National Biofuels Action Plan Released by Secretaries of Energy and Agriculture

by Carolyn Clark, BCS, Incorporated

On October 7, 2008, Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman and Secretary of Agriculture Edward Schafer released the National Biofuels Action Plan (Action Plan) developed by the Biomass Research and Development Board.  Secretary Bodman described the Action Plan as “a strategic blueprint laying out the way to meet the President’s goal of meaningful biofuels production by the year 2022.”  The Action Plan was created in response to President Bush’s “Twenty in Ten” goal and later to meet the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as outlined in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. 

The Biomass Research and Development Board (Board) that developed the Action Plan was created by the Biomass Research and Development Act and is responsible for interagency coordination of federal activities related to bioenergy and biobased products.  The Board is co-chaired by Senate-approved Administration appointees from the U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture and consists of Senate-approved appointees from the Departments of Energy, Agriculture, Treasury, Transportation (DOT), Interior, Commerce, Defense (DoD), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Science Foundation (NSF), Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, and the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The Board initiated the Action Plan recognizing that interagency collaboration in the federal government was crucial in order to meet the aggressive targets for biofuels production. The Action Plan clearly outlines interagency actions needed to enable the technology that will make next-generation, cellulosic biofuels cost-effective and allow the industry to grow in a sustainable way.  Secretary Schafer stated, “…this National Biofuels Action Plan supports the drive for biofuels growth to supply energy that is clean and affordable, and always renewable.”

The Action Plan is organized around five action areas based on feedstocks-to-biofuels supply chain:

• feedstock production,
• feedstock logistics,
• conversion science and technology,
• distribution infrastructure, and
• blending. 

The plan also identifies two cross-cutting action areas:

• sustainability and
• environment, health and safety. 

Board actions stated in the Action Plan include establishing interagency working groups in the areas of sustainability, feedstocks, biomass conversion and distribution infrastructure. Additionally, the Board will promote interagency knowledge sharing through a USDA-DOE scientist exchange program to include other agencies; develop a comprehensive 10-year federal RD&D biomass conversion plan; work with state and local agencies to ensure full nationwide penetration of E10; and review potential health, safety and environmental issues related to the lifecycle of biofuels and identify research needs and potential migration options.

The final section of the Action Plan, “Moving Forward,” ties the action areas together for industry to envision the actions necessary to bring the required technologies to market and achieve the objectives outlined in the RFS. 

As part of the National Biofuels Action Plan, the Biomass R&D Board will continue to coordinate among the federal agencies on biomass R&D, demonstration and implementation.  Moving forward, the Action Plan also states that the Board will reach out to the private sector for commercialization of the new technologies needed to meet the 2022 requirements, as shown in the timeline below.

Biomass Spotlight â€" Maryland

Maryland has joined the growing number of states concerned with their overall energy use. Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley recently announced the “EmPOWER Maryland” initiative, which focuses on reducing the state’s energy consumption 15% by 2015.

Maryland is promoting renewable energy sources, including biomass, for both generating power and producing fuels through several initiatives. The state offers a Clean Energy Production Tax Credit to corporations or individuals certified by the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) that primarily use renewable resources, including biomass, to generate power. The corporation or individual may receive a credit of 0.85 cents per kilowatt-hour against the state income tax for five years during which it produces electricity.

In addition, Maryland has joined the U.S. Department of Energy in the Clean Cities Coalition, which encourages the use of Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV) and builds the fuel infrastructure needed to support those vehicles.  For example, the MEA has worked with the Coalition to establish more E-85 fueling stations, with 12 stations currently in operation. Maryland also has 6 biodiesel fueling stations in operation.

The MEA is coordinating with numerous other departments and organizations in a variety of other programs.  For example, MEA joined with the Maryland Department of Agriculture to explore ways that biomass fuels can heat farms.  The Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Maryland Resource Conservation & Development Council also joined the team in order to advance research on how anaerobic digestion using biogas can produce energy while cutting nutrient waste issues.

Private sector companies in Maryland are also involved in bioenergy research and development.  Research done by Zymetis Inc, a company working with the University of Maryland, discovered a bacterium in the Chesapeake Bay that can be used to break down almost any biomass source and produce ethanol. Research done at the University of Maryland also demonstrated that switchgrass could be grown on buffer areas of farms and be used as a feedstock to effectively reduce fossil fuel costs of the farm, possibly even enough to make up for the loss of taking land out of grain production.  Finally, a research program conducted by Maryland Department of Natural Resources examined the potential for biomass cofiring in coal plants in the state, and identified coal plants that are the best candidates for such a process.

Currently, there are two known biodiesel production plants in Maryland, one in Princess Anne and the other in Berlin, MD.  The Princess Anne plant is a multi-feedstock facility with an annual production capacity of 4 million gallons per year. The Berlin facility has an operating capacity of 1 million gallons per year, with soy as its primary feedstock.   In addition to the biodiesel facilities, an ethanol plant was scheduled to open in the summer of 2008. Owned by Chesapeake Renewable Energy LLC, the facility is expected to have a capacity 55 million gallons of ethanol per year with corn as a primary feedstock.

More Ethanol Fuel Stations Ahead in California (10/17)

Ethanol wholesaler Pearson Fuels, with headquarters in San Diego, is assisting in the construction of eight ethanol stations in California, including: Perris, Beaumont, Carlsbad, Concord, Hayward, San Jose, Carmichael and Sacramento. "We want them spread out," said Mike Lewis, a principal in Pearson Fuels. Perris and Beaumont have another thing going for them: They're located in well-traveled areas, said JoAnn Armenta, a regional coordinator for Clean Cities, an arm of the U.S. Department of Energy that provided funding for the stations.

Link: http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/37210

Alabama, GM Team Up for Ethanol Development (10/16)

Alabama is among 10 states that will partner with General Motors Corporation to promote development of ethanol fuels said Governor Bob Riley. Ethanol fuels, called E-85, are a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. General Motors will provide technical assistance to Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin un the new partnership. The idea is to help states choose the best locations for E-85 fueling stations, to optimize the supply of E-85 with producers and to use General Motors' dealership network and plants to promote the fuel.

Link: http://bioenergy.checkbiotech.org