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The Grass is Greener in Southwest Missouri: Energy Cafe May 23 Looks at MFA's Biofuels Program

**Wednesday, May 23 * 6-7:30 p.m. * Farmers Gastropub, 431 S. Jefferson, Springfield**

Our next free Energy Cafe features Dustin Dover with MFA Oil Biomass on "The Future of Biofuels in Missouri." Dustin, southwest Missouri area manager for MFA Oil Biomass, will discuss why MFA Oil believes in the future of biofuels, specifically miscanthus giganteus; the creation and implementation of the southwest Missouri project area; and an update on its progress. As Dustin says, "You may be surprised to find what a group of Missouri farmers have put together and the change they hope it brings to the energy market."

This spring 3,000 acres in Barry, Christian, Dade, Jasper, Lawrence, Newton and Stone counties are being planted by area farmers. Another 250 acres of miscanthus have been planted in test fields near Lockwood and Golden City. A processing plant built by MFA Oil Biomass in Aurora last fall has processed 300 tons of wood and miscanthus (from Kansas) to date. The pellet-type product is sold in bulk to power plants to mix with coal or can be used in commercial applications such as chicken houses in place of propane.

In 2008, MFA Oil began looking at ways to expand into the emerging biomass renewable energy market. In 2010, MFA Oil teamed up with Aloterra Energy LLC, a biofuels company headquartered in Ohio, in organizing and investing in MFA Oil Biomass LLC. The goal of the new company is to create a vertically integrated renewable energy supply chain by combining knowledge of energy markets with the farming knowledge of its members.

After researching numerous energy crops, MFA Oil Biomass found Miscanthus giganteus to be the strongest and has targeted three project areas: northeast Arkansas, central Missouri and southwest Missouri. Although this concept is not new in the global marketplace, it is highly innovative in the United States and has received much attention. MFA Oil CEO Jerry Taylor was recognized by the White House as a Champion of Change for his work advancing new ideas that are leading the way to a clean energy future and an economy that's built to last.

MFA Oil is a farmer-owned energy cooperative headquartered in Columbia, Mo. Cooperatively owned by 40,000 farmers, MFA Oil's mission is to improve the economic well-being of its farmer members through the distribution of energy and energy-related products. Read more about MFA Oil and its energy program at:

http://www.mfaoil.com/index.cfm?show=10&mid=113

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/jan/14/federal-cutbacks-not-stopping-mfa-biofuels-plan/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/04/19/mfa-oil-company-says-look-america-s-farmers-solve-america-s-biggest-challenges#.T5V8A_1-bvM.facebook

http://www.mfaoil.com

Save the Date for ONE Fundraiser: Sept. 8

3-7 p.m. * Saturday, Sept. 8 * Home of Dan & Margy Chiles, Bois D'arc * $25 per person or free for under age 18

Save the date of Sept. 8 for our terrific barn warmer of a fundraiser at the new high-tech home of Dan and Margy Chiles in rural Greene County. Here's what you can expect:

Tour of the house and barn, which features insulated concrete forms, solar panels, solar thermal for hot water, cistern and other energy-saving features
Wine, beer and foods from local wineries, breweries and restaurants
Exhibits with energy-saving products, services and information
Music
A presentation by Zeke Fairbank, president of The Alternative Energy Co. on "Our Energy Future"

Coming soon: online registration.

Help Us Plan Future Energy Cafes

Take our short Survey Monkey survey to help us plan future topics and location of our Energy Cafe. We'll take a summer break and reconvene in September with fresh topics and a new location.

Give to ONE

Consider a gift to ONE to help us fund the redesign of our website and the development of our ONE Spotlight profiles, featuring real-life examples of Missourians who have made energy improvements in their homes and businesses and the results to prove that you can reduce your energy consumption and still live comfortably.

To give online through PayPal, click Donate in the right column. To give by check and mail, go to http://www.ozarksnewenergy.org/site/give-to-one-mail-page.

We appreciate your support!

Our new phone number is 417-581-4018.

Gasoline and Biochar from Giant Miscanthus

Cool Planet Biofuels reports it has achieved 3,000-4,000 gallons of low-carbon gasoline per acre of the giant miscanthus Freedom variety. In addition, carbon is stripped out of the carbon dioxide and used to produce biochar for enriching soil. Cool Planet expects to have a 400,000-gallon-a-year plant in operation in September. Read the details at http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2012/03/05/ll-cool-planet-rocks-the-bells/.