Obama’s energy pick optimistic on new biofuels

The Des Moines Register
By PHILIP BRASHER • pbrasher@dmreg.com • January 13, 2009

Washington, D.C. — Steven Chu, the Nobel laureate selected to be the next energy secretary, says he’s optimistic that the country can commercialize new forms of biofuels that won’t come from food crops.

The next generation of biofuels won’t necessarily be ethanol, Chu said at his confirmation hearing today before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He said scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where he’s been director are developing the bacteria and yeast needed to convert plant cellulose into new versions of conventional gasoline and diesel.

He also says scientists are working on new crops for biofuels that will require less energy to grow and be “more robust.”

Corn ethanol has frequently been criticized because of the relatively large amount of energy needed to grow the grain as opposed to grasses or trees, which could be feedstocks for new fuels.

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