The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fuels Development and the Regional Biomass Energy Program are hosting a series of workshops around the country on ethanol produced from nontraditional biomass feedstocks such as crop residues, forestry waste, pulp and paper mill sludge and dedicated energy crops like hybrid poplars and switchgrass.

Participants will learn about ethanol as a means to supply in-state transportation fuel, improve environmental quality and promote economic development. Topics include a review of state ethanol development projects, availability of ethanol feedstock resources, ethanol markets and uses, ethanol vehicle technologies and environmental benefits of ethanol use.

In letters to governors of states where workshops will be held, Chair and Kansas Governor Graves wrote, "The advantage of biomass feedstocks is that they are low cost and available in large quantities in almost every geographic region."

The following workshops will be held in September:

• Sept. 13-14 Jackson, Mississippi
• Sept. 15 Madison, Wisconsin
• Sept. 23-24 Rapid City, South Dakota
• Sept. 27 Birmingham, Alabama
• Sept. 27 Lansing, Michigan
• Sept. 30 Waterville, Maine