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Online: http://extension.osu.edu/~news/story.php?id=4056 Writer: Mauricio Espinoza
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(330) 202-3550 Source: Steve Slack, OARDC Director
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(330) 263-3701 Keith Smith, OSU Extension Director
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(614) 292-4057
Newly formed regional consortium will direct policy and research for renewable energy and biofuel development WOOSTER/COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio and 11 other Midwestern states have joined hands to guide the United States' transition from foreign oil dependence to greater use of renewable energy and bio-based fuels and products. The North Central Bio-economy Consortium (NCBEC) - a 12-state collaborative effort of the directors of the departments of agriculture, cooperative Extension services and university agricultural experiment stations - was officially launched April 20 at a University of Wisconsin Earth Day event by Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture Rod Nilsestuen, who will lead the regional group in its initial endeavors. Besides Ohio and Wisconsin, NCBEC has brought together land-grant university and state agencies from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. These 12 states have the potential to produce half to two-thirds of the nation's perennial bioenergy crops and crop residues, casting the region into the national spotlight as the U.S. Congress considers federal farm policy that will help shift American energy reliance from the Middle East to the Midwest. In the Buckeye state, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), and Ohio State University Extension are working together to turn Ohio into a leader in the emerging bioeconomy. "Biofuels, along with the newest wave of next-generation energies, including fuel cells, clean coal and renewable sources such as wind and cellulosic materials, offer us the opportunity to create jobs, support our farmers, reduce our dependence on foreign oil producers and be responsible stewards of our environment," said ODA Director Robert Boggs. OARDC and OSU Extension are actively working on projects related to renewable energy and fuels, including biomass conversion to energy and cellulosic ethanol. Another focus area is the development of bio-based specialty chemicals, polymers and materials through the Third Frontier Program-funded Ohio Bioproducts Innovation Center. "The North Central states will play a key role in the development of renewable and sustainable bioenergy strategies in the United States," OARDC Director Steve Slack said. "The North Central Bio-economy Consortium is a key coordinating element and will draw on the strengths of both our respective departments of agriculture and land-grant universities." According to OSU Extension Director Keith Smith, including Extension services in NCBEC is essential for ensuring this alliance will have a positive impact on the states it represents. "Extension needs to be a player in the area of bioenergy," Smith said. "Extension can use its time-tested talents to help in the dissemination of information related to this key area for our economy, environment and society." The 12-state consortium met for the first time Feb. 10 in Washington D.C. to reach a memorandum of understanding for the three participating organizations. Recently, the group received a $100,000 grant from the Energy Foundation of San Francisco to coordinate regional public policy development and research for a renewable energy future. The NCBEC recently submitted summary work to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), documenting the 12-state North Central region's achievements and potential in leading the transition to greater use of bioenergy, biofuels and bioproducts. OARDC (www.oardc.ohio-state.edu) and OSU Extension (extension.osu.edu) are the research and outreach arms, respectively, of Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (cfaes.osu.edu). |
