| Wisconsin College and University programs |
University of Wisconsin System
General Resources
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Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative
- WBI aims to showcase and build on the UW System’s considerable efforts in bioenergy research, outreach and training, and to foster state and local efforts to attract and support companies working in the bioenergy sector.
UW Extension Bio-Energy & Bio-Economy Team
Wisconsin Bioenergy Sites and Sources
- The UW Extension Center for Community and Economic Development has put together this site
to help understand and use information relevant to siting and operating facilities for producing biofuels and energy from sources of biomass in Wisconsin.
Institutional "Map" of the UW System
- This directory will help guide you through the complex UW-System to find research and education programs related to the Bio-Economy.
Agriculture and Applied Economics
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| UW-Madison |
UW Center for Climatic Research
- Located in the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, CCR's mission is
to advance understanding of the climate system through interdisciplinary investigations of past, present, and future climates, and to use this knowledge for societally relevant purposes.
Wisconsin Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Resource
 A web resource from the Biological Systems Engineering Department of the UW-Madison. |
| UW-Platteville |
UW-Platteville Implements New Renewable Energy Courses, The option for a minor which focuses on" "wind, solar, geothermal, hydrogen, bio-fuels and bio-products." |
| Wisconsin Technical College System |
Consortium for Education in Renewable Energy Technologies |
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State of Wisconsin
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Wisconsin's Air Management Program
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Works to maintain and improve Wisconsin's air quality in order to protect public health and the environment. Staff monitor the air for pollutants, inspect emission sources, provide compliance assistance to industry, initiate enforcement actions when necessary, operate a permit program, and educate the public about air quality issues.
Contact information for State Agency Employees
Office of Energy Independence
Dept. of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection
Dept of Commerce
Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP)
- A project of with the Wisconsin FFA Foundation, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, and Focus on Energy. The project began as a plan to develop an agriculture education unit supplement to the existing KEEP Activity Guide. The enthusiastic support of the agriculture education community has added so much more!!
Wisconsin Biorefining Development Initiative |
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| Federal Agencies |
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| US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) |
Agricultural Research Service
Forest Products Laboratory (Madison, WI)
U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center (Madison, WI)
National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (Peoria, IL)
AgSTAR Program (sponsored by the EPA)
Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC)
The Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol, a report on Bio-Fuels |
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US Dept of Energy (DOE) |
Biofuels & Greenhouse Gases: Myth vs. Fact sheet
Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Biomass Program Technologies
- R&D in four key areas required to produce biomass feedstocks and convert them to useful biofuels and value-added products. These technology areas are: Feedstocks, Processing and Conversion, Integrated Biorefineries, and Infrastructure.
Energy Frontier Research Centers Grant
Energy Information Administration
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
State Renewable Electricity Profiles
- From the Energy Information Administration, a summary of each state's renewable energy resources. Most recent data released in May 2008 is from data collected in 2006.
Sungrant Initiative
- National network of universities and DOE labs partnering to build a biobased economy. See their BioWeb resource and the North Central Center serving Wisconsin.
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| SBIR |
Small Business Innovation Research Program
Offers grants to qualified small businesses (including small and medium-sized farms) in support of high quality, innovative research related to important scientific problems and opportunities in agriculture tha tcould lead to significant public benefit if successfully commercialized. The USDA SBIR program has awarded more than 2000 grant since its inception in 1983, allowing hundreds of small businesses to explore their technological potential and profit from the commercialization of their innovative ideas
Resources:
General Information, Word document
Transition from National Research Initiative to Small Business Innovation Research, pdf
SBIR Divisions and Resources, pdf |
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| Other State Government and University Programs |
Michigan State University |
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| Penn State |
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| University of California-Davis |
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| University of Illinois |
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| Iowa State University |
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| University of Minnesota |
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| University of Nebraska-Lincoln |
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| University of Tennesee |
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| Multi-State Organizations |
American Society of Agronomy
Crop Science Society of America
Soil Science Society of America |
Non-profit scientific societies, based in Madison, WI, but international in scope that publish research from around the world about agriculture, including bio-energy issues. Members of the societies are dedicated to the conservation and wise use of natural resources to produce food, feed, and fiber crops while maintaining and improving the environment. Today, ASA is seen as a progressive, scientific society meeting the needs of its members through publications, recognition and awards, placement service, certification programs, meetings, student activities, and government action. |
| Bioenergy Feedstock Information Network |
BFIN is a gateway to a wealth of biomass feedstock information resources from the U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and other research organizations. |
| Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy |
DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency through a map-based interface. |
| Midwest Ag Energy Forum |
The Midwest Ag Energy Forum is part of the larger Midwest Ag Energy Network, which "seeks to encourage an ongoing dialogue about this exciting industry through online forums, webinars, blogs, and other media." Members can read the posted articles and respond to those they find particularly interesting. |
| Midwest Alliance for Renewable Energy |
MARE is a nonprofit trade association that brings together the region’s renewable energy industry as an advocacy community to support state-level policies that harness the Midwest’s abundant renewable energy and energy efficiency resources. The Alliance maintains effective relationships with all levels of government and educates the public about the need to ensure our economic and environmental security and aggressively promotes the use of renewable energy and the increase of our electric transmission capacity.
