I recently had the opportunity to tour the Herty Advanced Materials Development Center, along with the members of the Joint Senate and House Economic Development Committee.  The Herty Center, which is located near downtown Savannah, serves as a vital resource in developing and promoting a wide range of commercial applications.  Founded in 1938, the Center played a vital role in the founding and evolution of Georgia’s pulp and paper industry.  Today, this non-profit center partners with national and international companies to develop innovative new products.  Herty excels at production scale up and material testing, accelerated product commercialization and enhanced business development. 

The visit was very exciting because it was timed with the Herty Center’s announcement of a landmark $1 million investment to expand biofuel development in Georgia.  As a world leader in cellulose manufacturing, it was logical for Herty to expand biofuel development in Georgia to make the Peach State even more attractive to alternative energy companies.  This investment will expand Herty’s biofuel development facilities in an effort to reduce risk and increase speed to market for the state’s rapidly growing biofuel industry. 

With 24 million acres of sustainable forestlands and abundant agriculture, Georgia has more natural resources available for cellulose-based biofuel processing than any other state in the nation.  Cellulosic ethanol is produced from pine trees and other plant matter.  Because cellulose-based alternative fuel processing uses surplus and waste forestry material, it is good for the environment and does not compete for resources with the state’s well-established pulp and paper industry.  Herty excels at partnering with companies to develop, market and process innovative new applications for the state’s forestry resources and is working to attract companies to construct new biofuel processing plants across the state.  By increasing the production of alternative fuel in Georgia, the state will be able to produce 20 percent of its fuel needs from forest resources, making us more self-sufficient and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. 

Range Fuels touches down in Georgia

In similar news, federal, state and local officials recently broke ground on the nation’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant right here in Georgia.  Colorado-based Range Fuels will create almost 70 new jobs and invest millions in its new Treutlen County facility, which is expected to create an additional 350 indirect jobs.  During the groundbreaking ceremony in Soperton, which was attended by U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman, state officials marked our commitment to cellulosic ethanol and other forms of renewable energy by proclaiming Georgia as the “Bioenergy Corridor” for the nation. 

The Range Fuels plant will use wood and wood waste from Georgia’s pine forests and mills as its feedstock.  The facility will initially provide 20 million gallons per year of ethanol and will have the capacity to produce more than 100 million gallons per year.  Construction of the first 20 million-gallon-per-year phase will be completed in 2008.  Range Fuels is one of six companies selected by the Department of Energy for financial support in building a commercial cellulosic ethanol plant, and is the first to break ground. 

Atlanta’s first E85 pump

State officials have also announced the opening of the first E85 ethanol fuel pump in metro Atlanta at a Smyrna Texaco station.  The E85 pump opening was made possible through a partnership between GM, CleanFuel USA and the state of Georgia.  Atlanta is the third of six stops on GM’s E85 “Fuel for Thought Tour,” which is an effort to educate consumers about the use of E85 as an alternative to gasoline.  Ethanol is a clean-burning motor fuel that is produced from renewable sources and combined with gasoline.  E85 (85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline) can be used in flex-fuel vehicles.  Flex-fuel vehicles are capable of operating on gasoline, E85 or a mixture of both.  According to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC), there are approximately six million flex-fuel vehicles in the United States. 

Great things are happening in Georgia when it comes to the development and production of biofuels.  It is great to see our state take the lead because this is no longer just an issue of cleaner air and lower energy prices.  Those are important issues, but this is now an issue of national security, because we must begin to take necessary steps to curtail our dependence on foreign oil.  In addition, these bioenergy initiatives will benefit Georgia businesses, such as Georgia farmers who produce the materials used to create biodiesel fuel.  Keep in mind, biofuels such as ethanol will probably never replace oil as our primary portable fuel source.  Biofuels are but one tool in the box to reduce our reliance on foreign sources of energy.  For more information on Georgia’s recent biofuel-related news, go to www.herty.com, www.rangefuels.com or www.georgia.org.   
 
Please feel free to contact Sen. Chip Pearson at his office in Atlanta at 404.656.9221 or by email at chip@team51.org.