Fresh Loaf

Georgia Public Service Commissioner Stan Wise told Congress today that the state lacked sufficient wind, solar and biomass potential — which means it’s unable to meet proposed renewable energy standards.

Not so, says Stephen Smith, the executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. After hearing the commissioner’s testimony, Smith said Wise — who has been accused before of being too close to the utilities he regulates — was “doing the bidding of Southern power companies” and singing the same ole song when it comes to Georgia’s energy potential. Smith also takes issue with U.S. Congressman John Barrow’s claim that Georgia doesn’t have enough trees for a robust biomass program.

Smith’s full statement, with links to research included, is after the jump.

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The man who invented powdered peanut butter has inked a deal with the U.S. Dept. of Defense to produce oil and gasoline out of our waste.

J.C. Bell, an agricultural scientist in Tifton whom we’ve written about previously on Fresh Loaf, will build a pilot facility at Fort Stewart and several other military bases around the country to convert trash and biomass into fuel by using cloned bacteria found in — ahem — a cow’s hindquarters.

Read all about it here.

(Hat tip to Rogue109 at Peach Pundit)

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And they’re not even considering the wind potential off Georgia’s coast. From the office of Gov. George Ervin “Sonny” Perdue:

According to a recent Forbes article entitled “America’s Best Places For Alternative Energy,” the abundance of biomass in Georgia’s Bioenergy Corridor ranks third in the nation as a potential source of renewable energy. The article referenced the amount of privately owned forest in Georgia, more than any other state in the country, as a reason for the state’s ranking. Forbes also cited that “roughly 50 million tons of the state’s own timber end up in the state’s wood-products manufacturing plants every year” and the industry “returns nearly half of it in the form of primary mill wood debris.” Only Iowa and North Dakota ranked higher. Rounding out the top five were Mississippi and North Carolina.

“Georgia’s wealth of natural resources combined with our research institutions and a strong business climate create an ideal environment for the development of renewable energy,” said Governor Perdue. “We appreciate Forbes’ recognition of our ability to develop alternative energy sources.”

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Georgia is at the forefront of the nation’s development of cellulosic ethanol, a non-food feedstock for the production of ethanol from pine and other wood residuals. Range Fuels broke ground on the nation’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Soperton on November 6, 2007. The facility is expected to be operational in 2009. In addition, the state’s research institutions including the Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Georgia and the Herty Advanced Materials Development Center are providing R&D in support of cellulosic ethanol and other renewable energy alternatives.

Full press release follows after the jump.

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