The Great Lakes BioEnergy Research Center located at Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin has been established to serve as a research base to assist in meeting the nation’s Energy Policy goals.  United States energy policy requires 36 billion gallons of ethanol by the year 2022, with 21 billion gallons coming from cellulosic feedstocks.  This has served as a catalyst for ramping up technological advancement with 2^nd gerneration biofuel crops including perennial warm season grass crops and other non-food crop bioenergy sources. Further complicating the issue is the convergence of several factors which significantly increase the production demand on global agricultural systems.   These factors include: increased population levels; increased affluence and commensurate increases in demand for diets higher in meat protein; and, utilization of agricultural commodities for renewable fuels.  This presentation will focus on recent advancements in bioenergy crops including a system using whole-plant corn as a cellulosic/starch feedstock in a consolidated bioprocessing platform.  Alternatives to ethanol such as butanol and HMF are also explored. Additionally, the presentation will assess the environmental aspects of alternative liquid fuel production, particularly in the area of net greenhouse gas (GHG) production, and carbon sequestration potential.  As we move to cellulosic sources of feedstock for ethanol production, questions arise on the potential soil carbon and greenhouse gas implications in cropping systems where corn stover or other plant biomass is removed.