Welcome to the

BioCycle 11th Annual
Renewable Energy From Organics Recycling Conference

We welcome you to BioCycle's 11th Annual Conference on Renewable Energy From Organics Recycling. Similar to our 10th Annual Renewable Energy Conference in Des Moines, Iowa last year, we have more sessions, exhibits and attendees than ever before. This steady growth is a direct reflection of the fact that renewable energy from organics recycling is an effective tool to both manage organic waste streams and generate power, renewable natural gas, fuel and high value soil amendments.

The steady growth also reflects the critical mass of projects, biogas markets, technologies and systems, financial tools, technical knowledge and operating experience across city, farm and industry — and across the globe. The Conference sessions you will be attending over the next two days, along with the tours on November 2, capture the essence of this critical mass. They also provide solutions and new insights into some of the more vexing challenges, especially with regard to improving the economics of biogas utilization. The presentations on use of conditioned and compressed biogas as a vehicle fuel are a case in point.
It has been a pleasure to plan BioCycle's 11th Annual Conference in Wisconsin, a state that brings renewable energy from organics recycling to life! From working on the agenda to planning the tours, we have received tremendous assistance from state agencies, universities, county and city governments, nonprofit organizations and the business community in Wisconsin.

It is also a pleasure to be in Wisconsin because this state's commitment to supporting anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas utilization — through project grants, research, progressive policies, public/private collaborations and investments and environmental stewardship — needs to be replicated in other states and at the federal level. Wisconsin leads the nation in the number of farm digester projects, and there are numerous examples of AD installations at food processing, cheese making and beverage plants, as well as codigestion with heat recovery and biogas utilization at wastewater treatment plants.

Please use these next few days to learn and network. The Conference schedule provides many opportunities to interact with participants and exhibitors. Most of the presentations will be available shortly after the conference on the BioCycle website, BioCycle.net.

We are very grateful to our Conference sponsors — UTS Residual Processing LLC, AgroEnergy, Northern Biogas, Novamont North America, US EPA AgSTAR, BIOFerm Energy Systems, Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection, Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative and the American Biogas Council. Their generous support is very much appreciated. And we thank all of you for attending.

Nora Goldstein, Editor
BioCycle Magazine