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US plans $600 million dollar spend on biofuels

22 August 2008

The US has announced that it is to spend $600 million (£320 million) in the coming years to accelerate the production of biofuels.

The amount will be joined by the millions of dollars private investors are also providing in order to reduce the country's dependence on oil.

The funding is part of the US's newly-approved farm bill, which will see $600 million being spent over the next five years to implement modern energy technologies.

Ed Schafer, agriculture secretary for the US, said: "There is no turning back from a future in which more of our energy resources are grown and harvested in a sensible way.

"That means agriculture is going to be right in the middle of the game."

At a recent conference in Florida, farmers and research firms also discussed the possibility of utilising livestock manure and non-food crops into the production of biofuels.

The US consumes about 20 million barrels of oil a day, and it is with biofuels production that the country is looking to offset this figure in the long-run.