Federal program to help company that processes Black Hills wood chips

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has selected Western Biomass Energy LLC to participate in the Biomass Crop Assistance Program. Western Biomass Energy converts wood chips from the Black Hills into renewable fuels.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., authored BCAP, which was included in the 2008 Farm Bill.

The company will use the funding to offset the feedstock cost associated with its pilot biorefinery in Upton, Wyo., that refines cellulosic ethanol from South Dakota wood chips.

One supposes that this is supposed to be good news. It is for some.

Senator Thune can claim that he brought home the bacon for SD. Sure ’nuff! A Democrat couldn’t have done it better!

The Chief worked in a lab at the SD School of Mines for 5 weeks one summer a few years ago as a science teacher. This was very informative, and very enjoyable…the project of the lab was to devise methods of looking for techniques to increase the ethanol yield from wood chip cellulosic feedstocks.

I had a chance met the entrepreneurs of this project. I was impressed by them. They are highly competent engineers and businessmen, and are doing all they can to succeed with their enterprise. The School of Mines was also doing its job well…using their grants from the company for assisting the businesspeople to be able to make use of SD products (OK, by-products) to produce a value-added commodity that can help you get your car down the road at a cheaper price.

So what’s the rub?

Firstly, one could wonder if this enterprise could continue without the continued infusion of tax money (or should it be called printing-press money these days)? Hate to say so, but probably not…otherwise there would be no need for the subsidy. (Ooops! That also could apply to the corn-based ethanol too…but we won’t go THERE!)

Some might argue that the Glowbull Warming crisis forces us to use public funds to develop alternative renewable energy. Frankly, as noted in numerous previous postings on the category of “Glowbull Warming”, the Chief isn’t a member of the Orthodox Carboniferous Church of St. AlGore so that’s not a real impressive argument hereabouts. (If you really think man-made CO2 is causing a problem…stop exhaling it with every breath!)

So, what else?…oh, yeah…Senator, could you remind me again what article and section of the Constitution addresses cellulosic biomass ethanol? Must have missed that one in my PoliSci classes.

I guess if one thinks the constitution is “a flexible living document”, allowing stuff like this, then it’s all OK?…sort of like supporting McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Political Speech Limitation Act while you were still in the House. Don’t get me wrong…I REALLY DO like you Senator, and you’re generally way ahead of most of the Senate, but you really ought to bone up on the Constitution a bit, otherwise some might think that you have leanings towards Republocratic Demicanism.

It is realized that this may not give many readers a warm fuzzy glow, (with stuff to alienate both sides of the so-called spectrum) but what’s the point of trying to develop political principles if one’s not willing to at least make the effort to be consistent with them. Easy for ME to say…knowing I’ll never be elected…but hey, it feels right anyway.