The Department of Energy will fund a cornucopia of renewable energy projects over the next three years, doling out nearly $350 million is grants and loans.
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said the goal is to make cellulosic ethanol from agricultural waste, forest residues, and perennial grasses cost-competitive by 2012.
The DOE said that the awards could help to create three new biorefineries, but the cap on an individual grant is $100,000, so the private sector will largely be on its own in growing any ethanol plants. The DOE hopes that renewable fuels can displace up to 30 percent of our nation’s fossil fuel use by 2030.
Hopefully the funding will advance the science of ethanol production and not merely subsidize corn growers.
Here's a thought -- will we find enough laborers to support the expansion of our agricultural industry to become a substantial contributor to the energy supply, or will we have to review our immigration policy?
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