By David Page
As printed in The Journal Record, March 7, 2008.

In May Gov. Brad Henry signed legislation creating the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center with $10 million in funding. The bold and ambitious proposal was designed to put Oklahoma at the forefront of the emerging biofuels industry.

Oklahoma's investment is already paying dividends with the state's ranking in the biofuels research hierarchy and is in position to advance.

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation - one of the partners in the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center - plans to plant a switchgrass crop on 1,000 acres in the Oklahoma Panhandle near Guymon for biofuels research. It will be by far the largest switchgrass crop planned and used for research, said Steven Rhines, vice president and general counsel for the Ardmore-based Noble Foundation.

"This will be the first 1,000 acres dedicated to switchgrass anywhere in the world," he said. "No one has 1,000 acres of switchgrass in cultivation."

Having 1,000 acres of switchgrass growing in one area increases research possibilities from planting to end user. The project has the potential to drive biofuels research data for decades, he said.

Research will include yield, effect on soil, storage, transportation, water usage, refining and harvesting.

"One equipment manufacturer wants to send harvesting equipment for testing," Rhines said.

Harvesting switchgrass should be similar to harvesting hay.

The 1,000 acres for the switchgrass is being leased from agriculture producers, who will have the option to plant and cultivate the crop with support from the Noble Foundation.

"Farmers and ranchers in the Guymon area have the know-how to grow crops on their land," he said. "The idea is for the landowner to benefit."

The Panhandle was selected as the research area because of available land, irrigation infrastructure and a nearby biofuels plant operated by Abengola Bioenergy just across the state line in Hugoton, Kan. Having the refining facility nearby will reduce transportation costs.

Abengola announced plans in August for a $400 million project to turn corn stalks, switchgrass and other biomass into ethanol in Hugoton. Abengola, based in Chesterfield, Mo., near St. Louis, is part of a company based in Spain.

The Hugoton project will be partly underwritten with a $76 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

"What we really wanted was a refinery in Oklahoma," Rhines said. "But this is the next best thing in that this is not a pilot project or a research project but an actual working bioenergy refinery."

Switchgrass for the research will include four commercial varieties. The Noble Foundation has 2.4 acres of seeds being grown for the switchgrass project.

In addition to the 1,000-acre switchgrass crop in the Panhandle, the Noble Foundation plans to plant another 150-200 acres of switchgrass in central Oklahoma - a more convenient site for demonstrations.

"The 150-200 acre planting will provide a better opportunity for policymakers and agriculture producers to see the switchgrass crop," Rhines said. Research at the Noble Foundation includes other biofuels feedstock projects.

In June, a consortium including the Noble Foundation was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for a $125 million bioenergy center in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The consortium is led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Projects at the Noble Foundation will include basic science issues for using switchgrass as a significant contributor to the biofuels industry. The Noble Foundation's share of the DOE funds will total about $9 million over five years.

The Noble Foundation has an agreement with Ceres Inc., a biotechnology plant based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., for a long-term collaboration to develop and commercialize biomass crops for ethanol production.

There is not one laboratory at the Noble Foundation dedicated to switchgrass. Researchers from about eight of the foundation's 18 primary laboratories are contributing to the switchgrass research.

"We are combining our expertise rather than doing the research in one room," Rhines said.

Research is expected to continue long after the first switchgrass crop is harvested in the Panhandle.

"This is not a project that will start and stop and be considered a success," he said.

This article appeared in The Journal Record, www.journalrecord.com, on March 7, 2008.