A significant role can be played by universities in research, in extension education and in educating professionals if the United States is to achieve a 25x'25 renewable energy future, according to a white paper issued today by the National 25x'25 Steering Committee. The paper, Research and Education Priorities in Agriculture, Forestry and Energy to Achieve the 25x’25 Renewable Energy Vision, is currently featured in the March issue of the NACTA Journal, a quarterly publication of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture. The paper is also featured at www.AgroKnowledge.com, the Web site of the National Center for Agriscience and Technology Education.
The 25x'25 Initiative calls on America's farms, ranches and forestlands to provide 25 percent of the energy consumed by 2025 to come from land-based resources – biomass, biofuels, wind energy, solar power, geothermal energy and hydropower – while continuing to provide a safe, affordable and abundant supply of food, feed and fiber.
National Steering Committee member Duane Acker, former president of Kansas State University and a former assistant secretary for science and education at USDA, spearheaded an effort to list high-priority research and education needs that will enable the 25 x 25 Coalition of more than 650-plus vision-endorsing partners, as well as Congress and state legislatures, to more effectively support and encourage USDA, the U.S. Department of Energy, academic institutions, state agencies and private sector administrators, scientists and educators in meeting the 25x'25 goal.
Acker and the Steering Committee members consulted with leading educators and top academic and government research officials to develop the position paper. As lead author, Acker said, "Research and education leadership and staff, in accordance with their skills and talents, must focus their attention and resources on priorities that can achieve renewable energy production, deliver renewable energy to the market and expand that market." The former KSU president noted that appropriate "research and educational institutions must also make it their mission to improve energy use efficiency and energy productivity, and strengthen conservation of our natural resources and environment."
The former USDA official also said policy makers, including the White House, Congress, governors, state legislators and others, must fund and encourage necessary programs. "Decision-makers must recognize that wind and solar conversion contribute strongly to atmospheric carbon balance; that biomass conversion contributes strongly to economic and energy security by reducing our dependence on imported oil; and that all contribute to increased economic activity in much of rural America," Acker said.
Among priorities cited by the report is the establishment of a national scientific forum for discourse among all contributing disciplines. This need was advanced most strongly for the biofuels sector, the report states, to help insure comparative attention to multiple and competing energy sources, conversion technologies and products by both senior scientists and students.
The report gives considerable attention to the field of biomass conversion, which can reduce dependence on imported petroleum and generate co-products that will have a large economic impact. The report calls for an assessment of the relative economic and energy efficiencies of available and proposed biological (fermentation) and thermo-chemical technologies in yielding useable forms, such as ethanol, biodiesel, gasoline, syn-gas, bio-oil, direct combustion, or others, by feedstock and region, given water supply, potential biomass supply, energy demand, and infrastructure.
Other priorities include genetics (molecular, quantitative, and selection) and production management research of grasses and woody species to increase per acre yields and improve characteristics for processing efficiencies, similar to the intensive genetics and production management research of grains over recent decades. Research should also be undertaken to minimize non-genetic constraints to yield, including soil structure, water, pests, and cultural practices. Though DNA translocation/gene stacking has helped insure recent grain yield increases, it is not known how much genetic potential remains. The report says focus is needed on reassessing the characteristics of production intensification of grains and grass/woody species such as nutrients, soil pH, plant population, soil management, carbon sequestration and nitrous oxide release.
The abstract and full report can be read and downloaded at the "Resources" page, under the "25x'25 Reports" heading, at the 25x'25 Web site (www.25x25.org). For more on renewable energy research and education, you may also want to contact:
Curriculum development in colleges of agriculture:
Kirby Barrick, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Florida, (352) 392-1961, kbarrick@ufl.edu.
Cellulosic ethanol as a transportation fuel and enhancement to national security:
David Bransby, professor of agronomy and soils, Auburn University, (334) 844-3935, bransdi@auburn.edu.
The promise of multiple technologies for biomass conversion:
Robert Brown, professor of mechanical engineering, Iowa State University, (515) 294-8733, rcbrown@iastate.edu.
The economics of biomass conversion technologies:
Vern Eidman, Professor of Economics, University of Minnesota, (612) 624-7253, veidman@apec.umn.edu
Genetic potential of cultivated crops and soil/plant/environmental interactions:
Ken Cassman, Director, Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research, (402) 472-6743, kcassman1@unl.edu.
Providing extension education to all sectors of the renewable fuels chain:
Bobby Moser, Vice President, Agricultural Administration, Ohio State University, (614) 292-6164, moser.2@osu.edu.
The role and strategies of USDA in support of research and education priorities:
James Fischer (representing Under Secretary Gale Buchanan, Science, Education, and Economics, USDA), (202) 720-5923, james.fischer2@usda.gov.
University and federal collaboration research and education for the forestry sector:
Ralph Cavalieri, associate dean and director, Agricultural Research Center, Washington State University, 509-335-4563, cavalieri@wsu.edu.
The promise of enzyme research in cellulosic conversion:
Chris Risbrudt, director, Forest Products Laboratory, USDA, Madison, WI, (608-231-9200), epape@fs.fed.us.
