Groundbreaking for the Ethanol Biorefinery

So for the past year in my position with the Office of Bioenergy Programs at UT, we've been working towards constructing and operating a cellulosic ethanol biorefinery in Vonore, TN. Whereas most ethanol currently comes from corn, our plant will be producing ethanol from switchgrass, corn cobs and other non-food plant material. With the recent increases in food prices, UT's goal is to move toward a renewable and sustainable form of domestic transportation fuel that won't negatively impact our food supply.

The plan has been moving along great, and last week we held the official goundbreaking ceremony for the plant. Due to the large amount of support from the state government ($70 million over 5 years), the governor and many state and federal legislatures were on hand for the event, which made it pretty exciting!

We estimated attendance at around 300

All the VIPs, including Gov. Bredesen, Sen. Bob Corker, Congressmen Zach Wamp and John Duncan, UT President John Peterson and others



Me & Phil

Me & Bob...I thought he'd be taller

I loved the bluegrass band!

So as some may or may not know, my position at UT was 100% grant funded, and the funds have run out. So yesterday was my official last day of work. I was initially bummed, but then realized that with the baby coming in April, this is the perfect opportunity to take some time to be at home and get everything ready. I'm just glad that I got to see the Biofuels Initiative project through to the groundbreaking, since I spent over a year working on it.