NEWS NEWS NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 13, 2010
MEDIA CONTACT: STEVEN ENGELHARDT (314) 504-4029

Secretary Solis, Secretary Chu & Congressman Clay Announce Almost $50 Million in Recovery Act Grants to Advance Biofuels Development & Green Energy Jobs in St. Louis

Donald Danforth Plant Center Wins $44 Million to Convert Green Algae into Biofuel, Better Family Life and Alternative Solutions Awarded $5.6 Million for Green Energy Jobs Training

-Washington, D.C.- U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu and Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) MO-1 announced today that the St. Louis region has been awarded almost $50 million in Recovery Act Grants to advance the development of biofuels from green algae and to train 900 unemployed workers to compete in the 21st Century Green economy.  The Department of Energy has awarded the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center a $44 million Recovery Act Grant to spur the development of biofuels, and the Department of Labor has awarded $5.6 million to Better Family Life and Alternative Solutions for training unemployed workers from high poverty areas for Green Energy Jobs.

“Today, I am so pleased to announce almost $50 million in Recovery Act funds for the St. Louis region.  This is terrific news that will support job growth and worker retraining,” said Congressman Clay. “I want to congratulate the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Better Family Life and Alternative Solutions.  Their good work will lift up the unemployed in our most impoverished neighborhoods and it will establish the St. Louis region as a leading center for the development of renewable fuels and other green energy technologies. This shows the power of what life sciences and 21st Century green development can mean for our region’s economy and our nation’s energy independence.  I was proud to support all three of these grant winners and I want to personally thank President Obama, Secretary Solis and Secretary Chu for focusing the Recovery Act to support these wonderful projects in the St. Louis area.”

Better Family Life and Alternative Solutions were awarded $5.6 million in Recovery Act grants from the Department of Labor to train the unemployed in high poverty areas for green energy jobs.  Theses funds are targeted at worker retraining, especially for those individuals who come from difficult backgrounds that make it harder for them to find a job.  Better Family Life and Alternative Solutions are two of only 38 Pathways Out of Poverty Grant winners from across the country.  The training that they will provide for green energy jobs in construction, rehabbing, weatherization, and renewable energy technologies will elevate both the jobs skills and life skills of unemployed workers.

The National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB) ($44 million)—Led by the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, will develop a systems approach for sustainable commercialization of algal biofuel (such as renewable gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel) and bioproducts. NAABB will integrate resources from companies, universities, and national laboratories to overcome the critical barriers of cost, resource use and efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, and commercial viability. It will develop and demonstrate the science and technology necessary to significantly increase production of algal biomass and lipids, efficiently harvest and extract algae and algal products, and establish valuable certified co-products for renewable fuel production.

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