announced today (Sept. 28) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Led
by researchers at the University of Washington, the five-year project
is intended to expand what has been a Midwest-centric biofuels
industry into Washington, Oregon, Idaho, western Montana and Northern
California.
While the U.S. biofuels industry has focused almost exclusively on
corn-based ethanol, there is growing interest in producing fuels from
other feedstocks, such as tree trunks, limbs and leaves. But little
is known about the economic viability or environmental impacts of
growing trees for so-called “woody biomass” and converting it to fuel.
This new grant, and another for the same amount to be led by
Washington State University, will begin to fill in those blanks.
Three more USDA grants of $15 million to $25 million are going to
projects in Tennessee, Louisiana and Iowa.
The project that includes UC Davis will investigate the potential of
farming hybrid poplar trees to be turned into aviation fuels, diesel
and gasoline. Some 400,000 acres of poplars will be planted, and five
commercial biorefineries will be built.
The lead researcher on the UC Davis project is Bryan Jenkins, a
professor of biological and agricultural engineering, and director of
the UC Davis Energy Institute. Jenkins said his team will be
analyzing the impacts of biofuel production on regional economies and
environments.
“When a farmer stops growing corn or pasture or pine trees, and
starts growing poplar trees on that land instead, that change may
affect soil health, regional greenhouse gas emissions, and the
overall profitability of the farm enterprise,” Jenkins said.
“We will be characterizing those changes. Our goal is to help the
agriculture and forest-products industries find the best ways to
integrate these new crops.”