Gov. Chet Culver announced today that the Iowa Power Fund Board has approved the first two projects to be funded by the Iowa Power Fund.

The University of Northern Iowa will receive $612,300, which its Tallgrass Prairie Center will use to research the optimal mixture of prairie vegetation for biomass production on non-prime agricultural land for electrical generation. Iowa State University was awarded $12,500 to assist in conducting the sixth annual Biobased Industry Outlook Conference this fall.

Roya Stanley, director of the Iowa Office of Energy Independence, said she was pleased the first two monetary awards went to university projects. “These are the first awards of many that will move the state of Iowa forward in its quest for energy independence,” she said in a release.

The 18-member Iowa Power Fund board actually approved the awards at its meeting on June 11, but the announcement was delayed due to the statewide flood emergency, said a spokeswoman at the governor’s office.

Chaired by retired insurance executive Fred Hubbell, the board has the authority to extend loans and grants to help boost renewable-energy research and development activity. The board has received more than 100 funding requests that have been reviewed by a due diligence committee. A second installment of $25 million was recently appropriated by the Legislature for the $100 million fund.