Tenn. Researchers Energize Biofuel Work
Published Apr 07, 2008
Crops such as switchgrass are opening up new opportunities.
Tennessee is making significant advances in its farm-to-consumer alternative fuels strategy to stimulate economic investment and meet the state’s future energy needs.
Alternative fuel research – already under way at Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Tennessee (UT) – has led to scientists developing ethanol from switchgrass, a crop that can be grown virtually anywhere in the state.
Biomass crops like switchgrass represent significant new markets for Tennessee’s farmers and new economic opportunities for the state overall.
Tennessee’s challenge is being able to produce ethanol and biodiesel, another fuel alternative, in large enough volumes and at a price competitive with gasoline.
Gov. Phil Bredesen is leading Tennessee’s charge in taking the state’s alternative fuels discoveries in the laboratory directly to the marketplace through a comprehensive strategy devoted to production, distribution and research.
“Tennessee is at a critical point where we can lead in the development of the alternative fuels market,” Bredesen says. “It’s a smart energy strategy, a smart economic strategy and a smart environmental strategy. Most importantly, it helps create new markets and new opportunities for all Tennesseans.”
To position Tennessee as a leader in the production of alternative fuels, Gov. Bredesen’s plan commits $61 million toward research into improving the efficiency of ethanol made from cellulose, construction of a pilot cellulosic ethanol refinery, expansion of the state’s network of alternative fueling stations, and helping Tennessee farmers tap into farm-based fuel markets. Those efforts set the stage for the U.S. Department of Energy’s announcement in 2007 that Tennessee would be the site of one of three National Biofuels Research Centers with $125 million in federal funding.
Through the coordination of Gov. Bredesen’s Alternative Fuels Working Group, six state agencies – including the Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) – have set up grant and loan programs to stimulate investment and use of fuel alternatives in the state. The $3.5 million in grants and loans are devoted to three key areas: attracting investment in soybean crushing facilities to create local markets for Tennessee-grown soybeans and supply the oil needed to create biodiesel; helping governments and state-funded universities increase the use of alternative fuels in their fleets; and building a network of publicly accessible ethanol and biodiesel refueling stations along Tennessee’s major highways.
“Tennessee’s economic growth and our standard of living are tied to energy production,” says ECD Commissioner Matt Kisber. “The alternative fuel industry in Tennessee promises to be the next arena for long-term economic stability, job growth and research development, especially in rural areas.”
Story by Dean Flener
Current Weather Conditions In Nashville, TN (37243)
Cloudy, and 44 ° F. For more details?
Click here...
