CSU-Led Group Gets Grant For Biofuel Study

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - A consortium led by Colorado State University has been awarded a $10 million grant to study obstacles to using insect-killed trees in biofuel production.

CSU said Wednesday the grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Bioenergy Alliance Network of the Rockies.

Other members are the Colorado Forest Service at CSU, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Cool Planet, a company that developed a process to convert non-food biomass into fuel.

Advantages of using beetle-killed trees for biofuel include the fact that they require no cultivation and don't compete with food production. Obstacles include the difficulty of getting beetle-killed trees from remote forests to industrial centers.

CSU says other potential barriers that haven't been explored included environmental impacts, social issues and local policy constraints.

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