Detroit Metro land to be used to farm bioenergy crops

Detroit Metro operator Wayne County Airport Authority said it has agreed to partner with Michigan State University Extension to grow, harvest and process bioenergy crops on the property of DTW and another of the authority's airports, Willow Run.

The two airports have a total of about 1,700 acres of property potentially suitable for bioenergy cropping. Initially, WCAA has leased to MSUE three acres of airport-owned land on which biofuel crops, including canola and oriental mustard seed, have been planted and soon will be harvested, refined and tested. MSUE will be responsible for the overall management of the project grant, while WCAA will provide access to and use of acreage at its airports for a portion of the project, which is scheduled to be completed by February 2012.

US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said during a Paris Air Show visit last month that biofuel powering commercial flights is possible in the "short term" (ATW's Eco-Aviation Today, June 27).

The Michigan Economic Development Corp., through its Michigan Energy Office, is supporting the WCAA/MSUE project with a $476,000 grant. In addition to the airport property, the grant also includes bioenergy sites on other types of land not traditionally used for growing biofuel crops, such as vacant urban lots and highway right-of-ways.

WCAA said the initiative, the first of its kind in the US Midwest, represents its commitment to sustainable aviation. "How does aviation protect itself in the future against the depletion of fossil fuels and the uncertainty of foreign sources of energy?" WCAA Interim CEO Genelle Allen asked. "Part of the answer may be to grow it."

Allen said the authority had been interested in exploring the potential of developing airport-owned property for bioenergy production for some time. If successful, the project could attract businesses around the airports to produce alternative fuels for use in aircraft and other vehicles, bringing economic development to southeast Michigan, but also protecting land around the airports from further encroachment, she explained.

In addition to staff from WCAA and MSUE, participating in the project will be representatives from Delta Air Lines, the US Air Transport Assn., UOP Honeywell, FAA, US Dept. of Agriculture and Shell ServisAir.