The rich agricultural base in the Rochester, NY Region provides the necessary feed stock to support ethanol and biodiesel production. In the past year alone, more than $287 million of new biofuels projects have been announced in the Rochester Region. This includes Mascoma Corporation's recent annoucement to build the first cellulosic ethanol demonstration project in our region.

In addition, New York's first state-of-the-art dry mill ethanol plant – Western New York Energy, LLC, an $87 million investment – will be built in Orleans County, just west of Rochester. The new facility is expected to produce 50 million gallons of ethanol a year.

Another asset in this region is our research and development expertise. The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, located in Geneva, NY, and affiliated with Cornell University, is a national leader in agricultural research and development. Research is underway to support biofuels technologies and production facilities at the Experiment Station, including next generation cellulosic ethanol.

The Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park was established to foster agriculture, food and bio-based technologies. One of the Park's major purposes is to transfer Cornell University's cutting-edge research and technology to the private sector in order to aid commercial development.