U.S. Department of Energy recently announced funding to renew the four Bioenergy Research Centers.
The $590 million will support research into sustainable, cost-effective bioproducts and bioenergy from domestic biomass resources, according to a March 17 news release. This will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create economic opportunities in rural areas and ensure energy security.
"To meet our future energy needs, we will need versatile renewables like bioenergy as a low-carbon fuel for some parts of our transportation sector," Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm said in the news release. "Continuing to fund the important scientific work conducted at our Bioenergy Research Centers is critical to ensuring these sustainable resources can be an efficient and affordable part of our clean energy future."
The release reported these BRCs has made "groundbreaking scientific contributions to and andvancements in biotechnology" to expand the diversity and options for reliable clean enregy sources domestically, according to the release. Each center, led by a National Laboratory or University, focuses on the science behind a bio-based economy and aims to remove obstacles to establishing a robust domestic bioenergy industry.
"Wisconsin's world-class research institutions have long supported America’s bio-based energy industry, including biofuels and biomass, that cut energy costs, create rural economic opportunity and take on climate change," Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin said in the release. "This investment from the Biden administration will help us continue this proud tradition. These resources will help Wisconsin’s research institutions continue to innovate, boosting farmers’ and producers’ bottom lines, developing cleaner energy and moving our Made in Wisconsin economy forward."
"One of the best ways for our nation to strengthen our competitiveness with the rest of the world is to enhance the brilliance that already exists right here in Illinois," Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth said in the release. "I'm pleased that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation will receive this federal funding to help support groundbreaking research on clean energy, create jobs, address climate change and further secure Illinois’s place as a global leader."
One of the university's alumni, Illinois U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, also weighed in, according to the release.
"As a graduate of the University of Illinois and its proud representative in Congress, I'm honored to join Secretary Granholm in announcing $590 million that will benefit bioenergy research at my alma mater," Budzinski said in the release. "For the last five years, the University of Illinois has done groundbreaking research at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation to revolutionize the role of biofuels and agriculture in our 21st century energy economy. I’m so glad to see funding for this project renewed for the next five years and I look forward to seeing how these resources will benefit family farmers, our environment and rural communities across central and southern Illinois."
