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Alabama Gov. Riley Tours Atmore Sugarcane Field That Could One Day Produce Jet Fuel
October 22, 2008
A little bug could one day turn thousands of acres of sugarcane grown into jet fuel for the U.S. Air Force, bringing a production plant and jobs to the Atmore area.
Alabama Governor Bob Riley toured a sugarcane field in Atmore Tuesday that is part of a test project to determine if enough sugarcane can be grown in South Alabama and perhaps Northwest Florida to support a multi-million dollar biofuel plant.
The Amyris company says it has the microbial technology to turn the sugarcane into jet fuel for the U.S. Air Force, and that’s a prospect that excites Alabama Governor Bob Riley.
“They have developed a molecule, a bug, that basically can turn sugar cane into a jet fuel,” Riley said while standing in the field near Holman Prison in Atmore. “We are always looking for alternative ways to green.”
Under the pilot program, 100 acres of sugarcane has been planted in the field owned by the Alabama Department of Corrections and leased by Auburn University to determine if the crop will grow at a viable rate to support the Amyris biofuel plant.
“The is the first step in the process, a process that is going to take years,” the governor said. “When it comes to national security, we have to be energy independent. If you are going to produce it (biofuel for the Air Force), you might as well do it in Alabama.”
When the sugarcane, which was planted about a month ago, is harvested next fall, it will be the first step in determining three things about Alabama sugarcane as a jet fuel source — is it economical feasible, which variety grows best in Alabama’s soil and is it subtainable, Riley said.
“And it does all rest on the Air Force and their decision to use biofuel in their planes,” Riley told the economic and agricultural leaders in the field Tuesday. He said he anticipated that Amyris could produce about a third of the biofuel the Air Force is projected to require.
For a complete NorthEscamibia.com photo gallery from Alabama Governor Bob Riley’s Tuesday visit to Atmore and the sugarcane field, click here.
Pictured above: Atmore Mayor Howard Shell (left) and Alabama Governor Bob Riley talk sugarcane biofuel Tuesday morning. Pictured below: Alabama Congressman Joe Bonner (left) and Riley. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
One Response to “Alabama Gov. Riley Tours Atmore Sugarcane Field That Could One Day Produce Jet Fuel”
Go Gov. Riley!!!!1