News Highlights

Federal funding approved for renewable energy center

Cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel, wind energy research

The Center for Renewable Energy got the $500,000 it needed to contin­ue researching the use of cel­lulosic ethanol and for develop­ing a workforce for ethanol and wind energy plants.

2008-01-04
By Robb Murray, Free Press Staff Writer [published in The Free Press, Mankato, MN, 12/28/2007]

Minnesota State University’s Center for Renewable Energy got the $500,000 it needed to contin­ue researching the use of cel­lulosic ethanol and for develop­ing a workforce for ethanol and wind energy plants.

The funding comes from the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill signed into law this week by President Bush. The $500,000 — part of the bill’s Energy and Water Development section — sup­ports work both at MSU and Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Worthington.

At MSU, the Center for Renewable Energy researches cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel and other forms of renewable energy. The research creates public-private partnerships that promote economic growth, nurture alternative energy technology, increase energy diversity and improve national security.

At Minnesota West, they work to develop curriculum on training workers for ethanol and wind energy plants. This is the second time the Center for Renewable Energy has received about a half-million dollars in funding. Without this funding, the center could not have kept going.

“Absolutely not,” said John Frey, MSU dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology. “There’s no other source.”

Frey said the center’s pur­pose will focus on more of the same in the future, as well as some new areas. One new area will examine the possibil­ities of algae as a fuel source.

“There’s a lot of good data coming out on the use of algae,” Frey said.

MSU may also begin look­ing more into research on solid fuels such as wood chips and grasses for burn­ing fuel.

“These dollars are extremely important,” Frey said. “The whole concept of renewable energy is increasingly important.”

The center was founded several years ago. Its goal, the university says, is “to expand energy alternatives by developing new methods for using renewable fuels, and to alleviate shortages of qualified personnel in the ethanol production and wind energy industries.

“Center research helps optimize use of anaerobic digesters for plant biomass, helps convert biofuels to more easily marketed liquid forms, develops renewable carbon for industrial uses, improves biomass crops and wind and photovoltaic ener­gy, and keeps technician training up-to-date for ener­gy production industries,” the university said in a statement issued Thursday.

Other projects in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system include:

• A veterans re-entry project that will provide specifically designed career and education services to military veterans, National Guard members and reservists, as well as enhancing veterans’ employment success upon returning to their communi­ties.
• Winona State University's Minnesota National Child Protection Training Center will receive $1.2 million to create model undergraduate and graduate curricula and train front-line child protection profession­als.
• Bemidji State University will receive $584,000 in two grants. One grant of $243,000 will be used to increase the number of bac­calaureate-trained nurses entering the workforce in northwestern Minnesota and surrounding areas, while the other $ 341,000 will help engineering tech­nology graduates.
• Metropolitan State University, in collaboration with Century College, Inver Hills Community College and Saint Paul College, will receive $ 487,000 to increase the number of nurses holding bachelor’s degrees in the Twin Cities area.

For more Free Press news go to www.mankatofreepress.com.

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