Biofuels grant to UW, WSU will help area businesses

An $80 million federal grant to the University of Washington and Washington State University for
research into a Pacific Northwest wood-based
biofuels industry includes funding for expanded efforts by Oregon and
Washington businesses, including Weyerhaeuser, ZeaChem and tree farmer
Greenwood Resources, the nations largest grower of fast-growing farmed poplar.

The $40 million for the UW-led consortium of
universities and businesses includes $9 million for biofuels producer ZeaChem
to focus on poplar as feedstock for biofuel production at facilities such as
ZeaChems plant near Boardman, Oregon. The
$40 million for the WSU group includes $4 million for Weyerhaeuser and $5
million for Colorado-based GEVO to work on producing car and jet fuel from
logging slash, bark and recycled wood.