Sustainable energy to meet growing demands

Non-renewable energy sources are limited, and demand is growing. Fossil-fuel based energy production and use contribute significantly to pollution and changes in our climate. Improving energy efficiency and developing renewable energy sources is essential to meeting growing demand and can lower energy bills, create new jobs and promote rural prosperity. Reducing reliance on fossil fuels can improve national security and public and environmental health. Researchers and Extension educators across the Land-grant University System are working together to develop innovative technologies that improve energy efficiency and harness renewable energy sources.

Here are a few examples of that work:

• To address concerns about competition for rural land following the passage of legislation on the siting of renewable electricity facilities in New York, Extension educators produced research-based materials and facilitated conversations among local, state and federal agencies and rural communities about the compatibility of solar energy and farming. These efforts support well-informed decision making by residents, farmers, landowners, advocates, developers and officials and provide a foundation for further research into agrivoltaics.
  _{Cornell University; project supported by Smith-Lever (3b&c) funds. See full statement.}
  
  
• Scientists in Oklahoma patented a way to create syngas from municipal solid wastes and switchgrass. This method produces more gallons per year than traditional technologies and would result in an estimated $33 million increase in a biorefinery’s annual net revenue.
  _{Oklahoma State University.}
  
  
• In Illinois, researchers identified gentler, more cost-effective pretreatments for converting biomass into biofuels with fewer environmental impacts.
  _{University of Illinois.}
  
  
• Scientists in Kansas developed a biomass pretreatment that reduces water, energy and chemical consumption.
  _{Kansas State University.}
  
  
• Researchers in California identified a new co-fermentation strategy that drastically improves ethanol yield from cellobionate and glycerol.
  _{University of California, Davis.}
  
  
• Oregon scientists designed a new horizontal reactor that minimizes the energy needed to mix biomass with the enzymes used to break it down for ethanol production.
  _{Oregon State University.}
  
  
• In Iowa, researchers calculated that biogas made from anaerobic digestion of animal manure can be competitive with natural gas prices.
  _{Iowa State University.}
  
  Projects supported by Hatch Multistate funds. See full statement.