The day-long seminar starts at 9 a.m. with a talk titled Peak Oil by Phil VonHake of the Colorado Renewable Energy Society, followed by Using Biofuels in Vehicle Fleets by Art Hale of the state of Colorado and Alan Brown of the City of Littleton.
But a presentation from 10:45 a.m. to noon by Pattie Snidow of USDA Rural Development will give information on “grant and loan opportunities for business renewable energy and energy efficiency programs” according to a news release.
Rising energy costs are motivating more businesses to use energy efficiency measures and explore renewable energy options, according to the Delta-Montrose Electric Association, a sponsor of the seminar, which is being held in conjunction with the Colorado Renewable Energy Conference on Saturday, also at the Pavilion.
Businesses looking to cut the cost of installing renewable technologies or to make their businesses more energy efficient can find “tremendous opportunities” through Snidow’s office, says DMEA.
To be more specific, in rural communities, grants of up to 25 percent of project costs and loans of up to an additional 50 percent of project costs are possible through one USDA program.
Snidow will highlight the increased number of grants and loans for the development of biofuels, bio-refineries and using other biomass resources, such as wood waste.
Following Snidow, at 1:30 p.m., Mark Nimlos will give a talk on Researching Advancing Cellulosic Biofuels. Nimlos is principal scientist for the National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Next to speak will be Carrie Atiyeh of ZeaChem at 2:15 p.m., who will talk about her company’s new cellulosic ethanol bio-refinery in Boardman, Ore. She’ll be followed at 2:45 p.m. by Debra Wilcox of Bye Energy, who will explain her company’s efforts to produce jet fuel from waste wood.
The final speaker will be Lee Boughey Sr., who will address the potential to use biomass in power plants. Boughey is senior manager of communications and public affairs for Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, which supplies electric power to DMEA, San Miguel Power Association and its other 42 member cooperatives.
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