Headquartered in Jefferson City, MO, the association works with policymakers around the country, including Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. |
| North Central Bioeconomy Consortium |
The mission of NCBEC is to promote the development of a robust bioeconomy in the North Central region. It's a
consortium of public institutions across the Midwest that are dedicated to educating state governments about emerging technology and keeping the land grant system informed about policy decisions, funding for research, and other opportunities to enhance their work. The website describes the NC506 program that is funding several UW bio-energy research projects looking at community and envrironmental impacts, public policy and economic factors. |
| SARE |
"Since 1988, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has helped advance farming systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities through a nationwide research and education grants program. The national outreach office of the SARE program is supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It operates under cooperative agreements with the University of Maryland and the University of Vermont to develop and disseminate information about sustainable agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture." Their February 2008 package about opportunities in agriculture is titled "Clean Energy Farming: Cutting Costs, Improving Efficiencies, Harnessing Renewables" |
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| Energy & Environmental Organizations and Resources |
| America's Energy Future |
There is a growing sense of national urgency about the role of energy in long-term U.S. economic vitality, national security, and climate change. The U.S. has the resources to combat this energy challenge; the dilemma is to identify which solutions will be right for our country, and how to address the massive technological and social changes to come.
To fill this information gap, the National Academies launched the America’s Energy Future study in 2007. This four-year project will explore energy technologies, providing authoritative estimates and analysis of the current and future supply of and demand for energy; new and existing technologies to meet those demands; their associated impacts; and their projected costs. |
| Ammonia Fuel Network |
Mission: To promote the implementation of anhydrous ammonia as an affordable, sustainable, carbon-free fuel for transportation and stationary power applications, thereby enhancing economic security, reducing fossil-fuel dependence, and helping save the environment. |
ATTRA - the National Sustainable Agriculture information Service |
A link to their Farm Energy webpages. ATTRA is a USDA-funded organization that offers publications, success stories, and links that explain how to make farm buildings more energy efficient, use the sun's energy to heat greenhouses and pump water, choose and put up wind turbines, make and use biofuels, and much more. (ATTRA originally stood for "Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas." It changed its name to the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, but the old acronym stuck. |
| Energy Center of Wisconsin |
We need a portfolio of solutions, from technologies and policies to community planning, to reduce our fossil energy use and lower our carbon footprint. A sustainable and efficient use of our energy resources is good for the environment and builds a strong economy.
ECW hopes to provides:
- objective information on energy impacts
- innovative ideas on reducing energy use
- intelligent solutions to energy and environmental challenges
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| Focus on Energy |
Focus on Energy works with eligible Wisconsin residents and businesses to install cost effective energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
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| Germplasm Resources Information Network |
GRIN Taxonomy for Plants search database |
| International Energy Agency |
The International Energy Agency (IEA) acts as energy policy advisor to 27 member countries in their effort to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for their citizens. Founded during the oil crisis of 1973-74, the IEA’s initial role was to co-ordinate measures in times of oil supply emergencies. Current work focuses on climate change policies, market reform, energy technology collaboration and outreach to the rest of the world, especially major consumers and producers of energy like China, India, Russia and the OPEC countries. With a staff of around 190, mainly energy experts and statisticians from its 27 member countries, the IEA conducts a broad programme of energy research, data compilation, publications and public dissemination of the latest energy policy analysis and recommendations on good practices, including:
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| Midwest Rural Energy Council |
Non-profit organization in Minnesota and Wisconsin (USA) supporting research and education on energy topics and safe energy use on farms. |
| Phyllis - the composition of biomass and waste |
Phyllis is a database, containing information on the composition of biomass and waste. Phyllis enables you to make analysis data of individual biomass or waste materials available and offers you the possibility to obtain the average composition of any combination of groups and/or subgroups. From the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands. |
| Plants For A Future |
Plants For A Future is a resource center for rare and unusual plants, particularly those which have edible, medicinal or other uses. They practice vegan-organic permaculture with emphasis on creating an ecologically sustainable environment based largely on perennial plants. US Database |
| RealClimate |
Subtitled: "Climate science from climate scientists,"
RealClimate is an an award-winning site for the interested public and journalists. Its aim is "provide a quick response to developing stories and provide the context sometimes missing in mainstream commentary. The discussion here is restricted to scientific topics and will not get involved in any political or economic implications of the science." |
| Renewable Energy in the U.S. - Biogas |
January 2008 slide presentation from the Swedish Trade Council that looks at the status and potential of biogas in the US. This is not the original presentation, all of the slides that were in Swedish were taken out. |
| RENEW Wisconsin |
A network of clean energy businesses, educators, utility mangers, builders, farmers, state agency officials, environmental advocates, and concerned citizens promoting
clean energy strategies. |
| Small scale bio-gas resource link list |
A list of links from the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers pertaining to small-scal methane production |
| Wisconsin Distributed Resources Collaborative |
Their goal is to assist the creation of a sustainable market for the deployment of small-scale generation and energy storage technologies in Wisconsin. |
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| Farm & Industry Organizations |
| Wisconsin Bio Industry Alliance |
WBIA is a nonprofit corporation that supports the development of bio based renewable energy, power, and products in Wisconsin. |
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| Private Sector Resources |
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| Ag Innovation News |
A quarterly newsletter from the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute in Minnesota. An excellent overview of bio-based developments that are at or near commercialization. |
Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining |
A new review and commentary journal published as a cooperative venture of SCI (Society of Chemical Industry) and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Free registration is required to view sample articles. Institutional customers can receive free online access. |
| BiofuelsMarketplace.com |
A directory of private companies serving the biodiesel and ethanol industries, and other resources. |
| Simon Robinson's Big Biofuels Blog |
Place for new, contemporary biofuel issues. |
