Oklahoma BioEnergy Center to be created!

[metro]

Governor’s budget plans call for 4-year, $10 million appropriation for Oklahoma Bioenergy Center
By OKCBusiness Staff - 1/30/2007


Governor Brad Henry announced at an afternoon press conference his 2007 budget will include a $10 million appropriation for an Oklahoma Bioenergy Center.


The Legislature convenes Feb. 5. The proposal would require their approval.


The center would focus on research, development and education and would pool researchers from throughout Oklahoma and the U.S.


“Oklahoma is well suited and well positioned to be a global leader in alternative energy,” Henry said. “My job is lay out proposals for how money is spent.”


After four years of $10 million appropriations, Henry believes the center would be self-supporting.


Because Oklahoma produces many of the most promising energy crops, such as swtichgrass and other native grasses, Henry believes the state is groomed for leading biofuel and bioenergy research.


“With 60 percent of the nation’s oil supply coming from foreign countries, many of which are openly hostile to the U.S., the need for renewable energy is clearly a matter of national security,” Henry said in a statement. “Not only would the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center play a vital role in reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil, but it would be a great boon for Oklahoma in a number of ways. This institute would help diversify our state’s economy, protect our environment, create high-paying jobs and contribute to a revitalization of rural Oklahoma.”


Henry’s official statement also explained the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University and the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation would be founding consortium members and integral to OBC’s mission.

[jbrown84]

This is great. Who would think that energy capital of the world Texas-Oklahoma would have something like this? Hopefully our local energy companies will get on board with alternative fuels instead of fighting it.

[floater]

Another great development for commerce from Henry. In a state whose economy is too reliant on fossil fuels, this is a terrific countermove. I too hope this is embraced by OK's energy companies as a new business instead of a threat.

My question is, where will it be located? It will likely attract many partners to form a nice niche economic sector.

[PRmaven]

This will be good for Oklahoma - through the collaborative approach, we'll be better situated to attract federal funds. Something OK needs to pull ahead of the biofuel pack. Kudos to a progressive approach from our leaders. Gov. Henry credited the Secretary of Energy, David Fleischaker, for the idea, Fleischaker has been advised by scientists and researchers at OU, OSU and Noble.

[BDP]

this is a terrific countermove

True. I just see it as much needed hedging. The bad part about our economy being so heavily reliant on oil and gas is that the froces that give us our "boom" times also generate demand for alternative products. This is a way for the area to invest a small portion of its oil and gas production in the development of those alternatives, so that if and when the demand for these alternatives grows at a faster pace than the demand for oil and gas, then Oklahoma can still be positioned to be a major supplier of energy resources for the country.

[ETL]

One word, Ardmore.

[metro]

State is on right track, official says

By Michael McNutt
Capitol Bureau

A Bush administration official in Oklahoma to talk about the proposed farm bill said Tuesday the state appears to be on the right track in developing a bioenergy center.
Thomas Dorr, U.S. agriculture undersecretary for rural development, said the 2007 farm bill calls for $1.6 billion in new money for research, development and production of biofuels and cellulosic ethanol, fuel produced by plants.

The farm bill targets cellulosic ethanol production and supports $2.1 billion in loan guarantees for cellulosic projects and $150 million in grants.

Gov. Brad Henry is asking legislators to appropriate $40 million over the next four years to develop a consortium of state researchers to process grains, grasses and other plants into biofuels. The Oklahoma Bioenergy Center would apply for federal grants to help pay for research and bring in scientists from around the world.

"It is incumbent upon a country from a national security and an energy security point of view to develop new energy sources,” Dorr said to about 150 in the House of Representatives chambers. "Seventy-dollar-a-barrel crude oil has driven us to look at a lot of these other opportunities.”

The proposed farm bill has been submitted to the House and Senate agriculture committees for their consideration as they write the new law this year. Proposals include seeking to cut farm payments for wealthy producers, increasing conservation funding and promoting production of ethanol and other renewable fuels.

Terry Detrick, who belongs to a group trying to develop an ethanol plant using corn and grain sorghum, said he would like to see more financial incentives for grain-based ethanol plants.

"We have an untapped potential in Oklahoma to grow grain sorghum,” Detrick said. "It grows on dry land ... and it yields the same gallon (of ethanol) per bushel as corn.”

A Major County wheat farmer and cattle rancher, Detrick said he is concerned Oklahoma farmers would switch from planting grains for livestock feed to growing switchgrass or other plants that could be used to make ethanol. Members of the Oklahoma Farmers Union will discuss the proposed farm bill during their annual convention this weekend at the Cox Convention Center, said Detrick, who is vice president of the group.

A summary of the proposed farm bill may be viewed at United States Department of Agriculture - Farm Bill.

