New energy option

Energy winds of change could be in the willows.
In fact, an ongoing research project on Prince Edward Island is focusing on hybrid willows as a fast-growing and renewable biomass source.
The Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), with co-operation from a few Island agricultural producers, are conducting a variety of on-farm trials to study such things as the willow's ability to prevent surface and nutrient runoff into waterways, enhance biodiversity and other factors, in addition to their renewable biofuel aspects.
"If you want to grow energy this is one of the fastest and most efficient ways to do it," says Bruce McCallum, a consultant with Ensight Consulting who has been hired to outline harvesting options for this up-and-coming crop.
On an energy scale, one tonne of willow, or three round bales, is the equivalent of 400 litres of heating fuel.
"Willow is comparable to the heat energy of some hardwoods," says Chris Pharo, Atlantic region manager of AAFC's Ag-Land and Agroforestry branch.
Willow propagation has been going on in Europe, especially countries like Sweden and Britain, for about 20 years.
"They grow quite a bit of it over there for energy purposes," McCallum says.
"They do supply a lot of tonnage for heating systems, including some power plants. In the UK in particular they are looking at growing this on a large scale because they don't have a lot natural forest."
On P.E.I. there are presently nine small variety plots established in varying landscapes and land use on farms owned by co-operating producers Hans Hovingh and Aike and Hans Wilting of Meadow Bank and Willard Waugh and Sons in Wilmot Valley.
"These willows can be harvested every three years for up to seven cycles, which is really is really kind of a neat feature because you don't have to replant. You just keep going back and harvesting them," Pharo says.
"(And) once you establish them they're there for 20-some years," says Tyler Wright, executive director with the Soil and Crop Improvement Association.
"As opposed to a hardwood tree which you cut once and you have to wait 40 years for it to grow," Pharo adds.
Established in 2006, a three-section plot at a field's edge next to the river in Meadow Bank is a towering example of the fast-growing nature of this particular type of willow.
"What we're trying to do here is to evaluate the use of willows to reduce surface runoff into the (waterways) and also soak up excess fertilizer from groundwater. They love nutrients," Pharo says.
"(We also have) high slope projects (that) are more related to biomass production, putting a crop on land that can't be used for row crops ... And in our variety trials we have 24 different varieties of willows. We want to see which ones perform the best in our climate for the production of biomass."
Unlike the more familiar stately willow tree, the varieties being grown in the trials are shrubs which do not sucker so will not spread like wildfire in an area.
They do propagate very well from cuttings making crop expansion an inexpensive and easy option.
"The native willows (shrubs) creep a lot on the ground," Wright says.
"They kind of grow horizontally and then up and that makes it hard to harvest. But these are nice and vertical so they're easier to harvest and there's a lot more biomass."
McCallum is now working on the next phase of the willow research project which is to find practical ways to harvest this hardy crop.
One harvesting option is to cut on-site, with a heavy-duty round baler, for example, and take the crop somewhere to chopped into wood chips which are then burned for fuel.
Another choice is to harvest and chip onsite. A machine that both harvests and chips at the same time would be the preferred option.
"(Equipment being used in Europe) tends to be somewhat purpose-built so it's expensive," McCallum says. "It's difficult for us to access that equipment because we don't have the acreage to justify it. So we're trying to find practical solutions in the short term to deal with these small stands."