Officials from the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative announced Monday they have begun searching for companies and businesses to provide biomass for the Charter Street coal power plant once renovations are complete in 2013.

Troy Runge, director of the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative, said sending out requests for information is the first step in a process that could last six months.

The request asks businesses what types of biomass they work with, how much they have and if they are willing to sell it to the University of Wisconsin. Runge said compiling the results of the requests will take one month to complete.

Although he is not opposed to any company producing biomass, for Runge, cooperatives represent the best-case scenario because they’re producer-owned.

“I want most of the money … going back to the farms,” he said.

There are 12 types of biomass listed on the request, but Runge said determining which ones will power the plant is a trade-off.

“We’re trying to do a balancing act by having something that’s very affordable for tax payers…and at the same time, we’re trying to jumpstart this biomass market for bioenergy,” Runge said.

This balancing act means the cheapest biomass fuel, wood, will not be the sole source of biofuel at the plant to allow for market development.

Another potential biomass product is corn stover, which is the remaining material left over after corn is harvested, namely the stalks, said Gary Radloff, director of Midwest Energy Policy Analysis for WBI. Others include switchgrass and corn ethanol.

Radloff said the plant will utilize these types of biomass early on but believes other forms are “on the horizon.”

Three main criteria exist for the biomass fuels, according to Runge.

“We want ones that have low moisture and are not seasonal because we have to run a plant all 365 days of the year,” he said. “We also want to have it as highly dense as possible, and that’s because it has to come in rail cars.”

In addition, the fuels must be located within 50 to 75 miles from UW.

“I’d say once you get out to a 50-75 mile radius you’re probably getting too far for it to really be practical … it’s hard to imagine going much farther than 75 miles,” he said.

By switching from coal to biomass, Runge and Radloff said they believe the benefits will help not only UW, but also the environment and the economy.

For Runge, air emissions are the largest factor in the change.

“The emissions are the big things, not only the greenhouse gases but the smog in terms of immediate health,” he said. “Right away air emission gets better.”

Economically, Radloff said Wisconsinites involved in forestry and agriculture would reap the benefits by selling biomass in its various forms.

The benefits will not be limited to UW but will impact other areas of the state should they convert their plants from coal to biomass.

“This is not really meant to be just a one-and-done,” Runge said. “It’s really a demonstration to show best available practices on how to do this right.”