The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are making $18 million available for R&D of biomass-based products, biofuels, bioenergy and related processes. USDA will provide up to $14 million and DOE will provide up to $4 million (FY’07).
The $18 million solicitation will fund projects in the following four categories (the share of overall funding is noted in parenthesis): the development of technologies to convert cellulosic biomass into intermediaries for biobased fuels (45 percent); product diversification (30 percent); feedstock production (20 percent); and analysis for strategic guidance (5 percent).
Maximum award amounts will not exceed $1 million. Eligible applicants include state and federal research agencies, national laboratories, private-sector groups and nonprofit organizations. Consortia of two or more groups also are encouraged to apply. The closing date for pre-applications is July 11, 2007. Preapplications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov. Prospective grantees whose pre-applications have been selected for further processing must submit final applications within 45 days of the notification.
Meanwhile, the GAO (Government Accountability Office) released a report that concludes the DOE doesn’t have a solid plan to get biofuel vehicles into the market.
It notes that less than 1% of fueling stations in the US offer E85. The DOE could push several policies “such as mandating [E85 pump] installation.”
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