DOE Publishes Notices Announcing Meeting Of And Solicitation Of Nominees For Biomass R&D Technical

On May 19, 2014, two U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) notices were published in the Federal Register. The first is a notice of an open meeting of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee (Committee). The Committee advises DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) and priority technical biomass research and development (R&D) needs, and makes recommendations to the Biomass Research and Development Board. The meeting is scheduled to take place on June 5, 2014, from 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., and June 6, 2014, from 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at the Omni Shoreham, 2500 Calvert Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008. A copy of the notice is available online.

To attend the meeting and/or to make oral statements regarding any of the items on the agenda below, you must contact Elliott Levine at 202-586-1476 or Elliott.Levine@ee.doe.gov and Roy Tiley at 410-997-7778 ext. 220 or rtiley@bcs-hq.com at least five business days prior to the meeting.

The purpose of the meeting is to provide advice and guidance that promotes R&D leading to the production of biobased fuels and biobased products. The agenda is expected to include the following:

* Update on USDA Biomass R&D Activities;

* Update on DOE Biomass R&D Activities;

* Update on the BRDI;

* Update on the DOE Loan Program Solicitations;

* Update on the BioEconomy Initiative;

* Overview of the BioEconomy Initiative Analysis;

* Feedstocks panel on fuels from corn stover; and

* An overview and application of the USDA Feedstock Readiness Level Tool.

The second notice is a solicitation for nominations for candidates to fill vacancies on the Committee. Nominations must be submitted by June 9, 2014. A detailed description of the Committee and the nomination process is provided in the notice, which is available online.

By law, the Committee must include, among others, an individual affiliated with the biofuels industry and an individual affiliated with the biobased industrial and commercial products industry. According to the notice, while nominations will be accepted for other categories, nominations this year are needed for the following categories in order to address the Committee's needs: (E) an individual affiliated with a commodity trade association; (F) individuals affiliated with environmental or conservation organizations; (J) an individual with expertise in agricultural economics; (K) an individual with expertise in plant biology and biomass feedstock development; and (M) at the option of the points of contact, other members.