WASHINGTON -- United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today announced that as a result of federal appropriations dollars she secured, Raceland Raw Sugar of Raceland, La., has successfully launched a U.S. demonstration project that will process waste from sugarcane into energy to power cars and heat and cool homes.

"Louisiana is already the leader in U.S. domestic energy production of oil and gas," Sen. Landrieu said. "The innovative technology that Raceland Raw Sugar is piloting will help Louisiana become an equal leader in domestically producing alternative forms of energy. This energy produced from sugarcane waste will help the United States become more energy independent and, in turn, less dependent on unpredictable foreign oil."

Raceland Raw Sugar received a $1.48 million federal grant resulting from federal funding Sen. Landrieu secured in the Energy and Water appropriations bill. The company is matching these federal dollars with $1.9 million of its own funds. The demonstration project is in the first phase of a process that will use the waste biomass from sugar cane production -- waste that would otherwise be burned in the fields—to produce advanced biofuels or electricity.

"It has been very difficult getting this type of demonstration project off the ground due to the tight economic situation in the sugar industry, however, with the help of Senator Landrieu, Raceland is now able to move toward a sustainable future for the sugar industry in Louisiana," said Dan Duplantis, Sr., Raceland's Executive Vice President. "The owners of the company have for the past several years investigated different technologies to add value to the feedstock materials supplied by the local farmers. These ventures will allow the farmers to share in profits and increase revenues at a time of very high production costs."

Neville Dolan, Raceland's Plant Manager, says he expects that the company will be ready to produce "briquettes" of sugarcane waste for use as energy by next year. Briquettes can be burned in a biomass boiler to make electricity, or it can be converted in a gasifier and be turned into ethanol. Collecting the sugarcane biomass from scattered locations and processing it into a form suitable for alternative fuels has been the major challenge to production. However, the Raceland process overcomes these logistical problems with utilizing biofuels.

"The company's innovation will demonstrate to the world that sugarcane biomass is both a viable fuel for the future and an economic benefit the surrounding community," Sen. Landrieu said. "Louisiana sugar farmers will greatly benefit from this project because they will be able to make a profit from the sugarcane's fiber -- not just sugar and molasses. The American people will benefit from a homegrown fuel that is cleaner and more efficient than gasoline or conventional corn ethanol."

Sen. Landrieu is a member of the "Gang of 10" -- five Senate Democrats and five Senate Republicans -- which has proposed a bipartisan energy plan that includes a sharp increase in domestic oil and gas drilling as well as a robust push to move U.S. cars toward alternative fuels. The "Gang of 10" is working to bring this bipartisan compromise to the Senate floor in September when Congress returns to Washington.