The Department of Agriculture (USDA) wants to boost investment in cellulosic biofuels by loosening some restrictions that have held the sector back.
In rules it expects to finalize this summer, the department wants to drop requirements that biorefineries must be in rural areas and must be at least 51% U.S.-owned. It also plans to slash many fees currently required to participate in the USDA program, while allowing banks to securitize more of the loan debt and sell it in the bond market.
Investors have been holding back on cellulosic investments because they view it as untested technology. The lack of investment will make it hard to reach the Administration’s goal of 1 billion gallons of biofuels by 2013.
Cellulosic biofuels are made from agricultural waste, algae, wood chips and other non-food feedstocks.
DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) released a study demonstrating that 17% of the oil the US imports for for transportation could be replaced with American-grown biofuels from algae.
Other studies have raised questions about the economic viability of cellulosic biofuels, suggesting that federal funds be routed more toward algae and oil crops. Cellulosic technologies are still not cost competitive after two decades of research.
By growing algae in sunny, humid areas of the US, researchers concluded our country could produce 21 billion gallons of algal oil while reducing the amount of water needed for production. The Gulf Coast, Southeastern Coast and Great Lakes were identified as key locations.
Since it feeds on carbon dioxide, algae can consume emissions from power plants, and its ability to digest nitrogen and phosphorous allows it to grow in (and clean) municipal waste water.
The PNNL study shows the enormous potential to develop advanced biofuels in the U.S. which will create jobs, grow our economy and break our dependence on fossil fuel-based oil.
See the summary of the project:
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