Barbara Lee Welcomes DOE Bioenergy Research Center to the East Bay
(Washington, DC) Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) welcomed the announcement today by U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) that DOE will invest up to $375 million in three new Bioenergy Research Centers, one of which will be located in 9th Congressional District of California.
“This program is critical to our nation as we move aggressively to find alternatives to fossil fuels and begin to develop home-grown and environmentally responsible energy sources,” said Lee. “This announcement means that California and the East Bay are going to be in the forefront of our national effort to develop alternative energy and achieve energy independence."
The Centers are intended to accelerate basic research in the development of cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels, part of President Bush’s Twenty in Ten Initiative, which seeks to reduce U.S. gasoline consumption by 20 percent within ten years through increased efficiency and diversification of clean energy sources. The Department plans to fund the Centers for the first five years of operation (Fiscal Years 2008-2013).
Lee led Congressional support for the project, spearheading a joint letter from members of Congress from the San Francisco Bay Area to the DOE in expressing their commitment to and support for the Joint BioEnergy Institute proposal to manage and operate the new venture.
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