Department of Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman announced the competitive selection of three projects in which DOE plans to invest up to $86 million over four years (FY08-FY11) to support the development of small-scale cellulosic biorefineries. The companies selected include RSE Pulp & Chemical of Old Town, Maine; Mascoma Corp.'s proposed plant in Vonore, Tennessee; and Ecofin, LLC of Nicholasville in Washington County, Kentucky. This funding will further President Bush's goal of making cellulosic ethanol cost-competitive by 2012, and reduce America's gasoline use by expanding the availability of alternative and renewable transportation fuels.

The three small-scale biorefinery projects will use a wide variety of feedstocks and will test conversion technologies to provide data necessary to commercialize full-scale biorefinery technologies. On average, commercial-scale biorefineries input 700 tons of non-food based feedstock per day, with an output of approximately 20-30 million gallons a year (MMGY). These small-scale facilities will input approximately 70 tons of feedstock per day, with an estimated 2.5 MMGY.

Expected to be operational within four years, the selected small-scale biorefineries projects will produce liquid transportation fuels such as cellulosic ethanol, as well as bio-based chemicals and bio-based products used in industrial applications. The selected biorefinery projects represent the second round of selections for DOE's competitive small-scale biorefinery solicitation. Earlier this year, DOE selected four projects in St. Joseph, Missouri; Commerce City, Colorado; Boardman, Oregon; and Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.