First American Scientific Corp. (fka FASC)

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Vilsack’s Vision of Renewable Energy Does Not Involve Corn

http://www.hoosieragtoday.com/wire/news/00969_renewable_195207.php

06/22/2010
by Gary Truitt

With the ethanol industry still howling about yet another delay by EPA to lower the blend wall, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack brushed aside those concerns in a Tuesday media briefing, “I am confident the EPA will give us an increase in the blend rate, and I think the EPA announcement indicates that.” The Secretary instead wanted to focus on the long term development of the renewable fuels sector in the US.

According to the Secretary, the future of renewable fuels rests outside the corn belt, “Part of our strategy is to build biorefineries in all parts of the country.” He said the future of renewable energy will not rest on corn but on the other products that can be used to make ethanol such as wood fiber, algae, municipal waste, grasses, and crop residue. Vilsack says these crops can be grown in areas with high demand for ethanol thus reducing the need to transport fuel from the Midwest.

Creating demand for ethanol is also part of the USDA plan, which will be unveiled in a 22 page report scheduled for release on Wednesday. The report will provide information on current production and consumption capacities as well as projections to meet the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) mandate to use 36 billion gallons of biofuel per year in America‘s fuel supply by 2022.

"The Obama Administration has made domestic production of renewable energy a national priority because it will create jobs, combat global warming, reduce fossil fuel dependence, and lay a strong foundation for a strong 21st Century rural economy; and I am confident that we can meet the threshold of producing 36 billion gallons of biofuel annually by 2022," Vilsack said. When asked how this grand vision will be paid for with budget deficits mounting, Vilsack said there is plenty of money at USDA for blender pumps and incentives for flex fuel vehicles and other programs under the energy title of the Farm Bill. He said rural developments funding will also be used to support programs designed to build the renewable fuels infrastructure.

But the ethanol industry says that, unless the blend rate is increased and tax breaks extended, the first generation of renewable energy will not grow to the point that it can lead to the second generation of renewable energy. Growth Energy sent a letter to President Obama urging him to take whatever steps necessary to accelerate the completion of the testing and to hasten a decision by EPA on the blend rate. Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis explained that the data submitted proves the benefits of ethanol as a transportation fuel. “Adding additional tests will do nothing to meet our nation’s objective of energy independence, and, in fact, will also delay the development of cellulosic ethanol,” he wrote. “Every day we delay the decision on moving to E15 is another day we continue our addiction to foreign oil and one less day spent on investments in alternative fuels like ethanol.”