Legislators, community leaders, farmers, and economic developers are closely watching the progress of bioenergy production in Southern Virginia. In searching for innovative solutions, Southern Virginia Bioenergy: Making Innovation Work conference scheduled for Tuesday, October 6, 2009, will offer all stakeholders an opportunity to focus on Virginia’s renewable energy agenda. Beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. and held at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville Virginia, the conference will feature demonstrations from BioStat, an ethanol mini-refinery from Allard Research & Development, and a mobile gasification power generation unit by the Auburn University’s Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts.

Area entrepreneurs will share their bioenergy projects and business models including an overview of the VanDerHyde Dairy anaerobic digester project, Red Birch Energy canola bio-diesel facility, and Osage Appomattox Bioenergy plans to use barley to produce ethanol.

The conference is sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, Virginia Cooperative Extension, & Southeast Agriculture & Forestry Energy Resources Alliance as a component of the EDA Project: Leveraging R&D for Economic Development—A Commercialization System for Southside Virginia.

Although the conference is free to the participant, you must register by Friday, October 2, 2009. Click here for program information.