Transcript:
“… and we can see that we have part of the stalk, as well as part of the corn cobs…”
University of Minnesota Morris student Brittany Crocker knows all about what used to be thought of as waste…
“…we have some square bales, rectangular bales, or prairie grasses…”
The stalks, cobs and other byproducts from crops like corn and wheat used to be considered of little value …bedding for animals, at best.
But times are a changin’…
“Out here on the prairie, we’re making the best use of the raw materials, the resources that we have being out here on the prairie.”
Troy Goodnough, the Morris campus sustainability coordinator, says UMM is making the most of the agricultural byproducts being gather by students like Crocker. All those stalks and cobs are suddenly as valuable as oil …now that the campus is piling them by the tons into their new, biomass gasification plant …a facility that burns biomass, instead of natural gas, to heat and cool the entire Morris campus.
“So the goal for the University of Minnesota, Morris, is to achieve carbon neutrality and energy self-sufficiency by 2010.”
“Through wind and biomass, Morris will be producing more energy than the campus can use by 2010. The extra will go back into the community, providing money for the campus and clean energy for everyone.”
Combined with the Morris campus wind turbine, the biomass facility is another piece in a three-part approach to generating energy that Goodnough says focuses on environmental, economic and social responsibility …which also includes providing a top-notch education in energy policy for Morris students like Crocker and senior Adam Yust.
“For Morris, we are kind of the test campus, we’re on the forefront for of this, you could call it a green revolution, in universities and colleges across the U.S.”
“We got to see how the plant was working …we got to work through some of the difficulties …we also got to plant and seed and take care of demonstration plots.”
A small school, in a small prairie town, making a major impact on America’s green revolution.
“I think the neat picture that people get when they come to Morris is …they start to see that connection between the rural and the urban. We’re really showing how we can make use of our resources for the entire state of Minnesota.”
And very possibly, the entire planet as well.
In Morris, for the University of Minnesota, I’m Justin Ware.
