Inside a greenhouse on N.C. State's Centennial Campus, researchers are growing poplar trees. The hope is these trees will someday run your car.
RALEIGH -- State leaders are hoping research to find alternative fuels will boost North Carolina's economy. The effort to reduce the country's need for foreign oil is picking up steam across the country, but how long will it be until we see more of these alternative fuels?
Perhaps an even better question might be: when will the American people start buying it?
Inside a greenhouse on N.C. State's Centennial Campus, researchers are growing poplar trees. The hope is these trees will someday run your car.
Researcher Dr. Vincent Chiang explains the process to Rep. Bob Etheridge.
"Through some genetic modification, we try to change the wood properties so it's more closer to corn essentially," explained researcher Dr. Vincent Chiang.
In simple terms, the goal is to turn the wood into ethanol, an alternative to oil in fuel cars.
"North Carolina has the potential to be the Saudi Arabia for renewable fuels, and N.C. State University on this research campus has proven that to be a fact," said U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-2nd District).
Corn is commonly used now but researchers prefer to find other sources since corn is also a source of food.
"If everything goes smoothly, I would say in five to ten years the plan for ethanol production could be a reality using the wood we're producing," Dr. Chang added.
But the question is: will Americans use it if it is available? An E85 pump has been at a Durham gas station for about a year, and a year later, just about a 100 gallons are sold every day.
E85 is 85 percent ethanol and just 15 percent gas. It's better for the environment and cheaper but only certain cars can use it right now, and there are just eight gas stations with E85 available across the state.
"I would say to you the young drivers are more likely to accept it, but as it becomes more available, I think all drivers will accept it because Americans want to wean themselves off the Middle East," Rep. Etheridge added.
Etheridge hopes incentives to make, provide and buy ethanol will fuel more interest in the future, but for now it remains far from mainstream.
N.C. State researchers are also working on a project to turn animal fat and algae oil into fuel for jet airplanes.