The Oklahoma Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) at Oklahoma State University (OSU) has received $20 million in funding for renewables research. The university received the money from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Four million dollars will be allowed over five years.

According to Biofuels Business, the research project will be led by Dr. Ray Huhnke, director of the Biobased Products and Energy Center at Oklahoma State University (OSU); Dr. Lance Lobban, director of the School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering at the University of Oklahoma (OU); and Dr. Kirankumar Mysore, associate professor at the Samuel Roberts Noble Research Foundation. The funds will support research for molecular tools for biomass development, and the underlying microbial conversion of biomass to liquid fuels, as well as new catalytic/thermochemical conversion processes for cellulosic biomass.

“There is already a great amount of momentum in the state right now about the production of non-food based biofuels,” said Dr. Jim Wicksted, associate director of the Oklahoma EPSCoR program. “This theme area and project will build on that momentum by developing an infrastructure that supports Oklahoma’s biofuels initiative. We’re so pleased that NSF and the State Regents are willing to provide the resources that enable this work.”

With the world’s existing supply of fossil fuels projected to last between 25-40 years, technologies for alternative fuels are now a critical component of a nationwide energy policy. Visionary solutions to the global energy crisis — from solar power to bio-fuels — will be unveiled at the Advanced Energy Conference on November 19 and 20 at the Hyatt Regency Windwatch in Hauppauge, NY.

The conference is expected to draw nearly 800 attendees including leading researchers in alternative fuels, top government officials, legislators, energy policy-makers, environmentalists, and leaders from the worlds of business, academia, and the not-for-profit sector. Among solutions to be explored related to increasing oil reserves are renewable energy such as solar, wind, bio-fuels and geothermal power.

The conference is being produced by the Advanced Energy Center in association with National Grid and LIPA. The Advanced Energy Center is a public-private partnership dedicated to the advancement of energy research and technology deployment. This is the second Annual Energy Conference produced by the Advanced Energy Center.

The state of sustainable agriculture in developing countries will be one of the main issues addressed at the BIO International Convention this summer. The Biotechnology Industry Organization is hosting the convention in San Diego from Tuesday, June 17 through Friday, June 20.

Biotechnology leaders from around the globe will be descending upon San Diego, one of the leading biotech hubs in the world, to discuss the most pressing issues and share their unique perspectives. In addition, there will be a total of 36 regional and country pavilions within the BIO Exhibition with several new pavilions, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Dubai, and South Africa.

This year’s keynote speakers include Gen. Colin Powell, J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. (more…)

Biofuels were put on the defensive once again as the journal Science published new studies that claim biofuels are worse for global warming than fossil fuels.

Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen issued a statement which said the studies took a simplistic view of land use.

“Understanding the land use changes occurring around the globe is important to developing strategies to combat the advance of climate change. However, like previous studies, those published in Science today fail to put the issue in context. Assigning the blame for rainforest deforestation and grassland conversion to agriculture production solely to the renewable fuels industry ignores key factors that play a greater role. The continued growth of the global population, surging global demand for food from expanding middle classes in China and India, and continued expansion of development and urban sprawl are all factors contributing to the increased demand for arable acres.”

The Washington Post quotes Brent Erickson, executive vice president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s industrial and environmental section.

“It makes no sense to continue burning fossil carbon, which is essentially carbon that has already been sequestered for millions of years in the Earth’s crust, and which when burned releases carbon dioxide and also creates a carbon debt that can never be paid back,” he said. “It is much more logical to produce biofuels that recycle carbon, even if a short-term carbon debt is created. Even if it’s 167 years, you’re still better off than burning oil that can never be paid off.”

The studies are making the claim that even alternative feedstocks like switchgrass would lead to increased global warming because more land would be cleared to grow more crops.

A newly appropriated biofuel center in North Carolina will be the state’s launch pad for its latest targeted benchmark with biofuels.

Catalyzing an entire new industry for North Carolina is the long-term task of the newly established Biofuels Center of North Carolina, which moved to reality Tuesday following its first board of directors meeting.

