The Fight for Renewable Energy

At one time, it was merely movie magic, fueling a time-travelling car with renewable energy.  

In the final scene of Back to the Future, Doc Brown rolls, well flies, into 1985 Hill Valley, California, and searches for Marty and fuel.

He pops the lid to the trash can and rummages for waste, biowaste, to be exact.  

Banana peels, the last drops of stale beer from a Miller can, and the can all get tossed into the Mr Fusion attachment on the back of the Delorean, and off they go.

This cinematic creation for the 1985 film was merely a writer's dream, right?

Can we fuel cars, homes, and public transportation with waste, bio waste?!

We have gone past the day when Doc Brown picked up his Mr Fusion energy machine in 2015, yet the future is in the past.

Doc Brown could have taken his Delorean back to the 10th century BC and found the Assyrians using biogas to heat bath water.

In the late 1800s, London directed the gas produced from its sewage treatment facility to power streetlamps.

In short, the gas everyone is concerned about causing atmospheric damage, methane,  was identified as an energy source well over 5 centuries ago!

Early 2000s California

I moved to California and started working there in the summer of 2001. At that time, some friends from college and the dairy industry were in the early experimental phases of incorporating methane capture and piping to fuel electricity-generating engines.

The timing seemed perfect for many. Dairy farms had this byproduct that could be utilized, and California was fighting rolling blackouts due to excessive demand on the power grid and a lack of electric supply.

It seems like a win-win situation: Farms reduce their expenses and demand for “grid electricity,” noxious greenhouse gases are captured, and more electricity is available for everyone else.

Yet it never moved forward.

Without understanding and an overabundance of restrictive regulation, it would be over a decade before farms could do what many planned so diligently attempted to do in the early 2000s.

Johannes Escudero, my guest on the Tyler Dickerhoof Show Podcast this week, founded the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas in 2011. This organization, the first and only of its kind, sought to raise awareness and advocate for the renewable natural gas industry.

His experience in the California state legislature and service to several committees made him aware of the need to advocate and educate people about biogas (renewable natural gas).

It starts with Leadership

Imagine what might have been different if someone had understood that the sustainability of energy production could be coupled with food production and recycling in the late 1800s, when we would be today.

While Renewable natural gas as an energy alternative is gaining steam in the United States, it has been a staple for many years in Germany and China.

The methane capture from animal production and waste decomposition can offset 15% of our energy needs.

Surely not enough to replace fossil fuels, but a very impactful 15% if you consider that the biogas not captured and utilized releases into the atmosphere.

A double whammy if you ask me.

Yet, centers on leadership. A leader must have a compelling vision and connect people to the mission and future state for them to make the journey.

We can look back over history today and recognize that the lack of progress for centuries was likely due to the lack of leadership in seeing biogas as a viable energy source.

Today, with leadership, vision, and a compelling reason, the harmful waste that escapes into the atmosphere has the potential to benefit all involved. That's why major energy players are joining the RNG Coalition to bring positive change to our world.

A Heart for Dairy Farms

Very simply, what is exciting for me is to think of possibilities.  Agriculture is a difficult industry to participate in.  Farmers are rarely on the swinging end of the stick and vilified by many who don't fully understand the complexity and challenges of running their business.

Too often, farms are forced to take a profit below their cost of production and must find innovative ways to survive until the proverbial pot of gold appears at the end of a rainbow. It often never does, which is why more than 50% of farms have gone out of business in the last decade.

The advent of additional income streams, such as Renewable Natural Gas or solar energy, is not enough to justify owning cows and running a dairy. However, it can make the ebbs and flows of the commodity price more palatable and even give the current generation of farmers the chance to foresee a profitable, sustainable future.

As my college classmate and dairy farming friend Nate Chittenden recently shared on a CBS Evening News segment, many dairy farmers are one minor financial setback away from complete financial ruin.

Renewable Natural Gas isn’t a profit center for animal production agriculture enterprises; it's a tool for environmental stewardship, food price stabilization, and security.

Summit

My heart is truly to be an advocate for leadership. To help others grow and transform to be the leaders they are capable of being, regardless or industry or location.

What I find gratifying on the journey is seeing people from all walks of life come together. Kinda like if someone were telling a joke; a former pastor, a tea enthusiast executive, a sports club president and a cow guy all walk into the room..”

With that alone, you probably want to book your ticket right now to be at the IDL Summit, thinking, “Can’t wait to get to the punchline!”

So here you go: on May 7th and 8th, I will host the 2nd annual Impact Driven Leader Summit.

This year, we have an unofficial theme, and it’s culture.  Culture Matters, Winning Culture, Connecting Culture and Creating Culture.

Be a part of the event and learn from some of the best culture-focused leaders in the country.

I can't wait to see you in May. Register Here

Did you catch this podcast? If not, listen to it here.