By: James Ronald Skains
Journal Correspondent

Several thousand people from around the globe gathered in Washington D.C. to hear over 300 energy experts discuss all aspects of renewable energy. BP Petroleum Corporation served as the exclusive Diamond Sponsor of the important global event that will according to BP, "install in all of us the quest to find alternative and renewable energy solutions."

Other corporate sponsors in addition to BP were Brookfield Energy, General Electric, Good Energies, Renewable Capital, Volvo, Chevron, Covanta, General Motors, Stoel Rives, and UNICA. The Trade show guide booklet was sponsored by the UK Trade & Investment group.

The event was hosted by the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE). Over 250 corporations, organization, governmental agencies and foreign trade commissions manned trade show booths during the Conference.

The Global Bio-energy Partnership (GBEP), a United Nations organization home based in Rome, Italy noted in their annual report; "Bio-energy has rapidly emerged as a top priority on the international agenda. The Global Bio-energy Partnership builds its activities upon three strategic pillars: energy security, food security and sustainable development."

However, the GBEP report also noted the downside to renewable energy, "Bio-energy also poses environmental challenges, for instance increasing mono-cropping practices and greater fertilizer and pesticide use may jeopardize water and soil quality."

"Perhaps of highest concern is land use change and the risk that large areas of natural forest and grasslands be converted to energy crop production, which not only would threaten bio-diversity preservation and other ecosystem services, but also result in additional green house gas emissions," the GBEL report stated.

One leading USA energy expert and researcher with the USDA home based at a major US University told the Piney Woods Journal, "I think that the renewable energy advocates are finally beginning to realize that as long as the renewable fuels are sold to the end user through the existing petroleum distribution system, renewable fuels will have little impact on the price that we pay at the pump."

He also noted, "With the cost of building ethanol, bio-diesel and renewable fuels plants, the operators must sell their product to the people who can offer top dollar for their fuel. Once the fuel is blended into petroleum based products, the end user pays the same price for renewable fuels as they do products refined from oil."

Chevron also had a major presence at the Renewable Energy Conference. Also, Chevron's recent association with the Weyerhaeuser Forest Products Corporation was a topic of interest to those attending the conference.

The Conference was divided into two levels of participation. The top tier level of participation was reserved for Ministerial level government officials, certified energy experts from around the globe and invited guests.

President George W. Bush attended a short segment of the top tier level meeting briefly addressing those assembled, "I will be overjoyed to see the day come, that we can use biomass to produce some of our energy needs."

Gerald Willis, longtime NRCS/USDA top level official from Oxford, Alabama told the Piney Woods Journal, "I was able to get the Presidents autograph after his speech. Some of those around me wonder why the President called me by name as he signed my autograph and said, `thanks for all you are doing to make this happen'."

"What people don't realize is how long that I have been working on renewable energy projects around the country for NRCS," Willis added.

President Bush also walked through the trade show expressing amazement at the many different type products available in the alternative energy field.

Wednesday and Thursday offered a wide array of focus presentations such as : Solar PV: Finance; Wind; Status of Wind Technology; National security & Climate; Biomass Industries; Environmental Stewardship & Resource Sustainability; Bio-diesel: market Drivers & Outlook; and Hydro/Ocean: Global Markets, Policy Drivers.

Also, on the afternoon of first day of the Conference, a focus session on "Bio-fuels Financing," was held in the 4:30 - 6PM slot. This panel session was chaired by Mark Riedy of the national Andrews Kurth law firm. Also making presentation to this focus group were Paul Ho with Credit Suisse, Geoff Morgan with the Michael Best & Friedrich firm, Jeff Kistner with BBI Bio-fuels Austria Pty. Ltd., Mark hanson with Stoel Rives and Carl Knowlton with John Hancock Financial Services.

In his presentation Knowlton said, "We were very active in financing ethanol and bio-diesel facilities in 2005 and 2006. However, in making those financial commitments to finance these projects, we made worst case scenarios on cost of feedstock."

"At the time, corn was around $3.00 a bushel, so we pegged the upward cost of corn at $3.75 per bushel," Knowlton noted. "However, we have seen corn go to $5.35 a bushel and similar increases in soy bean prices."

"Our projects from 2005 and 2006 will not cash flow at these higher numbers on feed-stock so we are no longer active in financing renewable fuels projects," Knowlton, the point man for the huge John Hancock Financial Services group stated. "Therefore, we are sitting on the sidelines watching to see what will happen in the renewable fuels sector. Hopefully, feedstock prices will stabilize so that we can feel comfortable in getting back in the financing these type projects."

Other focus presentation groups included: Bio-fuels Feed-stocks; Bio-based Products: Feed-stocks, Markets & Drivers; Geothermal Financing; Bio-power: Feedstock & Technology; Ethanol - Global Markets & Drivers; Solar Heating & Cooling; Bio-fuels Engines & Fueling Stations; and Next Generation Bio-alcohol Plants - Around the Corner?

In talking with various people attending the WIREC 2008 conference, the Piney Woods Journal asked John McCarter with the Relief Company what was his most surprising or key point that was made during the Conference.

In McCarter's response, he said, "The most surprising point to me that was made was at how many levels the EPA was involved in the renewable fuels production industry."

"In the feed-stock and land use managements stage, the EPA is a big player," McCarter. "Then the EPA has a voice in the harvesting the feed-stock, in his transportation, in the actual production of the fuel, finally in the distribution of the fuel. It seems that the cost of satisfy the EPA on all these points will add a lot of cost to the final product."

The next major ACORE conference efforts will be held in WDC on December 3 and 4 of 2008 during the Caucuses of the US Senate and US House of Representatives.

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