LINCOLN, Neb. -- The 37 gubernatorial members of the Governors' Ethanol Coalition have released a report, Ethanol from Biomass: How to Get to a Biofuels Future,which asks President Bush and members of Congress to adopt four recommendations.
The first recommendation is to expand the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to include a short-term target of 12 billion gallons a year of ethanol and biodiesel utilization by 2010, and longer-term British thermal unit-based targets of 15% of total motor fuels consumption by 2015 and 25% by 2025, with equal incremental [image-nocss] steps provided for each year in between.
The other three recommendations: Assign a financial value to the RFS cellulosic ethanol 2.5:1 trading credit into a more practical credit; establish a timetable for delivering 85% ethanol/15% gasoline (E85) infrastructure on a regional basis within five years; and provide adequate funding for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized biofuel research, demonstration and incentive programs.
According to a study by the Coalition, adoption of a goal of providing 20% of the nation's fuel supply from biofuels would produce benefits including about 60 billion gallons of ethanol produced annually; $52 billion a year in avoided oil imports, reducing the trade deficit; $110 billion in direct economic activity each year with an annual impact of $368 billion on the nation's economy; and 2.4 million new jobs.
Click here to view the report.
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