UPDATE: EPA Issues Renewable Fuels Proposal

Here’s a link to more information on what USDA announced today. Here’s a link to EPA information The proposal will implement requirements under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (Pub. L. 110-140) that require ethanol and other biofuels to reduce lifetime greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent relative to gasoline. The law requires 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be included in the nation’s motor fuel supply by 2022. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the EPA is expected to propose measuring the greenhouse-gas emissions associated with biofuel production -- including emissions that result overseas when farmers world-wide respond to higher food prices by converting forest and grassland to cropland. The EPA proposal will rely on indirect land-use change analysis for a large percentage of total emissions from ethanol production. The EPA proposal will include a range of estimates for emissions from ethanol production based on factors such as whether coal or biomass is used to power the production system. President Barack Obama will direct the heads of three U.S. agencies to make the biofuels industry cleaner and encourage output of ethanol made from non-food crops. The Biofuels Interagency Working Group will be asked to identify policies that would make biofuels more environmentally sound and encourage production of “flex-fuel” cars that can run on either gasoline or fuel that is mostly ethanol. Obama has asked Vilsack to “immediately begin refinancing of existing investments in renewable fuels as needed to preserve jobs in ethanol and biodiesel plants, renewable electricity generation plants and supporting industries.” Obama has encouraged Vilsack to accelerate financing opportunities under the 2008 Farm Bill, including loan guarantees for development of biorefineries and demonstration-scale plants. Obama told Vilsack to “encourage production of next-generation biofuels from biomass and other non-corn feedstocks,” and to speed funding for producers to burn crop waste and other biomass at distilleries instead of fossil fuels at plants. Obama asked the group to: -- Develop the country’s first comprehensive biofuel market development program. -- Identify options to improve the environmental impact of the production biofuels feedstocks, taking into consideration land use, water efficiency and life cycle assessments of greenhouse gas emissions.