USDA to Invest in Projects to Enhance Production Efficiency of Biofuels & Biobased Products

WASHINGTON -- As part of the Obama Administrations all-of-the-above strategy to enhance U.S. energy security, reduce Americas reliance on imported oil and leverage our domestic energy supply, while also supporting rural economies, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy announced a $41 million investment in 13 projects that will drive more efficient biofuels production and feedstock improvements.

"If we want to develop affordable alternatives for oil and gasoline that will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we need investments like these projects to spur innovation in bioenergy," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "By producing energy more efficiently and sustainably, we can create rural jobs, boost rural economies and help U.S. farmers, ranchers and foresters prosper."

"As part of President Obamas all-of-the-above strategy to deploy every available source of American energy, we continue to strive for more efficient, cost-competitive technologies to produce U.S. energy," said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "The investments announced today are helping to accelerate innovation across Americas growing biofuels industry, which will help to reduce our dependence on imported oil and support job creation across rural America."

New Biomass Research and Development Initiative Investments

Through the joint Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) USDA and the Energy Department are working to develop economically and environmentally sustainable sources of renewable biomass and increase the availability of renewable fuels and biobased products. The five projects announced today will help to diversify the nations energy portfolio and replace the need for gasoline and diesel in vehicles.

The cost-shared projects include:

Leveraging Genomics for More Efficient, Cost-Effective Bioenergy

Today, the Energy Department and USDA are also announcing $10 million for eight research projects aimed at applying biomass genomics to improve promising biofuel feedstocks and drive more efficient, cost-effective energy production. These projects will use genetic mapping to advance sustainable biofuels production by analyzing and seeking to maximize genetic traits like feedstock durability, how tolerant feedstocks are to various environmental stresses, and the potential for feedstocks to be used in energy production.

The projects selected include:

Since 2006, the Plant Feedstocks Genomics for Bioenergy research program has invested nearly $70 million helping to identify key genes affecting biomass yield and quality in feedstocks and to accelerate breeding efforts to improve bioenergy-relevant traits.

About USDA

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers, promote agricultural trade and production, work to assure food safety, protect natural resources, foster rural communities and end hunger in the United States and abroad.