Funded with a $5 million initial appropriation from the 2007 General Assembly, the non-profit corporation will in coming years implement North Carolina’s Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership. The Plan was mandated by the General Assembly in 2006 and presented to its Environmental Review Commission in April of this year.

The Plan offers a challenging goal: by 2017, 10 percent of liquid fuels sold in North Carolina will come from biofuels grown and produced within the state.

At current usage rates, production of almost 600 million gallons will be required.

“Meeting this bold goal will require enormous commitment, new resources, and untold acres of energy crops across the state,” said W. Steven Burke, chair of the Biofuels Center’s board of directors. “Meeting the goal will also yield a sector of impact statewide, particularly for rural and agricultural communities. How often does a state have opportunity to create a large new industry with widespread benefit?”
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VeraSun Energy, one of the country’s largest producers of ethanol, aims to expand its business as consumers become more educated about the fuel. Marketing Director Melissa Ullerich said VeraSun Energy supplies E85 fuel to more than 90 locations. Melissa said with plants in Aurora, SD, Fort Dodge, IA and Charles City, IA the company produces about 340 million gallons of ethanol. She adds that the company has three more plants under development in Welcome, MN, Heartly IA and Reynolds, IN - or, she said, otherwise known as BioTown.

Chuck caught up with Melissa at the 91st Indianapolis 500. She was attending “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” as a board member of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. She tells Chuck why EPIC is important to VeraSun Energy:

2:07 mp3

Our friends at “The Fueling Station” in St. Petersburg, Florida alerted us to an in-depth interview they did with biofuels venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.

I did a post about this blog when they first got started in August of last year. Still love the name and the logo. The authors, St. Petersburg Times reporters David Adams and Craig Pittman, do a great job reporting on biofuels in the Sunshine State. That’s where they interviewed Khosla - he was in Orlando for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) conference.

In case you have never heard of Mr. Khosla, his company Khosla Ventures is investing heavily in new energy technology companies in the United States, as well as places like Brazil and India. An Indian-American, he was one of the co-founders of Sun Microsystems and has gone on to make a name for himself as a promoter of ethanol investments.

New research and commercial production methods to meet increased demand for biofuels will be one focus of the third annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, to be held July 11-14, 2006 at the Toronto Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, according to a press release from the Biotechnology Industry Organization, or BIO. Sessions include: An International Perspective on Biofuels and Cellulosic Ethanol, 21st Century Biology for Biofuels Production, Building Infrastructure for the Biodiesel Industry, The Potential of Energy Crops and Biofuels: Perspectives from the Oil Industry. Registration information is available at bio.org.

Dyadic International, Inc. is working to make ethanol production more efficient. That’s just one of the uses this Florida-based company has found for biological products such as proteins, enzymes, polypeptides and other such things in the agricultural, industrial, chemical and biopharmaceutical industries. For example, they actually pioneered the stone-free method used to make “stone-washed” blue jeans. Instead of tumbling them in the washer with pumice stones, manufacturers use a cellulase enzyme isolated from a fungus to selectively modify the fabric surface. For real! Now they are redesigning the enzyme to “make ethanol quicker, better and cheaper,” according to Dyadic CEO Mark Emalfarb. Chuck interviewed both Mark and Dyadic Chief Science Officer Glenn Nedwin at BIO 2006, and it is a very interesting conversation about how this fungus-derived enzyme can help to make more ethanol from corn and also bring down the cost of making ethanol from other sources. Listen to it here: Dyadic Interview (8:00 MP3)
AgWired coverage of BIO 2006 was made possible by:

The Illinois Soybean Association/Check Off Board was represented at last week’s BIO 2006 conference in Chicago by several board members and executive director Lyle Roberts. Chuck interviewed Lyle about the BIO in biodiesel and you can hear that conversation here: Lyle Roberts (5:00 MP3)
AgWired coverage of BIO 2006 was made possible by: