WGA awarded grant to boost bioenergy development and rural economies (10/13/06)
WGA awarded grant to boost bioenergy development and rural economies FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 13, 2006 DENVER - The U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy have awarded the Western Governors' Association $290,000 to develop policies and strategies that will advance bioenergy as a clean, renewable energy source and also boost rural economies. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman made the announcement Wednesday during a national conference they are hosting called, Advancing Renewable Energy: An American Rural Renaissance. The Secretaries announced $17.5 million in grants for 17 research, development and demonstration projects that will help make bio-based fuels cost-competitive with fossil fuels in the commercial market. WGA's Chair, Gov. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, welcomed the news, saying Western governors are working to advance bioenergy derived from such things as forest and farming residues and dedicated energy crops. Earlier this year, the governors launched their Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative ( CDEi), which is focused on electricity needs. They will now expand on that work to include transportation fuels and thermal energy development. We believe there is a very direct link between state and regional policies that will encourage the use of bioenergy resources and the actual deployment of new technologies, Rounds said. The goal is to provide cost-effective and environmentally beneficial alternatives to fossil fuels and, at the same time, provide a big boost to rural economies. A team led by WGA will work with state energy offices, academia, the agricultural community, industry, environmental groups, and the public to determine what contribution bioenergy can make to increase development and use of alternative energy sources by 2015. A policy framework will then be developed for reaching the identified goals. The team proposed by WGA includes University of California-Davis, Kansas State, and bioenergy experts from the private sector and federal government. Western governors who serve as leads for the CDEi and/or for the transportation fuels initiative are Govs. Rounds, Arnold Schwarzenegger (Calif.), Bill Richardson, (N.M.), John Hoeven (N.D.), Brian Schweitzer (Mont.), Brad Henry (Okla.), Christine Gregoire (Wash.), and Dave Freudenthal (Wyo.). The Western Governors' Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 19 states and three U.S.-Flag islands in the Pacific. Through their Association, the Western governors identify and address key policy and governance issues in natural resources, the environment, human services, economic development, international relations and public management. # # # # #
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