Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership Presented Today to State
Environmental Review Commission
RALEIGH, N.C., April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Environmental Review
Commission of the North Carolina General Assembly opened discussions today
on a sweeping statewide strategic plan to strengthen North Carolina's
future in biofuels development and use.
The 16-page document, "Fueling North Carolina's Future: North
Carolina's Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership," is the culmination of a
seven-month process involving more than 70 leaders from across the state
representing industry, agriculture, academia and government.
The strategic plan, led by five co-conveners, was mandated by
legislation enacted in August 2006 -- Senate Bill 2051 -- written by Sen.
Charlie Albertson and Rep. Dewey Hill.
"North Carolina is thinking smartly about its land, economy and
future," explained Albertson. "The biofuels strategic plan is good thinking
at the right time. It will grow us new crops, new jobs, and new biofuels
capabilities."
The plan lays out nine bold strategies for the decade ahead. The first
commits North Carolina to a measurable and significant goal: By 2017, 10
percent of liquid fuels sold in North Carolina will come from biofuels
grown and produced within the state.
That means new production capacity of more than 500 million gallons a
year, based on state residents' current consumption of about 5.6 billion
gallons of petroleum-based liquid fuels per year -- virtually all of which
comes from outside the state.
Other strategies include:
-- Establishment of a new high-level state biofuels commission, supported
by annual appropriations of $500,000 for operating expenses
-- Research spending of some $4.5 million to identify and develop new or
improved biofuels feedstocks; $14.5 million to develop efficient
industrial and enzymatic processes for cellulosic ethanol production;
$2 million to delve deeper into the state's agricultural, forestry and
agronomic "wells" for biofuels; and $4 million for a small-scale
pilot/deployment/processing plant to streamline research
-- State commitment of 25 percent of the estimated $25 million cost for a
nationally unique "advanced biofuels acceleration facility," to be
built as a public-private partnership for testing feedstocks and their
conversion into biofuels
-- An annual appropriation of $500,000 for the biofuels commission to
advance biofuels workforce development and public education programs
throughout the state
-- Implement a comprehensive State-funded incentives program to maximize
development of cost-competitive, bio-based fuels and to expand
production and retail infrastructure
-- Sustained biofuels-related economic development commitment by State
leaders to enhance national and economic security, rural development
and gain to farmers and agriculture, environmental benefits, and
identification and development of local and regional resources,
feedstocks and production facilities
-- Biofuels commission-led development of a roadmap -- a coordinated plan
involving task forces and partners throughout the state, to maximize
statewide development, production and commercialization of biofuels
-- Creation of a new biofuels industry and economic sector statewide
within 10 to 15 years, capitalizing on the state's unparalleled
biotechnology, agricultural, forestry, and resource strengths.
In fact, North Carolina will work for mid-Atlantic and Southern
leadership in the production and distribution of biofuels over the next 10
to 15 years.
Significantly, the plan calls for North Carolina to bypass corn for its
ethanol feedstock. Though corn is increasingly used in the Midwest, the
plan notes that North Carolina can't efficiently grow enough corn to meet
its fuel needs. Instead, it should tap the best of its own agricultural and
industrial infrastructure to develop so-called cellulosic ethanol, using
enzymes from companies such as Novozymes, in Franklinton, to efficiently
break down wood waste, barley, soybeans, sweet potatoes, switchgrass and
possibly even crops not yet identified.
North Carolina has been called "the Saudi Arabia of biomass" for its
ethanol potential arising from its fertile land and sprawling forests,
favorable growing climate and diverse agricultural base, though so far it
has lagged many other states in planning and financial commitment to
alternative fuels development. For example, Tennessee has committed $73
million, Georgia $76 million, Florida more than $100 million, Oklahoma $40
million and Washington $39 million.
Co-conveners of the biofuels plan project include:
-- Steven Burke, senior vice president, corporate affairs with the North
Carolina Biotechnology Center;
-- Norris Tolson, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Revenue
-- Billy Ray Hall, president of the North Carolina Rural Economic
Development Center;
-- Ghasem Shahbazi, Ph.D., professor and director of bioenvironmental
engineering at North Carolina A&T State University; and
-- Johnny C. Wynne, Ph.D., dean of the College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences at North Carolina State University.
Guided by a 24-member steering committee, planners set up five
strategic work groups to consider the following topics: organizational
leadership; market transformation; science, research, development,
feedstocks and biomass; production and distribution; and culture and
education.
Biofuels include both bioethanol, a gasoline supplement that is
produced from starchy biomass -- so far mostly corn -- and biodiesel, a
diesel supplement produced from plant and animal oils through a chemical
distillation process.
"North Carolina could be the ethanol capital of the East Coast if we do
it right," said Tolson. "And to do it right we've needed this statewide
strategic plan for biofuels development -- a plan not unlike the one
created for the state's successful biotechnology development. These plans
help the General Assembly and North Carolina businesses know what to invest
in and our universities know what to research."
A complete copy of the document, Fueling North Carolina's Future: North
Carolina's Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership, is available on the
Internet at http://tinyurl.com/389e99.
Project Co-conveners:
-- Steven Burke -- North Carolina Biotechnology Center
-- Billy Ray Hall -- North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center
-- Ghasem Shahbazi, Ph.D. -- North Carolina A&T State University
-- Secretary Norris Tolson -- North Carolina Department of Revenue
-- Johnny C. Wynne, Ph.D. -- North Carolina State University
Steering Committee Members
-- Michael J. Arnold -- Office of the Lieutenant Governor
-- Steven Burke -- North Carolina Biotechnology Center
-- Secretary W. Britt Cobb, Jr. -- North Carolina Department of
Administration
Designee: Speros Fleggas
-- Secretary James T. Fain, III -- North Carolina Department of Commerce
Designee: Robert K. McMahan, Ph.D.
-- James W. Gentry -- North Carolina State Grange
Designee: David Meredith
-- Billy Ray Hall -- North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center
-- Steve Kalland -- North Carolina Solar Center
-- H. Martin Lancaster -- North Carolina Community College System
Designee: Matt Meyer
-- Thomas Nagy -- Novozymes North America, Inc.
Designee: Garrett Screws
-- Erica Upton Peterson -- North Carolina Agribusiness Council, Inc.
-- Secretary William Ross -- North Carolina Department of Environment and
Natural Resources
Designee: Manly Wilder
-- Ghasem Shahbazi, Ph.D. -- North Carolina A&T State University
-- Larry Shirley -- State Energy Office
-- Robert W. Slocum, Jr. -- North Carolina Forestry Association
-- Secretary Norris Tolson -- North Carolina Department of Revenue
-- Commissioner Steve Troxler -- North Carolina Department of Agriculture
& Consumer Services
Designee: Howard Isley
-- Ivan Urlaub -- North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association
-- Larry B. Wooten -- North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation
Designee: Mitch Peele
-- Johnny C. Wynne, Ph.D. -- North Carolina State University
-- Tim Shea -- U.S. Army, Fort Bragg
SOURCE North Carolina Biotechnology Center
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Related links:
http://www.ncbiotech.org
http://tinyurl.com/389e99
CONTACT:
Steven Burke, senior vice president,
corporate affairs of North Carolina Biotechnology Center,
+1-919-549-8819, steven_burke@ncbiotech.org, or Norris Tolson,
secretary of North Carolina Department of Revenue,
+1-919-715-9850, or Billy Ray Hall, president of North Carolina
Rural Economic Development Center, +1-919-250-4314
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