Current Research

Biochar:

Flux Farm is currently investigating the feasibility of processing biomass (mountain pine beetle kill, dedicated energy crops, municipal solid waste, cop residues, etc.) through a distributed network of bioenergy pyrolyzers.  We wish to identify possible markets for the bioenergy produced, and better understand how western pasturelands respond to the application of biochar.

Funding was received in 2008 from the Colorado Department of Agriculture's Advancing Colorado's Renewable Energy (ACRE) program to conduct our study "Carbon negative bioenergy though the soil sequestration of biochar on western Colorado pastureland: measuring the effects on forage yield, soil chemical properties, and microbial activity."  Our partners include: Colorado State University, BEST Energies, Dynamotive Energy Corporation, The Aspen Valley Land Trust, The USDA Agricultural Research Service, and Flying Dog Ranch West.

Biomass:

In December 2009, Flux Farm Foundation received another $50,000 research grant from the Colorado Department of Agriculture's ACRE program to conduct an “Evaluation of Perennial Plant Species and Production Inputs for Sustainable Biomass and Bioenergy Production in Western Colorado”. Along with an additional $25,000 in contributions, and in direct partnership with Colorado State University, Colorado Mountain College, and the City of Rifle, our research will focus on the capacity of the region to grow low-input, hi-biomass, cellulosic perennial bioenergy crops, and will occur at three locations (Carbondale, Rifle, and Fruita, Colorado) beginning April 2010. Biomass crops will be converted to ethanol and butanol at Colorado Mountain College's Rifle campus, representing one of the state’s first bioenergy processing facilities housed at a community college.

Micro-hydroelectric:

Flux Farm Foundation was recently awarded a $75,000 Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) from the Colorado Natural Resource Conservation Service (CO NRCS) to develop and manage "The western Colorado micro-hydroelectric feasibility study and permitting demonstration project."