The federal agencies that provide the muscle
for energy policy are finalizing plans to harness the energy from one billion
tons of biomass per
year. The “Bioeconomy Vision” is an effort to move biomass out of the
laboratory and into the market. The goal, within the next 15 years, is
production and commercialization of biofuels, renewable chemicals and similar
organic products. The target is a 30 percent penetration of biomass carbon into
the U.S. transportation market by 2030 to create jobs, reduce greenhouse gas
impacts, and enhance national security.
The Vision results from work started in 2013
by the Biomass Research & Development Board, created by the Biomass R&D
Act of 2000. The Board is co-chaired by leadership from the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) and the Department of Agriculture. Six other agencies participate,
including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Executive
Office. In July, at the annual meeting of DOE’s Bioenergy Technology Office
(BETO), the Board will present an implementation plan for the Vision.
This is not cookbook stuff. In a February
report — Federal Activities Report
on the Bioeconomy — the Board outlines four main
challenges:
- Sustainably producing and
accessing adequate, affordable feedstocks
- Developing and applying
innovative, cost-competitive conversion technologies
- Optimizing distribution and supply
chain infrastructure
- Consumer education
The production of adequate and affordable
feedstocks means plants grown specifically for energy use — and not just any
plants grown anywhere. Planners do not want to impact the agricultural space
necessary for food, fiber and livestock. Right now, plant science is focusing
on perennial grasses, such as
switchgrass and mixed native grasses and woody biomass from fast-growth
trees. In the future, such crops would grow on marginal and otherwise unused
landscapes.
Potentially, one billion tons of biomass
could yield “50 billion gallons of fuel — gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, diesel,
about 25 percent of the market, for 2030,” commented Alison Goss Eng, a Program
Manager with BETO who serves as liaison between DOE and the R&D Board.
That success, though, is dependent on the
right biomass. Researchers need feedstock plants with high sugar, low fiber.
New kinds of plants will likely be needed.
“The importance of new energy crop varieties
with increased yield and higher tolerance to a variety of biotic and abiotic
stresses is critical to realizing mandated biofuel goals,” BETO wrote in its
March 2016 “Multi-Year Program Plan.” This scope goes beyond just plants. Board
advisers speak of a “synthetic biological foundry” to hasten R&D and create
“industrially relevant organisms.”
Goss Eng is confident that the Board is
sufficiently out front on potentially contentious issues. The Board has a
collaborative inter-agency process providing checks and balances to vet how or
whether programs should roll out.
Goss Eng said it is EPA’s “mission space” to
evaluate safety regarding genetically modified plants. She said the July BETO
meeting will suggest areas for continued federal research priorities. She
stressed that the Board and its advisors also seek and encourage private sector
participation and interest. She noted that if there is no commercial side to
biofuel development, these good ideas will remain static.
Original Post: REWorld
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