The University received $1.25 million in earmarks to fund bioenergy research, but officials have not yet decided how to allocate the money.

The bioenergy earmark, which was the highest amount of funding given to an area of research – out of a total of $9 million in earmarks the University recently received – came up short by more than half the amount requested, said David Lee, vice president in the Office for Research.

“UGA requested $3 million for a four-part research program that is designed to help our country develop sustainable liquid transportation fuels and thus reduce its dependence on petroleum products,” Lee said in an e-mail interview Friday.

Lee, along with other bioenergy research leaders on campus, will meet to re-budget and re-prioritize how the funds will be spent in order to meet the research program’s proposed goals. Receiving less than the requested amount is common, he said.

“You can’t do everything you said you were going to do, but we’ll select high priority things,” Lee said.

The University seeks earmarks to fund critical research when the usual sources of funding, namely competitive grants, are either unavailable or not readily available, Lee said.

There have been four previous $1 million earmarks for bioenergy, all for the Biorefining and Carbon Cycling program, said Terry Hastings, director of public relations in the Office for Research, in an e-mail Friday.

The University’s Biorefining program was created in 2001. The program, managed by K.C. Das, uses a biorefinery to convert biomass into biofuels and other bioproducts, according to its Web site.

Das, an engineering associate professor, is one of several bioenergy researchers on campus who likely will benefit from the earmark funding, Lee said.

The Biorefining and Carbon Cycling program has a core group of about six faculty members who work on thermochemical conversion, biochar and micro-algae and anaerobic digestion, Das said.

The University’s biorefinery is a factory that converts biomass – or plant material, such as wood chips – to create various sustainable energy products. One product is bio-oil, a hydrocarbon oil added to diesel fuel that reduces greenhouse emissions.

The research involves finding the best way to prepare biomass, which are plant materials, prior to fermentation, and different biofermentation approaches, Lee said.

It will be funded by the Department of Energy and treated with the same level of accountability as funds coming from a competitive grant, Lee said.

“Our aim is to further the objectives that Congress wants – promoting energy independence, developing clean fuels and promoting economic development, especially in rural development,” Lee said.