Switchgrass biomass energy storage project. Final report, September 23, 1996--December 31, 1996

The Chariton Valley Biomass Power Project, sponsored by the Chariton Valley RC&D Inc., a USDA-sponsored rural development organization, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Energy Bureau (IDNR-EB), and IES Utilities, a major Iowa energy company, is directed at the development of markets for energy crops in southern Iowa. This effort is part of a statewide coalition of public and private interests cooperating to merge Iowa`s agricultural potential and its long-term energy requirements to develop locally sustainable sources of biomass fuel. The four-county Chariton Valley RC&D area (Lucas, Wayne, Appanoose and Monroe counties) is the site of one of eleven NREL/EPRI feasibility studies directed at the potential of biomass power. The focus of renewable energy development in the region has centered around the use of swithgrass (Panicum virgatum, L.). This native Iowa grass is one of the most promising sustainable biomass fuel crops. According to investigations by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), switchgrass has the most potential of all the perennial grasses and legumes evaluated for biomass production