| Ethanol, Sustainability Research Gets Funding Boost |
| Written by Matt James | ||
| Monday, 26 March 2007 | ||
The people at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have been working on renewable and sustainable energy since 1977, when they first began researching ways to harness solar energy. They're convinced that cellulosic biomass ethanol is the only sustainable source of liquid transportation fuel we can mass produce without negatively impacting our food or fiber supplies. We at EcoGeek happen to agree with them. To this end, researchers at NREL in Golden, Colorado are using computer models to help predict the function of cellobiohydrolase and other enzymes in chemical reactions which turn biomass into sugar, which can then be fermented into ethanol. Understanding these complex and sometimes unpredictable reactions may hold the key to fulfilling the NREL's goal of supplanting 30% of our gasoline consumption in the US with ethanol on a cost-competitive basis by 2030. Part of the research wing of the US Department of Energy - which underwent a budget cut of 35% in 2006 - NREL budget constraints led to the decision to lay off 32 workers last year. Included in the layoffs were eight full-time researchers working on biomass and hydrogen energy projects. A bipartisan group of Colorado congressmen has been working fervently to restore the funding to the projects, and they came up big: in recognition of NREL's vision, research and hard work in biomass and other areas of renewable research, an extra $107 million has been added to its 2007 budget, a 50% increase over last year's $209.6 million. The money will go towards facilities, equipment, and an expansion of its Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility, in addition to operational expansions. It looks like the politicians in Washington are learning to cooperate again, at least on important issues like renewable energy. After several divisive years of controversy and heated political discourse, it's good to know that some politicians are fighting global warming by getting rid of all that hot air. via LongmontFYI
Comments
(2)
Decentralization of Alternative Energy
written by Francesco DeParis , March 27, 2007
I think the NREL's funding of cellulosic ethanol is a big plus for the industry. While I am a big proponent for cellulosic ethanol, I think we should also take into consideration the idea that biofuels should be regionalized according to the local geography and demographics. I wrote a post today about this called " Decentralization of Alternative Energy". I maintain an alternative energy blog focused on investor/business interests.
Link to blog article
written by Francesco DeParis , March 27, 2007
The link to the article referenced above is: http://energyspin.com/?p=15
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