Cornell University Crop and Soil Sciences Professor Jerry Cherney is investigating the potential for Northern NY-grown grass energy crops to support a closed-loop, regional renewable energy system in which a grass-based heating product can be grown, processed into briquettes or pellets, and marketed locally.
Cherney is evaluating grasses that can be grown on land that is not otherwise productive.
He has evaluated mulch-type hay samples produced by more than 40 farmers in Northern New York.
“Our goal is to identify whether mulch-type hay is appropriate for all scales of biomass combustion or if it would be better used for light industrial and industrial heating applications,” Cherney says.
Cherney will present his most recent research findings at the North Country Clean Energy Conference in Lake Placid June 4-6.
The bioenergy feedstock trials, funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, are focused on three species with high yield potential under NNY growing conditions . . .
Click here for NNYADP Grass Biomass Potential for NNY Research Reports