The Biofuels Center of North Carolina was funded with a $5 million initial appropriation from the 2007 General Assembly.  It is a private, nonprofit corporation headquartered on the 426-acre North Carolina Biofuels Campus in Oxford.  It receives continuing funding from the General Assembly to implement North Carolina's Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership and to help make the state more energy independent.

History

The Biofuels Center originated from legislation introduced by North Carolina House Representative Jim Crawford and North Carolina Senator Charlie Albertson.  The outcome of their legislative efforts was Senate Bill 2051, mandating the statewide biofuels Strategic Plan; the companion bill in the House was House Bill 1990.  The resulting Strategic Plan was derived from input from more than 70 participants including leaders in agriculture, academia, state government,  NGOs, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, and others.  The plan and these bills were instrumental in the creation of the Biofuels Center to meet the mandate of the Strategic Plan.  The creation of the Biofuels Center to implement the Strategic Plan is, in fact, Strategy II. 

The General Assembly demonstrated its continuing support for the mission of the Biofuels Center of North Carolina during the short session in 2008.  Representatives James W. Crawford, Jr., and  Edith D. Warren introduced House Bill 2109, and Senator Doug Berger introduced Senate Bill 1655 along with nine co-sponsors to provide continuing operational funding for the Biofuels Center in the 2008-2009 Fiscal Year.   Support from the House and Senate ensured that the Biofuels Center was able to continue building a new biofuels industry in North Carolina.

In the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year, the Biofuels Center continued to receive funding from the General Assembly with a portion of its $5 million appropriation coming from the U.S. Department of Energy's stimulus funds.  Representatives Crawford and Ty Harrell introduced House Bill 400, and Senator Albertson introduced Senate Bill 841.