The University of Iowa has been recognized by the Iowa governor’s office for its initiative to use a locally-available grass to reduce the university’s carbon footprint.

Gov. Terry Branstad announced on Thursday that his office awarded UI Facilities Management with the “Governor’s Iowa Environmental Excellence Award” with special recognition in energy efficiency/renewable energy. The honor means the UI is one of a dozen organizations and businesses in the state to be recognized this year for leadership and excellence in the environment, renewable energy, water quality, waste management and habitat restoration.

Branstad will present the awards at a ceremony on Aug. 4 in Des Moines.

In 2013, the UI began planting a non-invasive, fast-growing grass called Miscanthus x giganteus (Giant Miscanthus) in a designated plot in eastern Iowa. The crop is being grown to supply electricity, steam and chilled water to the main campus and is part of a mix of fuels being developed to reduce the university’s use of fossil fuels.

The project is part of the UI’s Biomass Fuel Project, designed to reduce the use of fossil fuels by substituting locally available renewable materials in the main Power Plant, with the goal of achieving 40 percent renewable energy consumption by 2020.

Test plots of miscanthus were planted in 2013 and 2014 on farms near Muscatine and south of Iowa City as part of a biomass feasibility study. The UI advanced the project in May to commercial scale by planting more than 350 acres of miscanthus, including 65 acres at the Eastern Iowa Airport.

Visit the UI Office of Sustainability website for more information on the project.