The key to the successful implementation of this policy option will be the open sharing of advanced technology, improvements to efficiency, and intellectual property between universities, state and local government, and private industry, including commercial facilities and their partners who are directly involved in the development of these new technologies and improvements in efficiency.
To effectively realize this ambitious goal a partnering agreement must be developed, be agreed upon, and signed off on by all parties that will be directly involved with this policy option. The issue of sharing intellectual property will be difficult to get buy-in from all parties, particularly as the advanced technology associated with intellectual property will give the private sector companies an advantage in the marketplace, which they will not likely be ready to share without a partnering agreement that provides advantages for being a partner.
Funding for this policy option will come from public private partnerships, as well as the pooling of funds between states. Having this policy option regionally applied opposed to being implemented on a state by state basis should save states on the costs of developing and implementing the policy and should provide greater dividends for all parties involved. Additionally the research conducted at universities will provide students with knowledge and hands on experience that will easily be transferred directly into the marketplace. This will also provide the commercial facilities in the region with a talent pool from which to recruit to their expanding workforce.
Process
States will support advanced technologies by providing funding for Front End Engineering and Design studies.
A regional group of cooperative extension leaders should make recommendations on how extension can aid in providing technical assistance in development of advanced technology facilities in rural areas.
The technology to be utilized and shared will first need to be developed by universities, government, and/or private industry.
Partnerships between universities, government, and private industry will be created for the seamless sharing of this information. This partnership should include faculty and students from universities in areas where technology development would be applicable to commercial scale alternative fuel plants, industry leaders and plant managers from the private industry who can implement these new technologies, and government officials from departments focused on development and the facilitation of new technologies throughout private industry.
The intellectual property (IP) rights for this technology will need to be acquired by facilities intending to use this new technology to develop or enhance their facilities.
A mechanism for distributing new IP rights for new technologies as they are created will need to be developed. As part of distributing these IP rights, commercial facilities will need to demonstrate need and implementation plans for the new technologies. Additionally, a partnering agreement will be developed between the commercial facilities and parties responsible for developing the new technologies to ensure that the utilization of new technologies remains in the Midwest region.
Funding will be made available for development of these new technologies by establishing a public and private partnership funding mechanism. Elements of this funding mechanism will include:
Use public funds to seed and leverage additional private capital resource;
Make grants available for up to 25% of the costs for implementing the new technology; and
Develop financial support mechanisms for clusters of farmers and conversion technology plants in the form of grants, low interest loan guarantees, tax incentives, or other forms of incentives. The goal is to have multi-year agreements to allow for appropriate feedstocks to develop fuel production plants.
University of Wisconsin Biotechnology Center11 - Great point of reference for advancements in biotechnology
Type(s) of GHG Reductions
This policy option is qualitative only and GHG emissions resulting from this policy option will not be quantified.
Estimated GHG Reductions and Net Costs or Cost Savings
This policy option is qualitative only and GHG emissions resulting from this policy option will not be quantified.
Note: While the technical assistance provided to advanced technology projects is not directly quantifiable, the end result will provide for reduced GHG emissions as facilities operate more efficiently, infrastructure for these facilities operates more efficiently, feedstocks develop higher yields, and the utilization of lower carbon fuels and other alternative fuels becomes more prevalent.
Key Uncertainties
The key uncertainty to the successful implementation of this policy option will be the cooperative sharing, implementation, and feedback between all parties throughout the region. To have this policy option operate as seamlessly as possible, a partnering agreement must be developed which outlines the roles and responsibilities of each of the parties involved.
Additional Benefits and Costs
It is anticipated that the use of biofuels and other advanced technology within the transportation sector developed as a result of this policy option will have a lower carbon content than gasoline and will therefore result in overall reduced GHG emissions.
Lower GHG emissions have been linked to less air pollution and therefore health benefits.
Increasing the use of biofuels in the region will create employment and economic benefits
Challenging universities, government, and private industry to develop the best available technology for improving the efficiencies at commercial plants should spur development and create partnerships and opportunities for all parties that extend beyond this policy option.
