In 2006, the U.S. Congress passed the Sun Grant Initiative, meant to enhance the nation’s energy security, promote environmental sustainability, and revitalize rural communities with new agriculture-based industries. The legislation named OSU as one of five centers of excellence to investigate ways to use sustainable agricultural products that are based on energy from the sun—instead of petroleum—for the direct production of fuels and many other consumer products.
Development of bio-based energy may make it possible to reduce the nation’s need for the fossil fuels that now serve these functions. Ultimately, the program should also help relieve shortages of electrical power and record high prices for gasoline and natural gas. And, finding new ways to use sustainable agricultural products should provide additional markets for farm families and rural communities across the nation.