WGA TRANSPORTATION FUELS FOR THE FUTURE INITIATIVE Biofuel Report Summary

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WGA TRANSPORTATION FUELS FOR THE FUTURE
INITIATIVEBiofuel Report Summary
Transportation Fuels for the Future Workshop
Denver, CO September 7, 2007

• Biofuels Team - David Terry

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Fuel Potential in the West

• Point 1 A recent report by the U.S. Department
  of Energy and Department of Agriculture found
  that land resources in the U.S. are capable of
  producing a sustainable supply of 1.3 billion
  tons per year of biomass
• Point 2 Western feedstock opportunities for
  biomass conversion include agricultural crops
  agricultural residues non-food crops, such as
  sorghum and switch grass
• Point 3 -Studies indicate that the current
  sustainable production of corn for fuel may be no
  more than 15 billion gallons per year and perhaps
  only 12-14 billion gallons .1 Beyond that
  amount, the nations food supply would be
  significantly impacted in the near term.

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Unique Challenges

• Challenge 1 There are many limitations to
  starch-based ethanol. As discussed above,
  producing more than 12 billion gallons a year
  would require an unacceptable use of crop-land
  and would impact food supply, including food for
  cattle.
• Challenge 2 Larger scale conversion systems will
  require larger scale feedstock handling and
  delivery. Transporting feedstocks to
  biorefineries will be an increasing challenge as
  the quantity increases.
• Challenge 3 Infrastructure and education to
  support E85 is limited. There are less than
  3,000 E85 stations in the U.S. currently,
  compared to 180,000 gas stations.
• Challenge 4 While financing has been available
  for corn-based ethanol production in the recent
  past, obtaining venture capital for cellulosic
  ethanol has been challenging, especially for the
  stage between RD and commercialization, the
  so-called valley of death.

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Priority Recommendations

• Consider establishing a regional ethanol reserve
  to maintain an assured supply.
• Re-evaluate the USDA risk management program and
  adjust, as necessary, to meet the needs of
  evolving bioenergy crops.
• Advocate for full funding of USDAs Biomass
  Research and Development Program at its
  authorized level. Funding to allow this
  programs complementary focus on feedstock
  collection and other agricultural issues is
  essential or it becomes a weak link in the
  national effort to move toward cellulosic-derived
  fuels and other biofuels
• Advocate for full funding of the Department of
  Energys research and demonstration activities,
  including its genomic work aimed at achieving
  dramatic changes in how ethanol and other
  biofuels are produced
• Federally sponsored research needs to be
  complemented by state efforts in delivering
  appropriate feedstock production and residue
  removal. Potential resource inventories need to
  be expanded and evaluated in terms of
  agricultural science.

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Key Actionable Recommendations

• Establish a low carbon renewable fuels loan
  guarantee program. The GEC recommends that this
  be an expansion of the USDA loan guarantees and
  that it be competitive and performance-based.
• States should consider adoption of a low-carbon
  fuel standard similar to that adopted by
  California, which is a reduction of 10 percent in
  the carbon intensity of transportation fuels by
  2020.1 This goal addresses multiple policy
  objectives, including climate change, health and
  environmental impacts, such as air quality.
• Expand immediately the RFS to create a floor
  under current and planned production
  achievements, with a short-term target of 12
  billion gallons a year renewable fuels
  utilization by 2010, and to establish longer-term
  BTU-based targets of 15 percent of total motor
  fuels consumption by 2015 and 25 percent by 2025,
  with equal incremental steps provided for each
  year in between.