RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.–RTI International began construction last week on a new 3,000-square-foot energy technology development facility on RTI’s main campus in Research Triangle Park, N.C. The facility is designed to support $7.1 million of research sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy and from the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy over the next three years. The RTI announcement comes at a time when the U.S. Congress is putting pressure on the EPA regarding regulations requiring U.S. refiners to blend millions of gallons of biofuel into the U.S. fuel supply, even if no biofuel is produced. Legislation such as the Phantom Fuel Reform Act (H.R. 6047) underscore the controversy of pouring federal dollars into biofuels in advance of commercialization and widespread use of the fuel. (more…)