The rising clean energy technology revolution is already generating significant benefits for rural communities, and this is only the start of a long-term growth trend.

Those were the key conclusions emerging of a panel of clean tech and agriculture experts gathered for the first morning plenary at the eighth annual Harvesting Clean Energy Conference, taking place this year in Portland.

Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Katy Coba moderated the three-member panel which also included Dave Chen, chair of the Oregon Innovation Council and founder of Equilibrium Capital, and Anne Steckel, renewable energy specialist for the American Farm Bureau Federation.  Following are key takeaways from their discussion:

Significant Clean Tech Capital Is Moving Into Rural Areas

 “At least two very significant buckets of capital moving into this area,” Chen noted. One is venture capital going into technology companies in areas such as solar. But VC is “dwarfed by second pool, implementation of energy infrastructure” such as wind farms and biofuels plants. Those rural-centered investments are experiencing “massive growth at this point.”  Major Northwest-based firms in the field include the world’s first and third largest wind developers, PPM and Horizon, and the U.S. base of the world’s largest wind turbine maker, Vestas, wind and ethanol facilities.  

Biofuels Growth Is Revitalizing Rural Areas, and New Feedstocks Are Coming.

Biofuels market growth “has brought rural revitalization we have not seen in years,” Steckel said.

“Farmers are very excited about the world of renewable energy,” she noted.  They have experienced tremendous growth and opportunity in corn ethanol and biodiesel, and are awaiting a new wave coming through in cellulosic ethanol.” Support for the expansion of the Renewable Fuels Standard to 35 billion gallons per year by 2022 reflects this enthusiasm. “This is truly a bipartisan issue.”  

“R&D is the next step on how we’re going to diversify,” Steckel said. “We are always going to be working with corn ethanol but we are bridging to cellulose-based ethanol.  That spreads opportunity around the country,” including the Northwest which has large cellulose resources.  “We don’t want to rely on one feedstock.  We want to diversify to feedstocks including grasses, corn stover and wood.”

“We’ve heard for years cellulosic is five years away,” she added. “Now maybe cellulosic really is five years away,” with astronomical amounts of federal money being invested and many innovative players on the scene.

“We’re very excited on the cellulosic side,” Coba commented.

Steckel said the Farm Bureau is working with Congress on a biobased product initiative to ensure that biorefineries have supplies of new cellulosic crops such as switchgrass. “It’s a scary thing if you’re growing corn to move over to switchgrass, which nobody really grows now. We are looking for ways to mitigate the risk.”

The panel addressed competition between food and fuel markets.

“I’ve heard a little bit about this food versus fuel issue,” Steckel quipped.  She noted that the Farm Bureau represents the range of agriculture from grain growers benefiting from increased prices and livestock growers hit by them. So Farm Bureau economists studied the impact of the expanded Renewable Fuel Standard on all agricultural markets.  Steckel said they “strongly” concluded that the standard can be met while also supplying other farm products demands with innovation in new feedstocks.  “Exports are actually up this year because of corn crop increase.”
 
Farmers Should Take a Long-term Perspective on Clean Energy Technologies

“There is a sense of a gold rush in this,” Chen said.  “But this is more like a marathon.” 

Chen noted the long development time for now commercial technologies including wind and ethanol.  “This is not time to feel panic, not the time to feel you’re missing out,” Chen added.  “We are going to see crashes and fortunes made next 10, 20 and 30 years.”

 “Not only is a tremendous amount of technology coming at you,” said Chen, citing a range of innovations cin renewable energy technologies – “The exciting part is it’s all coming at once.  It’s challenging your business models. Don’t be caught up in a gold rush.  This is a long-term systemic change.”  He advised that this is a time for farmers to learn, and to become involved in shaping key public policies such as carbon frameworks. “This really is just at the beginning.”

Carbon Sequestration Represents a Major Rural Opportunity – Farmers Must Engage in Shaping Policy

“Your land, forest and crops are one of the most assured ways of capturing carbon,” Chen said. “What you do may in fact be part of the carbon economy.  That is where your voice actually matters.”

He pointed to the development of a regional carbon trading system taking place through the Western Climate Initiative, which involves Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, British Columbia and Manitoba. “This is about states getting out in front and innovating ahead of the federal government, and also about small states getting their interests reflected.”  The systems developed through the initiative will help inform federal climate policy expected to take shape over the next three to four years.

“Farmers are powerful voice.  If there is time for farm communities to stand up it is now. If there is a time you need to be active as a voice it is now.”

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