This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.
October 12, 2006
DOE and USDA Offer $4 Million for Biomass Research
DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on October 12th that $4 million will be made available for biomass research. The departments have issued a solicitation and will accept proposals for research in plant feedstock genomics. The focus will be on research in breeding, molecular genetics, and genomic technologies that will allow plants' biological functions to be predicted and manipulated for use in bioenergy. In particular, the hope is to further the use of lignocellulosic materials, which are woody plant tissues, in bioenergy and biofuels. The use of these materials would require less intensive production techniques and allow the crops to be grown on poorer quality land, saving the higher quality land for food crops. See the DOE press release and the solicitation.
