CONTACT: James Frederick, Ph.D.
PHONE: (843) 662-3526 x228
E-MAIL: jfrdrck@clemson.edu

Florence, SC - Local legislators, industry members, education institution faculty and related stakeholders will be attending a conference entitled ‘Switchgrass – Energy for the Future’ to be held on Thursday, November 15, at the Clemson University Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence. The Conference will be a great opportunity for those invited to learn more about switchgrass, how it can be used for renewable energy, and government programs that will affect the future of renewable energy.

President Bush discussed in his last two State-of-the-Union addresses the important role that crops like switchgrass will play in meeting our future energy needs. Switchgrass is an amazing plant that appears to be well adapted to our area. It is a native species that can be found growing wild throughout South Carolina, although few people would recognize this potentially important crop. Switchgrass is drought tolerant, pest resistant, and, unlike corn, requires relatively little fuel to produce. The plant itself has a good energy profile and would be environmentally friendly to produce on a large-scale basis.

The potential to make renewable energy from this crop is very exciting and represents a new industry to the State. To help meet the future energy needs of South Carolina, Clemson University, in collaboration with several Federal agencies, has initiated a comprehensive research and outreach program on switchgrass production and utilization. The focus of this program is to address the agronomic, environmental, industrial, and socio-economic issues associated with biomass energy production in the State.

For more information about the Conference, please visit the switchgrass website at http://agroecology.clemson.edu/switchgrass.

Switchgrass brochure (pdf, 4.6Mb, landscape, letter, 2pp.)

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