The U.S. Department of Energy(DOE) recently announced that five energy service companies had been selected to use performance-based contracts to reduce energy use, manage utility costs, and promote renewable energy at federal facilities by using biomass and alternative methane energy sources. Biomass includes dedicated energy crops and trees, agricultural crop residues, aquatic plants, wood and wood residues, animal wastes, and other organic waste materials. Alternative methane is generated in landfills, wastewater treatment plants and coalbeds.

“In his National Energy Plan President Bush directed the federal government, the nation’s largest energy consumer, to lead by example,” Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said. “The contracts the Department of Energy is awarding today encourage innovative, bio-based energy technologies to reduce federal energy consumption, without cost to the American taxpayers.

Our goal is to make bioenergy cost-competitive with traditional energy sources.”