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Northern Illinois University

NIU Office of Public Affairs


News Release

Contact: Steven Ink, AgTech
(815) 547-4252

April 25, 2005

Conference to focus on deriving energy from agriculture

Belvidere, Ill. — Businesspersons, scientists and academics will gather here next week to discuss whether energy independence for America might be found in the corn and bean fields of Illinois.

Northern Illinois University and representatives from its Belvidere-based AgTech Initiative will host a meeting at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, at the Community Building Complex of Boone County to discuss ways in which Boone County can become a showcase for ag-based energy production and an incubator for energy related small businesses.

While ag-based energy has long been studied as a “green” technology, skyrocketing oil prices, and the politics surrounding them, have made development of such alternatives a matter of economic and national security.

“The president and Congress have made it clear that renewable energy is now a matter of strategic importance,” says Steven Ink, who directs the AgTech initiative for NIU. “Hopefully some of the ideas that come out of this meeting will help break the grip that oil producing nations have on the United States.”

The AgTech Initiative is a public-private partnership sponsored by NIU and Growth Dimensions. The group has been awarded a series of grants to develop an economic growth strategy centered on advanced technologies that develop new uses for agricultural products, including energy. For more information on the group, go to www.agtech.niu.edu.

Wednesdays meeting will touch upon existing ag-based energy alternatives such as petroleum substitutes like ethanol (made from corn) and bio-diesel (made from soy beans), and alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and geothermal power. There also may be discussion of ways to derive energy from agricultural waste such as wheat straw and corn stover.

The meeting will include presentations from:

  • Chris Tynan, an expert on renewable energy field with emphasis on wind and solar power strategies.
  • Jun Yoshitani, a renewable energy engineering consultant with expertise in farm specific solutions to recovering energy from waste generated on the farm.
  • Rob Hoffman, senior economist, World Business Chicago.

The presentations will be followed by a moderated discussion to develop action steps needed to begin development of ag-based energy projects in Boone County.

Ink says AgTech also is looking for ways to find new uses for byproducts derived from ethanol.

“The ethanol plants of the future will be more diversified; they will be more like petroleum refineries, extracting a variety of chemicals that can be used in a wide range of products, such as plastics, building materials, cleaning solutions and more,” Ink says.

The NIU AgTech Initiative, and outcomes from the conference, will be highlighted during the Growth Dimensions annual dinner, which will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, at the Community Building Complex of Boone County. For more information, call (815) 547-4252.

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