Looking at Bill Holmberg's résumé, one could wonder how one man had time to accomplish so much. From a successful career in the United States Marine Corps to establishing Global BioRefineries and the New Uses Council, Holmberg has helped advance the biofuels industry a barrel at a time.

At 75 years old, he shows no signs of slowing down. The retired military officer is today focused on biorefining, biofuels production and new uses for crops and other forms of domestically-available biomass.

"In the best interest of America's national, energy, homeland, economic and environmental security, we must become increasingly self-reliant in the transportation fuel sectors," Holmberg, of Vienna, Va., told EPM. "Biomass needs to play a leadership role in that process."

Holmberg's opinions of biofuels drew him to the New Uses Council (NUC) in 1990. The mission of the NUC, in Holmberg's words, is to promote the production of the full range of biobased products and to urge better public understanding that essentially anything made from fossil fuels can be made from biomass. Holmberg lists ethanol, biodiesel, biogas, methanol and biohydrogen, as well as biopower cogenerating with thermal energy, as energy options for a self-sufficient community.

"I'd like to work cooperatively with all like-minded people," Holmberg said. "And I don't just mean plant operators and feedstock producers. I mean bicyclists, joggers, public health officials and people who are concerned about our environment, homeland security, economy, etc."

The NUC is born
The NUC was founded by several people, including Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., Jeff Gaines, Raymond Burns Allan Tracy and Mike Tumbleson. Holmberg joined up right away and is currently chairman of the board.

In 2001, three other organizations were folded into the NUC. One company, Global Biorefineries Inc. (GBI), was Holmberg's own creation in 1995. He wanted GBI to promote the concept of converting agricultural and forestry crops and residues, as well as other forms of biomass, into biofuels, biopower and cogenerated thermal energy and a wide range of bio-based products. The NUC's mission is similar to that of GBI. The National Biomass Energy Industries Associaton, which concentrated on electric power, also merged into NUC. The United BioEnergy Commercialization Association (UBECA) was the third association to merge, and they also dealt with electric power.

In addition, the NUC formed a sister organization called the Biobased Manufacturers Association (BMA) in April of this year.

Holmberg hopes three things will come out of the NUC. First, he said he wants to expand the whole biorefinery concept. He is convinced that climate change is a major threat that must be addressed and the growing of biomass and its conversion to fuels, power and products will be a major part of the solution. He would also like to help accelerate the transition from a hydrocarbon economy to a carbohydrate economy. Finally, he'd like to see biorefinery industries be of true service to farmers, ranchers, foresters, co-ops and communities.

"There will certainly be vital roles for major corporations in the transition to the carbohydrate economy," Holmberg said. "But the transition must also significantly improve the financial lot of the providers of the raw materials."

Holmberg's path to the NUC and the biofuels industry is a long one. He was drafted into the Marines in 1944 when he was 15 years old. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy from 1947 to 1951. He was a Marines officer until he was medically retired in 1970.

Soon after being discharged, Holmberg's experience with "dirt and trees" led him to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He was one of the early contributors in establishing the organization. During the 1973 oil embargo, the EPA sent Holmberg, among others, to set up the Federal Energy Office that would be responsible for allocating fuel to the states. The supply was based on the amount of consumption and Holmberg's job was to make sure the big oil companies weren't hoarding and forcing smaller companies out of business.

"We discovered that too many of the companies were manipulating the books and making false statements about their operations," Holmberg told EPM. "When I was in the Marine Corps any officer making a false statement was court marshaled. Because of the damage they did to America, I thought those guys should've all been sent to jail. They were fined. That money was used to sustain state energy offices for almost a quarter century. But even when we hauled them to court that led to billions in fines, they still made a profit by cooking their books. I said to myself, 'This is America. This isn't right.'

"Ever since that time, I've seen the whole biorefinery industry as an opportunity to franchise farmers, co-ops and small businesses so that they get the value-added benefits instead of passing these benefits on to the major corporations," Holmberg said. "Of course, there is a critical role for major corporations, but the biorefinery concept, taking advantage of the economies of integration and value to the community and the environment, should be fairly shared to the benefit of the nation."

After the Energy Crisis ended, Holmberg returned to the EPA, which put him in charge of the Operations Division in the Office of Pesticide Programs. There, Holmberg discovered the concept of ethanol and met who he referred to as the early crusaders of ethanol: Al Mavis, of Illinois; Albert Turner, of Alabama; Dick Merrit and Scott Sklar, of Washington, DC; Allan Zeithamer, of Minnesota; Shirley Ball, of Montana; Doug Durante, of Maryland; Dave Hallberg, of South Dakota, Todd Sneller, of Nebraska; Fred Potter and Burl Haigwood, of Virgina.

The group of 11, and many others, convinced Holmberg that ethanol was part of an overall process to bring benefits to farmers and to clean up the environment.

"One reason the farmers were having trouble protecting the environment was the lack of resources," Holmberg told EPM. "That was my motivation in addition to the business of getting rid of the pesticide-treated corn. The deeper I got into it, the more I saw going into ethanol was good for the environment."

The more Holmberg learned about ethanol, the more he was convinced that the United States needed an alternative energy program. When the Department of Energy was created in 1978, he was one of the first who jumped on board. He ran the Citizens Participation Division, because he wanted to have the authority to get people involved in the production of energy, including ethanol.

From there, Holmberg became the legislative director for the Center for Renewable Resources and the Solar Lobby, where he used contacts to advance the ethanol industry. He took a position as an energy and environmental advisor to the mayor of Chicago, Harold Washington, in the mid-1980s. Holmberg lobbied for the passage of the Alternative Transportation Fuels Act, the Clean Air Act of 1990 and the Energy Policy Act of 1992. After the Clean Air Act passed, Holmberg formed the American Biofuels Association (ABA) in 1992, because he felt there was a major opportunity to advance ethanol and biodiesel.

While the Energy Bill sits in Congress, with the renewable fuels standard (RFS) included, and a projected 2.7 billion gallons of ethanol will be produced in the U.S. this year, Holmberg has shifted his focus from ethanol to other biofuels. He's currently promoting and marketing biodiesel and striving for feedstock neutrality.

"We need to become increasingly energy suppliant using our own resources," Holmberg said. "Biomass needs to play a leadership role in that process. A great deal of credit goes to the ethanol industry. They built the infrastructure. They built the technology. There's no reason why corn shouldn't stay out front as the preferred feedstock. But you've got cellulosic biomass, like corn stover, wheat straw, woods chips, yard and garden trimmings, that we can convert to ethanol. It's not yet cost efficient, but it will be with time.

"I look forward to the day when these cellulosic feedstocks are converted to sugars and folded right into currently operating corn-based ethanol plants. The lignin residues can be used to generate needed steam and electricity to power the plants."

He then referred back to the "like-minded" people mentioned earlier.

"To do what we must do, we need millions of allies to promote biofuels, biopower and biobased products," Holmberg said. "As we increasingly turn to cellulosic biomass and recycled materials, like-minded people, and urban folks, will be there for us. We have to ask them to join us, and we have to work honestly in the best interest of America to deserve their confidence."

Never content by his past accomplishments, Holmberg still lives by a Marine Corp. work ethic. He told EPM, "To get the job done, we're going to have to work 24 hours a day, and, if that's not enough, we've got to start working nights."

That quote alone explains how Holmberg has accomplished so much for the biofuels industry.

"Unfortunately, at age 75, it's harder," Holmberg said. "But I still give it my best shot. It beats playing golf." EP