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NCGA/DOE AgVision Program Receives $18
Million Boost (8-3-01)
On July 19, 2001,
the full Senate approved its version of the FY 2002 energy & water
appropriations bill. The bill included $18 million for the DOE Bioenergy/Bioproducts
integrated initiative.
"We can reduce
our reliance on imported oil by using corn, instead of petroleum, as
chemical feedstocks to produce a wide range of everyday consumer goods,
such as plastics, paints, adhesives, and fibers," stated Vic Miller,
chairman of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Customer &
Business Development Action Team.
The program will
support research and development in bioproducts, biopower, and biofuels
and complements the DOE Plant/Crop-Based Renewable Resources 2020 program,
the Ag Vision program. Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) has championed efforts
to obtain funding for the program.
A key component
of the Bioenergy/Bioproducts program is to support the research and
development needs outlined in the Technology Roadmap that industry developed
for the DOE Ag Vision program. The Ag Vision 2020 is for crops/plants
to capture 10 percent of the industrial building blocks market by the
year 2020 and 50 percent by the year 2050.
In FY 2000, the
NCGA and Battelle Memorial Institute received an award of $1.7 million
through the DOE Bioenergy/Bioproducts program for separation of corn
fiber and its subsequent conversion into bioproducts and biofuels
Last
reviewed August 3, 2001
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