Universities research bio-fuel potentials

MOSCOW, Idaho — Researchers at the University of Idaho and universities in Montana are teaming up to study ways to turn trees killed in recent years by beetles into a viable renewable energy source.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week a $10 million grant that will be divvied up among academics, industry and government officials. The focus is finding ways to overcome the hurdles and challenges that are limiting the use of dead trees in the Rocky Mountains as a sustainable bioenergy resource.

“The key idea in this project is to create a new industry,” said Jay O’Laughlin, University of Idaho team leader on the project. “It’s very exciting, because we’re going to take something that’s basically a waste and turn it into a resource.”

The project is being led by researchers at Colorado State University, but brings together scientists from the University of Montana, Montana State University and the University of Wyoming. Other collaborators come from the U.S. Forest Service, the National Renewable Energy Lab and Cool Planet Energy Systems.

For researchers, there is no shortage of the natural resource. Since 1996, infestations of pine and bark beetles have impacted more than 42 million acres of federal forests across states like Montana, Colorado and Idaho. A changing climate is expected to add to the burden facing forests.

While beetle-killed trees seem a reasonable source for biofuel production, experts say the study intends to break down barriers to widespread commercial use. For example, teams will explore ways to remove wood resources from public lands and get them from remote corners to urban areas efficiently. Technical barriers, environmental impacts, social issues and local policy constraints will also be part of the overall study.

“As we take steps to fight the bark beetle, this innovative research will help take the biomass that results from bark beetle infestation and create clean, renewable energy that holds potential for job creation and promises a cleaner future for America,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.