Secretary Bodman also highlighted the United States Department of Agriculture’s announcement of almost $188 million in loan guarantees and grants for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

The $160 million solicitation is part of the Biofuels Initiative. One of the goals of this initiative is to accelerate research and make cellulosic ethanol cost-competitive by 2012, offering the potential to displace up to 30% of the country’s fuel use by 2030.

The goal of the new solicitation is to demonstrate that commercial biorefineries can be profitable once initial construction costs are paid. There is a $100,000,000 cap on any single-demonstration award, and projects are required to show a 60/40 (industry/government) cost share.

In Las Vegas, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced $176.5 million in loan guarantees and almost $11.4 million in grants to support investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements by agricultural producers and small businesses.

As part of the Bush Administration’s recently ramped-up effort to promote production and use of alternative and renewable sources of energy, Administration officials are traveling the country to promote new energy initiatives.

Secretary Bodman will make a total of four stops around the country this week, promoting the Advanced Energy and American Competitiveness Initiatives, in addition to highlighting a number of energy efficiency programs, notably biomass (including cellulosic ethanol), solar, and hydrogen.

One of those stops was at General Motors Fuel Cell Activities in western New York to highlight the Bush Administration’s $289.5-million budget request in FY 2007 for the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative.