CONCEPT

The Sun Grant Initiative is a national network of land-grant universities and federally funded laboratories working together to further establish a biobased economy.

These institutes are at the forefront of research and innovation involving bioenergy and biofuels production. They have the history, technology and resources available to lead the nation towards a renewable, sustainable, domestic energy industry.

Sun Grant Centers are also charged with reviving America’s farming communities by placing an emphasis on rural economic development through the production of biobased renewable energy feedstocks.

ESTABLISHMENT

Congress authorized the Sun Grant Initiative in the 2002 Farm Bill. It is primarily funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation, with substantial funding support from the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture.

MISSION

Through research, production and commercialization of renewable, biobased energy technologies, the Sun Grant Initiative aims to:

• Enhance national energy security
• Provide opportunities for rural economic development in America’s traditional agricultural communities
• Promote environmentally sustainable and diversified production opportunities for agricultural and forestry resources
• Encourage further bioenergy research collaboration between government agencies and land-grant colleges and universities

IMPLEMENTATION

Charged with implementing the Initiative’s goals for furthering a biobased economy are five regional land-grant universities that have each lead the way in researching bioenergy and biomass production. The National Sun Grant Association is comprised of representatives of each of the Sun Grant Centers. The Association coordinates activities on a national level to ensure that the regional centers are as effective as possible. The regional Sun Grant Centers operate through:

• Cornell University
• Oklahoma State University
• Oregon State University
• South Dakota State University
• University of Tennessee

In addition to enhancing its own efforts in bioenergy and biomass research, each regional Sun Grant Center is charged with administering a regional competitive grants program for land-grant institutions. Multidisciplinary and multi state projects are encouraged, and the Sun Grant centers have formed an association that will share research results and report findings on a national scale.