“The RFS requires that increasing amounts of our motor vehicle fuel come from biofuel, such as ethanol from corn and biodiesel from soy,” said Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). “Homegrown biofuels are good energy policy, good environmental policy and good national security policy. However, there is some concern that RFS as enacted risks taking the biofuels industry backward rather than pushing it ahead. I am particularly concerned about three aspects of the RFS: first, early year biofuel requirements could be too aggressive; second, mandates for specific technologies and feedstock could prove to be overly prescriptive; finally, the environmental restrictions may be too narrow.”
Witnesses at the hearing included Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen, American Coalition for Ethanol executive vice president Brian Jennings, Michael McAdams of the Advance Biofuels Coalition, Charles Drevna of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association and Carol Werner with the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.
When President Bush signed the Energy Bill last week, he noted that it will take the biofuels industry beyond corn.
New technologies will bring about a new era of energy. So I appreciate the fact that Congress, in the omnibus spending bill that I’m going to sign later on, recognizes that new technologies will help usher in a better quality of life for our citizens. And so we’re going to spend money on new research for alternative feedstocks for ethanol. I mean, we understand the hog growers are getting nervous because the price of corn is up. But we also believe strongly that research will enable us to use wood chips and switchgrass and biomass to be able to develop the ethanol necessary to help us realize the vision outlined in this bill.
Read the president’s full remarks during the bill signing here.
President George W. Bush today signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and ushered in a new era in the way America produces and uses energy.
Bush says the new law is “a major step toward reducing our dependence on oil, confronting global climate change, expanding the production of renewable fuels and giving future generations of our country a nation that is stronger, cleaner and more secure.” The bill signing took place this morning at the Department of Energy building.
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Ron Litterer issued the following statement today regarding final passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act.
“NCGA is delighted President George W. Bush signed the energy bill into law today, taking an historic step in strengthening America’s national security and reducing the country’s dependence on foreign oil.
“NCGA appreciates Congress’s strong bipartisan leadership in getting the energy bill to the president’s desk. This legislative victory would not have been possible without the many renewable fuels advocates who paved the way. This energy bill demonstrates that leaders in both the Democratic and Republican parties clearly understand the future energy needs of this country.
“Additionally, I commend the nation’s corn growers for their efforts in making the 15 billion-gallon renewable fuels standard (RFS) for corn ethanol a reality.”
President George W. Bush is expected to sign the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 into law on Wednesday, after passage of the Senate bill by a vote of 314 to 100 in the House today.
Corn growers nationwide have been vocal in advocating for an energy bill. “The National Corn Growers Association put out a national call to its members to contact their congressional leadership and they responded in a big way,” said NCGA President Ron Litterer. “Growers contacted their members of Congress, wrote letters, sent e-mails, attended town hall meetings, and made Capitol Hill visits. Their diligence has truly paid off.”
President Bush plans to sign the bill into law during a ceremony at the Energy Department Wednesday morning.
If you haven’t seen today’s New York Times, the article “Food and Fuel Compete for Land” by Andrew Martin, is worth considering. Martin quotes the usual foes of an increased renewable fuels standard–the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the head lobbyist for National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and others–but he also cites some studies that disprove skeptics’ assertions that the bulk of food price increases are due to corn prices.
The article notes:
Experts with no stake in the argument say ethanol has indeed contributed to rising food costs, but that is only one among several factors. Higher fuel costs are driving up the expense of growing and transporting food. And strong economic growth abroad is increasing demand for agricultural commodities, allowing once-destitute people to augment their diets with meat and dairy.
We here at NCGA are thrilled the Senate passed the House energy bill last night, but what’s always even better news is when the President signals that the legislation meets with his approval. This is additional encouragement to members of the House as they prepare to vote on the revised package.
By a vote of 86 to 8, the U.S. Senate on Thursday evening overwhelmingly passed an amended energy bill that President Bush can sign.
