Photo Credit: Joanna Schroeder
A joint venture has been forged between the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to help fund green energy research designed to develop more efficient biofuel production and agricultural feedstock improvements. The venture has been allocated $10 million from the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI).
“Advancements in bioenergy research will help protect our national energy security, reduce pollution, and bolster our energy supply,” said Cathie Woteki, under secretary for USDA’s Research, Education & Economics mission area. “Producing more renewable and biobased energy can also revitalize rural communities with a new economic market and provide farmers a profitable and sustainable investment through on-farm energy resources.”
Funding recipients include:
- University of California-Riverside, Riverside, Calif., $1,297,725
- University of Montana, Missoula, Mont., $1,403,868
- Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., $1,849,940
- State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, N.Y., $906,722
- North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Durham, N.C., $1,873,987
- The Department of Energy funded projects by Ohio State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The grant awards will be administered by the NIFA and DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. BRDI is a program designed to foster the development of sustainable sources of biomass and increase the availability, technology and economics of renewable fuels and biobased products.