RALEIGH (AP) — A nonprofit the state created five years ago to develop locally grown biofuels will close its doors Oct. 31.
The Biofuels Center of North Carolina announced Monday it must shut down because legislators eliminated its funding in the state budget signed last week by Gov. Pat McCrory.
Legislators created the center in 2007 with $5 million, and it opened in January 2008. It received $4.3 million last fiscal year.
The News & Observer reports the center has 14 employees who will be laid off.
The center’s goal was to develop biofuels made from crops other than corn. Its experimental crops that include bamboo-like cane will be turned over to the state’s agriculture agency.
After a final audit, any unspent money will go to the state Department of Commerce.