May 26, 2017
BY Erin Krueger
The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced an open meeting of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee and has published a notice soliciting nominations for new members.
Committee members may serve two, three-year terms. The DOE is currently seeking nominations for an individual affiliated with a commodity trade association, individuals affiliated with environmental or conservation organizations, and an individual with expertise in the economics of biofuels and biobased products. Nominations will also be accepted for a variety of other membership categories, including those with expertise in process engineering related to biorefineries or biobased coproducts that enable fuel production.
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Nominations are solicited from organizations, associations, societies, councils, federations, groups, universities, and companies that represent a wide variety of biomass research and development interests throughout the country, and must be submitted by June 30.
The next committee meeting is scheduled to be held June 15-16. The meeting aims to develop advice and guidance that promotes research and development leading to the production of biobased fuels and products. The tentative agenda includes updates on USDA and DOE biomass research and development activities, along with panels on near-term motivations for and benefits of accelerated development of a biobased economic engine.
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Additional information on the nomination process and meeting are available on the Federal Register website.
The U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced up to $23 million in funding to support research and development (R&D) of domestic chemicals and fuels from biomass and waste resources.
The U.S. DOE has announced its intent to issue funding to support high-impact research and development (R&D) projects in two priority areas: sustainable propane and renewable chemicals and algal system cultivation and preprocessing.
Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., in August introduced the Renewable Chemicals Act, a bill that aims to create a tax credit to support the production of biobased chemicals.
The Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium, a consortium of the U.S. DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office, has launched an effort that aims to gather community input on the development of new biomass processing facilities.
USDA on March 8 celebrated the second annual National Biobased Products Day, a celebration to raise public awareness of biobased products, their benefits and their contributions to the U.S. economy and rural communities.