group of Virginians will begin a pilot project on an unusual fuel source later this month. Ken Moss, owner of Piedmont Bioproducts LLC, will start showing off the potential of refining heating oil from switchgrass, a perennial, highly adaptable plant that can be grown throughout Virginia. The plant, which can grow up to 10 feet high, dominated the American prairie 150 years ago before being plowed up by settlers.

The pilot project and initial commercial phase will be funded in part by the Virginia Tobacco Commission and the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) and will use technology developed at Virginia Tech. Several other state and local organizations have helped get the project off the ground, including the Virginia Farm Bureau, the Dan River Business Development Center and the Southern Piedmont Technology Council. “This is a very exciting project, with a tremendous amount of potential for helping local economies, helping the environment and helping reduce our dependence on foreign fuel sources,” says Peter Jobse, president and CEO of CIT.

The initial demonstration will take place in a miniature conversion facility at Windy Acres Nursery (owned by Moss) in Gretna. The resulting fuel will be tested on 65 greenhouses now heated by propane. “We’ll be evaluating the technology for any flaws, and then we’ll look to show that the fuel can be used as an alternative to propane,” says Moss, a former process engineer who had been in the nursery business for 13 years.

Switchgrass is an ideal alternative fuel source, he says. Unlike corn and soybeans, for example, the grass is planted once but can be harvested continually. Unlike corn, use of switchgrass as a fuel source does not affect the cost of food. Finally, the grass burns more cleanly and can be produced and delivered at a lower cost than fossil fuels. Test plots of switchgrass at Auburn University in Alabama yielded an average of 11.5 tons per acre over five years, enough biomass to make 1,150 gallons of ethanol per acre.

The use of switchgrass could allow the state’s struggling tobacco farmers to move into a high-tech industry. “You’ll see farms converted from tobacco to switchgrass and co-ops converted from tobacco growers to switchgrass growers and, ultimately, fuel producers,” says Jobse.

If the pilot project is successful, Moss will move into the commercial phase, building a prototype biocrude refinery in Gretna. Another step would be seeking additional investors for a larger, permanent refinery. The plan is to develop a “distributed production model” with several refineries in Southside and Southwest Virginia. The fuel produced at the refineries initially will be sold as commercial and residential heating oil.

Once operational, the Gretna refinery is expected to employ as many as 45 people. Moss will use a system that will allow farmers and other service providers, such as fuel haulers, to share in corporate profits. “This is a beyond-the-jobs issue; it’s about wealth-building,” says Moss. “Right now, all the money we spend on gas and heating leaves here and goes to the Gulf Coast and then to the Middle East. Now we’ll be able to take those dollars and keep them right here in our own community.”