DOE Selects Six Cellulosic Ethanol Plants for $385M
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Bodman announced that DOE will invest up to $385 million for six biorefinery projects over the next four years. When fully operational, the biorefineries are expected to produce more than 130 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year. “These biorefineries will play a critical role in helping to bring cellulosic ethanol to market, and teaching us how we can produce it in a more cost effective manner.” The projects directly support the goals of the Bush Administration’s Twenty in Ten Initiative, which aims to increase the use of renewable and alternative fuels in the transportation sector to the equivalent of 35 billion gallons of ethanol a year by 2017. Funding for these projects is an integral part of the Biofuels Initiative that will lead to the wide-scale use of non-food based biomass, such as agricultural waste, trees, forest residues, and perennial grasses in the production of transportation fuels, electricity, and other products. The solicitation, announced a year ago, was initially for three biorefineries and $160 million. The DOE raised the ceiling to accelerate meeting the goals. “We had a number of very good proposals, but these six were considered ‘meritorious’ by a merit review […]