Jill and Eric Penne

Biodiesel viability
Biodiesel can be made from vegetable oils. This would be a good oppurtunity for rural, agriculture based areas. The local co-op is the perfect starting point. The farmers are the largest users of diesel in the area. The co-op is part of the circle that would help keep the money in the local economy. The farmer buys the diesel from the co-op. The co-op hires a local person to man the diesel making equipment. The co-op purchases the soybeans and sells them to whereever to make the soy oil. The oil is processed at the co-op into biodiesel. The biodiesel is mixed with regular diesel in mixtures from 2% to 99% and sold to the farmers. See how much of the money stays local?

Make sure the output gives more energy than the input.
You have to consider how much energy is used in the tractors, irrigation pumps, transport of the fuel, transport of the grain, and processing of the biodiesel.
Soybean biodiesel gives about a 3 to 1 return on energy according to ???.

Ethanol – pros and cons
Ethanol studies have shown a wide range of energy return but the currently accepted energy returns are between 1.1 to 1.5 units of energy out to every 1 unit of energy used for corn based ethanol.
Corn based ethanol uses about 3 gallons of water for every gallon of ethanol produced. Another issue for corn based ethanol is the amount of energy that goes into producing corn. Corn in many places in the midwest requires irrigation, weed control, and pesticides. The water for that irrigation comes from the groundwater in many places or diverted from rivers and streams. Drought conditions show the effects of this irrigation when the rivers go dry and the groundwater level drops. Corn also takes a lot of nitrogen from the soil which requires fertilizer and crop rotation to maintain yields.
Ethanol can also be made from sugarcane and other crops.
A new process called cellulosic ethanol is promising to bring higher energy returns from feedstock that is easier on the environment.
One of the promising feedstocks for cellulosic ethanol is switchgrass. This is a low maintenance crop that doesn’t require as much water, weed control, pesticides, and fertilizer as corn.
Cellulosic ethanol can also be produced from the waste matter from corn and soybean harvest and also from wood fibers.
Ethanol has about 70% of the energy of oil based gasoline.

Solar heating and electricity possibilities.
The best use of solar energy in our climate is not to produce electricity with solar panels but to heat the air and water in our homes and businesses instead of using natural gas forced air heaters.
Solar water heaters and solar air heaters can be used in conjunction with radiant floor heating and geothermal heat pumps to drastically lower the average heating bill during cold months.
Houses with south facing roofs are perfect candidates for solar air and water heating.
Solar air heating is an inexpensive way of heating the interior of your home without drastic changes to your current heating and cooling system. A simple inlet and outlet vent cut into different rooms with ducts running up to a solar air heating panel on the roof. A thermostat the detects the temperature of the air in the panel will turn on the fan if the house is colder than the air in the panel. This will use no propane or natural gas. It follows the same principles used in greenhouses and hot cars on a sunny day.

Radiant floor heating is a very energy efficient way of heating a house. Warm water is pumped through tubing in the floor to generate the heat in the house. Since the source of heat is equally distributed throughout the area and the heat is coming directly from the floor and rising to the ceiling there is a more even heat distribution in the area. The warm floor also keeps feet warm which directly corresponds to how warm/cold people feel. Generally the thermostat can be set 1 or 2 degrees cooler but will have the same comfort level as a forced air furnace.
Solar water heaters can be used as the source of the hot water. Geothermal heat pumps, electric, or combustion water heating can be used as a backup sources of warm water to heat the area. These same sources can be used to heat the house water. In the spring and summer months more than enough sun is available to supply a whole house with hot water.

Energy efficient building and housing.
Lots of south facing roof for solar water and air heating and solar electrical generation.
Wrap around porches that shade the west side of the house but allow south facing sun enter the house in the winter.
3 foot eves
LED and compact flourescent lighting
Radiant floor heating
Attic fans
Geothermal heat pumps
External shutters
Low-E high efficiency windows
R40 and above insulation
2×6″ exterior walls
Nothern coniferous tree line to stop north winds during winter
Western deciduous tree line to shade the house during summer

I don’t want it to sound paranoid, just informational. Small towns are getting harder and harder to supply. Everything in a small town revolves around fuel. Transporting in, transporting out, commuting to work, commuting to school, etc.. Rising fuel prices can seriously hurt the economies of the rural areas. Biofuels can help keep the money local and encourage jobs and growth. Efficiency can help people keep money in their pockets and use it on neccessities.

I still need to add a lot of references to make sure people don’t think I’m just making this stuff up.

Links to informational sites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulosic_ethanol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol