US Energy and Ag Departments Providing $6.3M for Specialized Biofuels Research
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US Department of Energy secretary Steven Chu and US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack have announced that the two agencies will be providing $6.3 million dollars for 7 projects at research institutions throughout the US to improve the use of plant feedstocks in biofuel production.
Although biofuels have fallen out of favor in the public eye recently, the federal government — led by Secretary Chu — is still forging ahead with providing money to research next generation biofuels.
“Part of the solution to the energy problem will be home-grown energy crops,” said secretary Chu in a statement. “These projects will help us unlock the true potential of advanced biofuels, decrease our dependence on foreign oil, and create new jobs and a thriving biofuels industry in America.”
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Given that we need change quickly to secure our energy future, I’ve always said that biofuels will indeed have to be part of the near term solution. What are we going to do with the hundreds of millions of combustion powered cars that are already on the road? If biofuels are not part of the energy mix, those cars will continue to run on fossil fuels for many decades to come.
Plus, as an added benefit, encouraging the production of biofuels from US grown feedstocks stabilizes our rural areas — a sentiment echoed by Ag secretary Vilsack:
“Helping expand and diversify production of biofuels is an example of the Obama Administration’s commitment to developing a sustainable domestic biofuels industry that can help strengthen rural America while decreasing our dependence on foreign oil.”
The 7 projects are located at the following institutions:
- USDA-ARS Northern Plains Area (Lincoln, NE), $1,182,000
- USDA-ARS Western Regional Research Center (Albany, CA), $1,300,000
- University of Georgia (Athens, GA), $1,200,000
- University of Georgia (Athens, GA), $705,000
- Michigan Technological University (Houghton, MI), $900,000
- University of Florida (Gainesville, FL), $643,000
- University of Nebraska (Lincoln, NE), $390,000
Recent video of Secretary Chu talking about advanced biofuels such as miscanthus grass:
Source: EurekAlert
Image Credit: Secretary Chu’s Facebook Page
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