By Lena Babaeva          

The Governor of Tennessee, Phil Bredesen, proposed in his State address on Monday for Tennessee to build on its biofuels initiative for turning switchgrass into non-food ethanol and to create a solar power research center in an effort to spur on green energy jobs.  

It is likely that Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville would anchor the project with solar as they do with biofuels.  The state is looking for private partners who may help in the solar venture, just as DuPont Co. has helped partner in building a biofuels refinery.  Governor Bredesen stated that federal aid would be necessary, in addition to private partnerships, in order to make the project a reality.   

The Governor hopes to make renewable energy his legacy to Tennessee.