A combination of science fair and lobbying session took place at Packer Engineering Tuesday morning as U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin toured the Naperville firm to learn firsthand about energy initiatives being developed locally.

Representatives from Packer, Northern Illinois University, Argonne National Laboratory, U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert's office and the city of Naperville all spoke about projects on which they have been collaborating, particularly the biomass energy system, which Naperville officials hope will some day convert yard waste into fuel for municipal vehicles.

"What I found here today is a combination of fundamentals we know are necessary for the future," said Durbin after perusing the various demonstrations that had been set up in Packer's testing facility. "We're trying to find ways to help local businesses like Packer Engineering. We want to take government resources and educational resources and combine them into our free economy to generate winning ideas."

Naperville Mayor A. George Pradel said he hopes all this will continue to take place in Naperville.

"We want to be the head of technology in the whole state, the whole country," Pradel said. "We have some very, very talented people here."

Talented people who need more money. Projects such as the biomass energy system, which has already received $1.5 million in government seed money, are far from street ready.

To get a green fuel depot up and running, Packer officials have previously estimated, will take two years and another $6.3 million.

"We're here basically to show (Durbin) what we're doing, to get further involvement and support for what we're doing," said John W. Nowicki, Packer's vice president, business development.

Some support could come via the jobs bill the Senate will consider when it reconvenes Jan. 19.

When asked if funding for a project such as the biomass energy system might be available through a green jobs proposal in the bill, Durbin replied, "It could be. That is one of the areas we want to move into."

And if much of the work in that area takes place in Naperville, all the better for the city, said councilmen Bob Fieseler and Grant Wehrli.

"We're hoping that (Durbin) will view Naperville as a developing center of excellence for clean technologies," said Fieseler.

"These are the jobs that people now in high school will be doing -- they don't exist yet," he said.

Durbin spoke about the employment aspect as well, noting that China and countries in Europe "have the jump on us, quite frankly" when it comes to advancements in clean and renewable energy.

"We're trying to find ways to encourage and cultivate Packer Engineering and places like it to create jobs," Durbin said. "I think that's money well spent."