Subcommittee considers the future of next generation biofuels
Farm and Ranch November 3, 2009 The House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research held a hearing last week to review progress toward commercialization of advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol. Among those testifying was USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager. He said the question of how soon the potential of second and third generation feedstocks will be a lot may not have an immediate time frame but he added. Tonsager: “I am confident that this will happen. This is essentially a story of converging cost curves. I do not know what the price of oil will be five or ten years down the road, but I do know the recession is ending. Global energy and demand will continue to rise. Environmental constraints will continue to intensify and for all these reasons the need to commercialize advanced biofuels will continue to mount.” Tonsager says USDA’s push to increase next generation biofuels include implementation of most new renewable energy Farm Bill programs, investment into renewable fuels and biodiesel projects and extended research into third generation fuels that could directly substitute for gasoline and jet fuel. The subcommittee also heard from private industry representatives who said they had difficulty getting financing, even with the backing of government grants and loans, which is a major impediment to moving forward with their projects. The private industry representatives also pointed to inconsistencies in the Renewable Fuel Standard and the ethanol blend wall they feel need to be addressed. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network. ? ?
