A Swedish solution for biofuels

Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul)

Clean-tech opportunities from Sweden? You betcha. And the state hopes to spur local adoption and commercialization of biofuels -- energy made from animal waste, crops and straw -- by emulating the Swedes.

By THOMAS LEE, Star Tribune
Last update: October 5, 2008 - 8:25 PM

MANKATO - Amid the throngs of iPod-toting, hoodie-wearing college students scurrying across the campus last week at Minnesota State University, Mankato, something was burning.

Several things actually: grain, chips and wood pellets. Inside a large white tent outside the student center, men with names like Per and Christofer were demonstrating the pride and joy of Swedish ingenuity: energy-efficient biofuel furnaces that emit far less pollution than their traditional counterparts. Nearby, Swedes and Americans furiously scribbled notes, exchanged business cards, shook hands and passed out literature.

The scenes belonged to an ambitious commercial and diplomatic effort to lure Swedish clean-energy firms -- and their technology -- to Minnesota. Led by the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, the state hopes to spur local adoption and commercialization of biofuels -- energy made from animal waste, crops and straw -- by emulating the Swedes, who consume renewable energy sources the same way Americans guzzle gasoline.

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