President Barack Obama issued a presidential directive Tuesday to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to "aggressively accelerate" the investment in and production of biofuels. On a conference call with Energy Secretary Stephen Chu and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Vilsack also announced that he will help lead an interagency effort to increase America's energy independence and spur rural economic development.
"President Obama's announcement today demonstrates his deep commitment to establishing a permanent biofuels industry in America," said Vilsack in a press statement. "Expanding our biofuels infrastructure provides a unique opportunity to spur rural economic development while reducing our dependence on foreign oil - one of the great challenges of the 21st century."
Increasing renewable fuels will reduce dependence on foreign oil by more than 297 million barrels a year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 160 million tons a year when fully phased in by 2022, Vilsack said. On the call, Jackson announced that the EPA would establish four categories of renewable fuels, some of which would be produced form new sources. To address lifecyle analysis, the EPA said they are soliciting peer reviewed, scientific feedback to ensure that the best science available is used prior to implementation.
"Producing clean, renewable energy in our country is a powerful rural development tool that creates jobs domestically while generating new tax revenues for local, state and federal governments," added Vilsack.
The President directed Vilsack to expedite and increase production of and investment in biofuel development efforts by refinancing existing investments in renewable fuels to preserve jobs in ethanol and biodiesel plants, renewable electricity generation plants and other supporting industries and by making renewable energy financing opportunities from the Food, Conservation & Energy Act of 2008 available within 30 days. These opportunities include:
Loan guarantees for the development, construction and retrofitting of commercial scale biorefineries and grants to help pay for the development and construction costs of demonstration-scale biorefineries. Expedited funding to encourage biorefineries to replace the use of fossil fuels in plant operations by installing new biomass energy systems or producing new energy from renewable biomass; Expedited funding to biofuels producers to encourage production of next-generation biofuels from biomass and other non-corn feedstocks. Expansion of Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiency Improvements Program, which has been renamed the Rural Energy for America Program, to include hydroelectric source technologies, energy audits and higher loan guarantee limits. Guidance and support for collection, harvest, storage and transportation assistance for eligible materials for use in biomass conversion facilities. The Biofuels Interagency Working Group will develop the nation's first comprehensive biofuels market development program, Vilsack said. The increased collaboration between federal agencies is expected to accelerate the production of and access to sustainable homegrown energy options by coordinating policies that impact the supply, secure transport and distribution of biofuels, as well as identifying new policy options to improve the environmental sustainability of biofuels feedstock production.
The group will also work to develop policies to increase flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) production and assist in retail marketing efforts while also taking into consideration land use, habitat conservation, crop management practices, water efficiency and water quality and lifecycle assessments of greenhouse gas emissions.
Meanwhile, the efforts by environmental regulators to assess biofuels' impact on the environment comes at a difficult time for the ethanol industry, added the Journal. Demand for the corn-based fuel has been falling, as consumers have cut back on driving amid the economic crisis. And the plunge in oil prices from last summer's record high has pushed down ethanol prices and cut producers' profits. Last month, the Renewable Fuels Association petitioned the EPA to allow the ethanol levels in gasoline blends to be as high as 15%, up from the current 10%. Without the increase, the group said the United States will not be able to meet a congressional mandate requiring some 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended into the domestic fuel supply by 2022.
Click hereto read President Obama's statement.
Andclick here for the EPA rule.
(See related story on ethanol dispensing at the retail level in this issue of CSP Daily News.)
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