“If this legislation makes it to the president’s desk, he will sign it into law,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Democratic leadership removed two provisions, one to require utility companies to use a fixed percentage of renewable energy and the other a $21 billion tax package that would have eliminated billions of dollars in tax breaks for large oil companies.
The bill would increases the Renewable Fuels Standard to 36 billion gallons of ethanol and other biofuels by 2022, 21 million gallons from new sources.
Under increased CAFE standards, automakers would be required to increase the average fuel economy of cars and trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
The bill still needs to be approved by the House before going to the president for his signature.
The Senate fell one vote short in a procedural vote to move the Energy Bill passed by the House that includes tax increases for oil companies. The White House had threatened to veto the bill over that issue.
Majority Leader Harry Reid now says they will eliminate the tax title to get a revised energy package approved later today. “We must begin to break our country’s addiction to oil,” Reid said.
The bill will still include an increased Renewable Fuels Standard and higher CAFE standards.
Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky predicted the revised bill would be approved with wide bipartisan support.
The legislation, if passed by the Senate, would have to be voted on by the House.
We’ve been happy to feature some video content here on Corn Commentary. It’s been noticed too.
I got an invitation from Energy Policy TV to upload the video with NCGA Chairman Ken McCauley talking about the energy bill. I got that done this morning and you can find it here.
Check it out. You’ll find quite a few video clips uploaded in the biofuels category. Here’s how they describe themselves:
The mission of Energy Policy TV is education.
Until now, the way to learn about policy-creation was to subscribe to expensive journals. These journals told you how they viewed the events they cover, often quoting original sources.
This is no longer sufficient. Transparency in the policy process is required to assess complex and urgent issues such as energy and the environment.
Energy Policy TV is changing the way you get your news and information by delivering ONLY original sources–thousands of them. You will never see us “reporting” on what someone said; instead you will see that person saying it. It is significant that we deliver these original sources in video. This allows you, for the first time, to get a true sense of the context in which events transpire. No journal or transcript can do that. We do not comment or editorialize on any content. That is up to you. We have no agenda other than providing as much relevant news and information as possible, which we offer as a free public service with no requirement for subscriptions, passwords or logins.
As the Energy Bill beat goes on in the Senate, here’s some food for thought on the necessity of corn ethanol and biofuels.
The Fueling Station reports that Scott Nauman, corporate planning manager for ExxonMobil, speaking at an Energy Business Forum in Florida, estimates global demand for energy is expected to be one-third higher by 2030 than it is today.
Nauman said Exxon estimates annual energy demand growth is expected to average 1.3 percent per year from 2008 to 2030. Fossil fuels will continue to account for about eighty percent of energy demand through 2030, with oil and gas accounting for approximately sixty percent.
If Exxon is correct in this analysis, world governments will have serious difficulty meeting their CO2 emissions reduction targets, reports Fueling Station. But will th is play in California, targeted as an early adopter of low-carbon emissions. The California Low Carbon Fuels Standard requires a reduction of carbon emissions of at least 10 percent by 2020.
Yet the harder to reach oil that companies are extracting and refining–the tar sands or coals to liquid–contain higher levels of greenhouse gases. In exploring California’s Low Carbon Diet, Cleantech Blog notes:
“All unconventional forms of oil are worse for greenhouse-gas emissions than petroleum,” said Alex Farrell, of the University of California at Berkeley. Farrell and Adam Brandt found that the shift to unconventional oil could add between fifty and four hundred gigatons of carbon to the atmosphere by 2100.
So, how can California reduce the carbon emission from fuel use? As a major agricultural state, E10 ethanol will be part of the solution. E10 can be used in all gasoline vehicles including 40 mile per gallon hybrids and in the new 100 mile per gallon plug-in hybrids being driven by early adaptors.
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing this morning on the effects of the Renewable Fuels Standard on Energy Markets. 
When President Bush signed the Energy Bill last week, he noted that it will take the biofuels industry beyond corn.
We’ve been happy to feature some video content here on Corn Commentary. It’s been noticed too.