The Biofuels Center of North Carolina held its Grand Opening Friday, May 9 at its facility in Oxford. The state-funded, non-profit center plans to develop a statewide alternative-fuels industry in an effort to reduce dependence on imported oil. Nowhere else in the world is there a Biofuels Center of this caliber.
Drivers in North Carolina burn approximately 5.6 billion gallons of gasoline and other petroleum fuels a year, nearly all of which is produced out of state. The Biofuels Center's goal is to produce 10 percent of the state's liquid fuels from fibers, waste or crops (other than corn) within the next 10 years.
It also plans to accelerate biofuels technology, science and research, develop appropriate agricultural feedstock, and promote jobs by expanding the biofuels industry.
Last year, the Biofuels Center received $5 million from the North Carolina General Assembly in start-up funding, and it has already awarded 15 grants totaling nearly $2.5 million to universities and businesses for research, development and production of biofuels from crops and fibers grown in North Carolina.
The Biofuels Center was incorporated in 2007 to implement North Carolina's Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership. The North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, NC A&T State University and NC State University led a group of 70 leaders from across the state to create the plan.
The Grand Opening included walking tours of the Center's campus, facilities and exhibits as well as musical entertainment. Speakers included: W. Steven Burke, chairman of the Biofuels Center of North Carolina board of directors and senior vice president of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center; Governor Mike Easley; and a number of state and U.S. Congressional members.
For more information, read about the event in the News & Observer.