[metro]

Bioenergy Center projects in the works

October 11, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY – Last October after the Governor’s Conference on Biofuels, organizers of the two-day meeting asked a question – what is next?

Representatives from the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University and the Samuel R. Roberts Noble Foundation sat down with David Fleischaker, Oklahoma secretary of energy, to seek an answer. Their answer to the what is next question was a bold and ambitious plan designed to put Oklahoma at the forefront of the biofuels industry.“Within six weeks the group had developed plans for the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center,” Fleischaker said.

In January, they presented plans for the bioenergy center and its $40 million price tag over four years to Gov. Brad Henry, who gave the proposal an enthusiastic approval. After receiving the governor’s approval, the group presented the plan to legislative leaders from both parties, who also liked the idea. With the governor and legislative leaders on board, plans were announced for the center in late January and after making its way through the legislative process, Henry signed legislation in May creating the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center with funding of $10 million for the first year – about seven months after Fleischaker and the group from OSU, OU and the Noble Foundation started seeking an answer to the question of what is next.

Now with the next Oklahoma Biofuels Conference set for Tuesday and Wednesday at the Sheraton Oklahoma City Hotel, four Oklahoma Bioenergy Center projects are already in progress at OU, OSU and the Noble Foundation, Fleischaker said. Part of the center’s mission is to combine the research efforts the OU, OSU and the foundation.“This year’s conference is a continuation of last year’s conference,” he said. “We will continue the dialog.”

Conference speakers will include James Woolsey, former director of the CIA, who will discuss the relationship between national security and the development of alternative transportation fuels. Other topics will include the growth in the U.S. biofuels industry, research and development initiatives and Oklahoma’s emerging biorefining industry.Other speakers will include John Ferrell, U.S. Department of Energy; Duane Grant, USDA Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture; Richard Hess, Idaho National Laboratory; Anna Rath, Ceres Inc.; Robert White, Ethanol Promotion and Information Council; Steven Phillips, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Curt Rich, Van Ness Feldman; David Terry, Governors’ Ethanol Coalition; and Jeffery Dahlberg, National Grain Sorghum Producers.Registration is $45. Registration information is available at grow • Oklahoma Biofuels Conference.

One of the goals of the conference is to provide a forum to discuss biofuels with potential biofuels industry participants including farmers, ranchers, the energy industry, capital investors and researchers, Fleischaker said.Oklahoma has the potential to be a national leader in producing cellulosic to create ethanol, Fleischaker said. Cellulosic biomass is plant material from grasses and forage, crops and crop residue, forestry waste and other sources that can be converted into cellulosic ethanol.“

Oklahoma has the opportunity to develop and invest in ways to produce biofuels that don’t affect food, feed or fiber,” said Ray Huhnke, professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering at OSU. “Evaluating the best the best types of biomass to grow, the best conversion processes to use and the best places to locate conversion facilities in our state will create an industry that is successful and sustainable, without the negative impacts of using a already dedicated food source to produce biofuel.”Potential economic benefits from biofuels are great.

OSU calculates that a biorefinery producing 50 million gallons per year will create more than 270 jobs including 30 employees at the plant, 50 truck drivers and 190 agricultural workers. Biomass from an estimated 45,000 acres would be needed by a biorefinery for the ethanol conversion process. Acreage needed for biomass production puts the United State in a strong competitive position, Fleischaker said. The U.S. ranks third behind China and Australia in acres available for biomass production. A major part of the Oklahoma Biofuels research will involve nonfood crops native to the state such as switchgrass. Crops native to Oklahoma are important because of unknown consequences of growing non-native crops in the state.Researchers at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore have been working to develop advanced crops, including switchgrass, for ethanol production. In mid-2006, the foundation announced an agreement with Ceres Inc., a plant biotechnology company based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., for a long-term collaboration for the development and commercialization of new, advanced biomass crops, including switchgrass for ethanol production.

In June, a consortium including the Noble Foundation and led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for a $125 million bioenergy research center in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The $125 million included $9 million for projects at the Noble Foundation, including basic science issues for using switchgrass as a significant contributor for the biofuels industry.Currently there are no commercial ethanol production facilities operating in Oklahoma, but that could change soon. Ethanol production facilities have been announced by Orion Ethanol in Enid and Shattuck, Oklahoma Ethanol in Blackwell and Mainline Fuels in Guymon.“

We are witnessing the creation of a new industry,” said Joe Bouton, senior vice president, director of the Forage Improvement Division and scientist for the Noble Foundation. “This industry can provide the world with what it’s been waiting for – a renewable, economically viable and environmentally friendly source of fuel. Oklahoma is well-positioned to take a leadership role in this new industry.”