Bio Music, Bozeman, Montana

BIO MUSIC

Ten Foot Tall and 80 Proof powered on veggie oil for Music on Main
By JESSICA MAYRER Chronicle Staff Writer
Bozeman Daily Chronicle

   When 10 Foot Tall and 80 Proof cranks out its "Honk-A-Billy" music this Thursday at Music on Main, the amplifiers, lights and instruments will be powered entirely by locally grown vegetable oil.
   "It's completely off the grid, and it's completely made in Gallatin County," said Preston "Professor" White, a piano and mandolin player for the band.
   Joel Lindstrom from Leonardo Technologies harvested 4,000 pounds of camelina seed grown on Ted Turner's Flying D Ranch, crushed it and produced 50 gallons of oil. The oil goes into a portable generator and produces energy.
   Using the 50 gallons of oil made in this trial batch, Lindstrom has demonstrated how camelina may be used to fuel engines and amplifiers around western Montana. <script type="text/javascript"></script>
   He used the oil to power the Northern Rockies Bioneer Conference at the Emerson Cultural Center in October, providing energy during four days of music, performances and speeches with 20 gallons of seed oil.
   Ten Foot Tall encountered Lindstrom at a sustainable energy conference in Big Sky. During the conference they performed using Lindstrom's souped-up generator, which has been adapted to run on seed juice.
   Ten Foot Tall and 80 Proof play bars and private parties all over the state, and, White said, they'd like to offer vegetable oil as an option to traditional electricity.
   Camelina grows well in cold climates and doesn't require much water or herbicide to grow, so it's more efficient than other vegetable oils, Lindstrom said.
   "Camelina is far greater of a biofuel than corn-based ethanol," he said. "We're not taking food out of anyone's mouth when we grow camelina."
   Ultimately, Lindstrom and Leonardo Technologies, which works with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop alternative fuels, would like to see farmers grow camelina and turn it into oil to fuel farm equipment, while using the byproduct to feed livestock, he said. "That's the long-term picture," he said. In the meantime, he's looking at powering other events. "We're looking at getting involved with Sweat Pea," he said. In Europe, it's not unusual to see cars run on camelina. "It's 100 percent viable," Lindstrom said. But educating folks about how to grow the seed and modify engines to process it is necessary if camelina is to catch on, he said. "There's just a lot of work that needs to be done," he said. "It can't power the world," he said. "But it can be a substantial piece of the energy puzzle." <script type="text/javascript"></script>
Jessica Mayrer can be reached at jmayrer@ dailychronicle.com or 582-2635.