Sun Grant Initiative wins $50 million in transportation funding

The transportation bill that the U.S. Congress approved recently includes $50 million over the next five years for the Sun Grant Initiative (SGI), a nationwide research effort to promote bio-based renewable energy that began at South Dakota State University (SDSU). The SGI has now grown to five regional centers that coordinate and disburse funds to research into biomass production, bioenergy, biofuels and bio-based products. A first series of 17 selected projects were announced in Ausgust (previous post).

Despite being nearly two years overdue, the new transportation bill overwhelmingly passed the House and the Senate on July 29. The Sun Grant Initiative, or SGI, will broaden the mission of land-grant universities to include biobased energy and bio-based products as a core effort.

The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU, Public Law 109-59), enacted in 2005, authorized funding for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2009, to carry out biobased research of national importance [Section 5201(m)]. The funding comes from the Department of Transportation (DOT) and goes to each of the five regional SGI Centers.

Five land-grant universities serve as the regional Sun Grant centers to emphasize research, teaching and Extension work focusing on energy and biobased products. They are: Oregon State University, South Dakota State University, Oklahoma State University, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and Cornell University.

In addition, the National Biodiesel Board in Jefferson City, Mo., will also receive funding. Kevin Kephart, director of the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, said Senator John Thune has informed him that each of the five Sun Grant centers will receive $1.66 million annually, or $8.3 million total, over the next five years. “

Each of the five SGI Centers manages its own regional competitive grants program, to best meet the challenges of bioenergy and biomass research and education needs within their respective regions:
energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: biobutanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: bioplastics :: bioproducts :: bioeconomy ::

As part of the development of the Regional Competitive Grants Program, each of the SGI Centers developed a solicitation for their region, consistent with national priorities identified by an ad hoc federal agency panel led by DOT/RITA with representatives from DOE, USDA, EPA and DOD.

These national priorities for renewable transportation fuel development included: biofuel feedstock development; biofuels conversion processes; biofuel system analysis; economics, marketing and policy; and, environmental impacts.

These national priorities were considered in the context of the unique biomass and biomass resources and challenges within each of the regions. Each of the five regional Sun Grant Initiative Centers announced its regional competitive grants program in a Request for Applications (RFA) released in later February through early March of 2007.

Each region developed peer review panels with representatives from academia as well as specialists from national laboratories and federal agencies with appropriate subject matter expertise. Projects were selected on the basis of scientific merit, novelty, probability of success, timeframe for results, and priority for the region.

With a more diverse biomass resource base, the Western and North Eastern region funded a larger number of smaller “start-up” and exploratory grants.

The SGI was authorized in the 2002 farm bill. SDSU President Peggy Gordon Miller said the newly approved funding will allow land-grant university scientists to pursue new biobased products under the Sun Grant Initiative. "We are so pleased to be able to continue Dr. Kephart's national leadership in the biotechnologies," Miller said.

The Sun Grant Initiative is a national network of land grant universities and U.S. Department of Energy laboratories partnering to create energy and other non-traditional products from agriculture. Scientists will develop a practical vision to literally grow an increasing share of America's energy, while "harvesting" new products from agriculture that farmers scarcely dreamed of a generation ago -- from plastics and cosmetics to solvents and building materials.

Gary Lemme, dean of SDSU’s College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences, said the members of the South Dakota congressional delegation have been leaders in supporting the Sun Grant Initiative:

The Sun Grant will permit outstanding scientists at South Dakota State University and across the nation to cooperate with entrepreneurs and agricultural commodity groups to develop renewable fuels and chemicals from locally produced agricultural products. - Gary Lemme, dean South Dakota State University, College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences

It is expected the biobased economy will be good for South Dakota by creating new markets and processing opportunities while helping out nation become energy self-reliant.”

The previous transportation bill, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), expired in September 2003. Senator Thune has included the funding for biobased fuel research at SDSU in a Senate version of a bill to re-authorize TEA-21 over the next five years (2005-2009). The bill that passed the Senate must now be reconciled with a similar bill that passed the House of Representatives in March.

The Sun Grant Initiative also manages the BioWeb, a non-commercial, educational website that provides current information about using biomass resources for bioenergy and bioproducts.

References:
Sun Grant Initiative: Sun Grant Initiative wins transportation funding - s.d. November, 2007.

Sun Grant Initiative: Biobased fuel research included in transportation bill - s.d. November, 2007.

Biopact: Sun Grant Initiative funds 17 bioenergy research projects - August 20, 2007