VVS to be bioenergy demonstration site

RomeSentinel.com (heart of New York State)

VERONA — Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School is growing its curriculum with a demonstration trial of shrub willow bioenergy crops.

Researchers at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) will be planting a 2.5 acre field of shrub willow adjacent to the high school, on Beacon Light Road, on Wednesday. The trial will show the potential of shrub willow to grow on marginal agricultural land and provide wood chips that can be used as fuel in power plants, for heating, and as a feedstock for cellulosic biofuels. The planting demonstration will begin at 1 p.m. and is open to growers, bioenergy professionals, and the interested public.

"VVS is the perfect site for a long-term demonstration of the growth potential of shrub willow varieties we’ve produced in our breeding program — it is easily accessible and in a region of the State where there is great interest in renewable energy technology and plenty of land suitable to grow willow" says Dr. Larry Smart, sssociate professor in Environmental and Forest Biology at SUNY-ESF and the project leader.

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