Sec. of Ag. Vilsack to the release SYNM/Navy contract news?
No doubt that a high Obama Administration official will be making this announcement.
Since Sec. Vilsack is leading the Admins. efforts on its very high priority bio-jet fuel initiative it is highly likely that Sec. Vilsack will be the one to make this news.
SYNM will get some very big global press next week when the news is released.
Below, the Sec. of Ag. announces bio-jet fuel initiative. Its likely this was a setup for the actual news to come next week via the same Cabinet level official or his office.
U.S. Agriculture Dept. Pushing To Scale Up Biojet Production
Aviation Daily Nov 11 , 2011 , p. 08
Graham Warwick
As Alaska Airlines begins the first campaign of biofuel revenue flights in the U.S. , the government is working with industry to scale up production of biomass-derived jet fuel to commercial quantities, beginning in 2012.
U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] is working with the Department of Energy and the Navy to put together a package to commercialize drop-in biofuels,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says in an interview with Aviation Week.
Under a $510 million program announced in September, the Navy will purchase biofuels, and the USDA is providing financial assistance for feedstock production and biorefinery construction with the goal of scaling up production and bringing down cost.
“The focus is on working with industry to figure out how best in 2012 to push the construction of biorefineries,” he says. “The Defense Department is in a position to purchase the fuel, and the USDA is trying to ensure the cost is competitive.”
The goal of the program is to jump-start the U.S. biojet supply chain, initially to meet the Navy’s desire to reduce its dependence on foreign oil, but also to begin driving down the cost to help airlines with fuel price volatility and carbon emissions charges. Crucial to the airlines is that the biofuel is produced sustainably, without affecting the food supply, as happened with the rapid growth in ethanol production from corn for road transport. This is pushing demand for biojet from non-food sources, such a camelina and woody biomass, which require significant investment to reach commercial levels.
Vilsack believes there is ample feedstock available in the U.S. to meet demand from aviation and other forms of transportation without competing with food for land and water. “There is more than enough biomass opportunity in the U.S. We do not think there is a problem with sufficient supply,” he says.
“It’s about the better utilization of resources. There are millions of acres of dead trees that have to be cleared out and replanted to preserve water. That creates millions of tons of biomass,” he says. “Perennial grasses help retain water. We are also talking about better utilization of agricultural and landfill waste.”
Whether landowners and farmers are interested in getting into the drop-in biofuel market, government incentives or not, depends on where they live. “There is interest in camelina in several regions and clearly interest in the West in woody biomass,” says Vilsack. “Whether they consider it a great opportunity or something they’re not ready for depends on where they are.”
While the drop-in biofuel market is getting assistance from the government, it is far less than provided to the ethanol industry. USDA funding is helping identify feedstocks and scale up their production, “and providing a bit of assistance to fuel producers, but nowhere near the ethanol blenders' tax credit,” he says.
Government support to commercialize biofuels comes from special programs funded under the 2008 Farm Bill. Vilsack says its replacement, the 2012 Farm Bill now before Congress, will use “more traditional tools” to fund biofuel efforts, signaling the government’s belief that the market will be up and running soon.
