The sun was shining and the air was congratulatory at Washington State University Tri-Cities on Thursday as more than 200 people turned out for the dedication of the new Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory.

The $24.8 million building was finished in March and is a joint project of WSU Tri-Cities and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The 57,000-square-foot lab will be home to WSU's Center for Bioproducts and Bioenergy, and will be used by WSU faculty and staff and PNNL researchers to develop and commercialize biofuels and bioproducts.

Its activities will focus on addressing national energy independence, regional economic development and offering an educational experience aligned with the needs of the region and the nation.

Officials from WSU, PNNL and the Department of Energy spoke at the ceremony on the lawn outside the building.

Alexander "Andy" Karsner, DOE assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, praised PNNL and WSU's joint mission to develop technologies for making cellulosic ethanol from sources such as wheat straw, wood waste or organic municipal waste rather than from food crops such as corn.

He said developing biofuels technologies is as important as national security or the economy.

"It's inseparable from the mission of our troops," Karsner said. "We're making a nation that's stronger because it's greener, that's more prosperous because it's greener, more intelligent because it's greener."

Partnership was the dominant theme in remarks by WSU President Elson Floyd, Chancellor Vicky Carwein, PNNL Director Michael Kluse and DOE Pacific Northwest Site Office Manager Michael Weis.

"This partnership is a first of its kind for WSU and for PNNL, a partnership that promises innovation, new technologies and technology transfer, leading-edge teaching and research and scientific discovery -- work that will lead the state, the nation and the world in the conversion of biomass to products and energy," Carwein said.

Floyd said the lab is the cornerstone of WSU's efforts to lead the state in clean energy and sustainability research that ultimately can produce marketable results.

It also offers students unique opportunities to work with world-class researchers, he said.

"This facility -- and the collaboration with PNNL -- will help train the next generation of scientists and shape the next generation of leaders," Floyd said. "The time students spend here will prepare them to drive next-generation bioproducts and biofuels from concept to reality in the marketplace."

Kluse said BSEL is the culmination of four years of effort to make the building a reality and is an important addition to PNNL.

"In addition to being the first among several new facilities that we'll count as part of PNNL's campus renewal and expansion, BSEL gives us the opportunity to team with this major university to further develop a world-leading research signature in bioproducts," Kluse said.

The building is owned by WSU, which leases about half the lab and office space to Battelle for use by PNNL. The Legislature provided $13 million of the money needed to build. The rest came from a 20-year lease with Battelle.

Battelle also will provide more than $9 million worth of equipment for use by researchers, students and faculty.

Weis, a former high school science teacher, said he was proud of the educational opportunities the partnership between PNNL and WSU will offer students.

But Karsner saw more far-reaching implications in the work planned at BSEL. He said everyone now acknowledges the need to end U.S. dependence on foreign oil and to tackle environmental problems associated with reliance on fossil fuels.

"The world looks to the Mid-Columbia valley and asks, 'What can you contribute to the global conversation?' " Karsner said.