News release from the Oklahoma Governor's Office, January 24, 2008.

Gov. Brad Henry is calling on the state Legislature this year to continue its commitment to the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center (OBC), a groundbreaking initiative to bolster renewable energy, promote environmental protection and help wean the United States from its overwhelming dependence on foreign oil.

The Governor successfully pushed the OBC last year as part of his policy agenda. The center coordinates biofuels research and development being conducted at the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University and the Ardmore-based Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. In its first six months of existence, the OBC has already attracted $10 million in federal funding to match the $10 million that the state appropriated to it last year.

Gov. Henry said the potential impact of the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center is clear in light of recently passed federal legislation requiring the production of 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022.

"That amounts to roughly 25 percent of the annual gas consumption in the United States," the Governor said. "More than half of those 36 billion gallons is likely to come from cellulosic feed stocks such as switchgrass, a praise grass that grows naturally in Oklahoma and is a main focus of the OBC's research effort."

Oklahoma's expertise in energy and agricultural issues also makes it ideal to take on a leadership role in the development of biofuels, added the Governor.

"Not only is the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center critical to help reduce our nation's dependence on imported oil, but it will have a significant impact in creating jobs and revitalizing Oklahoma's rural economy," he said.

The cost of the initiative is $40 million over a four-year period. Gov. Henry is calling on lawmakers this year to continue their funding commitment with a $10 million appropriation.

"It is important that we adequately fund this initiative. The potential of the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center is too great and too far-reaching to let it languish," said the Governor.

In addition, Gov. Henry said his executive budget for next fiscal year proposes a $5 million increase to the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, or OCAST.

"We must invest in the cutting-edge, high-tech jobs and industries of the future," the Governor. "OCAST has been a tremendous asset in Oklahoma's strategies for economic growth. A recent study even indicated that every dollar invested in OCAST has a $27 rate of return. That is an astonishing success, and one well worth building upon."

This article from the Oklahoma Governor's Office, www.state.ok.us/governor/, on January 24, 2008.