Senator Bob Corker visits UT campus to learn about bioenergy and bioproducts research

U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) visited the University of Tennessee (UT) on Wednesday to receive briefings on biofuel research taking place at UT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and tour UT’s biotechnology research laboratories.  Corker also participated in a press conference to unveil his bipartisan energy proposal announced last week in Washington, D.C. The legislation, developed along with nine other members of a bipartisan coalition of senators known informally as the “Gang of 10”, will help reduce gas prices, lessen our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, and strengthen America’s economy.
 
The comprehensive New Energy Reform Act of 2008 calls for a focused effort to transition the nation’s motor vehicle fleets to fuels other than gasoline and diesel. To ease gas prices in the interim, the proposal includes significant conservation provisions, consumer tax credits, and responsible measures to increase domestic production. The bipartisan coalition is led by Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and, in addition to Corker, includes John Thune (R-S.D.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.).
 
Last month, DuPont Danisco and the University of Tennessee announced a partnership to construct a pilot-scale biorefinery and research and development facility for cellulosic ethanol.  Site preparations are scheduled to begin this fall, and ethanol should be available from the pilot plant by December 2009.  In 2007, Gov. Phil Bredesen proposed and the legislature set aside $40.7 million toward the construction of a pilot biorefinery. Those funds will be combined with an investment from DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol to construct the facility.

In addition, ORNL secured a $135 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) last year for one of three new Bioenergy Science Centers across the country. Housed in the new state-funded Joint Institute for Biological Science (JIBS) building, ORNL’s Bioenergy Science Center is up and running on the ORNL campus and involves several UT faculty.