The University of Iowa is hoping it will be able to use grass as a biofuel to help power the campus.

 

About 70 people, including University of Iowa officials, on Wednesday toured Dan Black's farm where he is growing giant miscanthus, a tropical tallgrass native to east Asia.

 

The University of Iowa is aiming to use less energy in 2020 than it did in 2010, even as its campus expands. By 2020, the college wants to have 40 percent of its energy derived from renewable sources, according to Ben Anderson, the university's power plant manager.

 

The school has been increasing its use of burning oat hulls in an attempt to draw down how much coal it burns at its power plant. The university plans to test the grass by burning it in its boilers next week.

 

Black approached the university to offer a portion of his property for its pilot project, with the college renting the 15 acres for five years and paying for the planting, maintenance and harvest of the grass. The school is also working with a farm near Muscatine to grow the grass.

 

The University of Iowa has said it hopes to plant an extra 2,500 acres of the plant by 2016.

 

 

PHOTO: Visitors to Dan Black’s farm just south of Iowa City walk through the fields of giant miscanthus Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014, just south of Iowa City. About 70 people, including University of Iowa officials, on Wednesday toured Dan Black's farm where he is growing giant miscanthus, a tropical tallgrass native to east Asia. The University of Iowa is hoping it will be able to use grass as a biofuel to help power the campus.

CREDIT: Josh O’Leary, AP