The Franklin County Career and Technical Center (FCCTC) is the recipient of the 2011 Kentucky Biofuels for Schools grant program, made possible by the TogetherGreen Fellow Program and the Kentucky Division of Compliance Assistance.

Founded in October 2010, the Kentucky Biofuels for Schools program encourages Kentucky high schools to teach, produce and use biofuels within their schools and community.

During the ceremony recently, FCCTC received a $5,000 grant toward a community-focused biodiesel project that engages local students in conservation and pollution prevention while focusing on fundamental science and math concepts. To qualify for this grant, FCCTC demonstrated a multidisciplinary project with long-term vision, committed to attending training from the Kentucky BioFuels for Schools program, and received commitments from three community partners to support the project.

For its project, FCCTC will install a mobile biodiesel processor created especially for them by the Loyola University’s Biodiesel Program. FCCTC will use waste oil from the district school cafeterias to covert to biodiesel. This biodiesel will eventually be used in district diesel-burning equipment. In addition, FCCTC will develop curriculum guides and an instructional DVD and be a model for other schools. Because of this commitment, FCCTC also will be recognized as the first technical center to become an advocate member of KY EXCEL, Kentucky’s environmental leadership program.