At a meeting with a bipartisan group of governors from around the [...]]]> President Barack Obama this week announced a series of steps his Administration is taking as part of its comprehensive strategy to enhance American energy independence while building a foundation for a new clean energy economy, and its promise of new industries and millions of jobs.

At a meeting with a bipartisan group of governors from around the country, the President laid out three measures that will work in concert to boost biofuels production and reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a rule to implement the long-term renewable fuels standard of 36 billion gallons by 2022 established by Congress. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a rule on the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) that would provide financing to increase the conversion of biomass to bioenergy. The President’s Biofuels Interagency Working Group released its first report – Growing America’s Fuel. The report, authored by group co-chairs, Secretaries Vilsack and Chu, and Administrator Jackson, lays out a strategy to advance the development and commercialization of a sustainable biofuels industry to meet or exceed the nation’s biofuels targets.

In addition, President Obama announced a Presidential Memorandum (linked below) creating an Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage to develop a comprehensive and coordinated federal strategy to speed the development and deployment of clean coal technologies. Our nation’s economy will continue to rely on the availability and affordability of domestic coal for decades to meet its energy needs, and these advances are necessary to reduce pollution in the meantime. The President calls for five to ten commercial demonstration projects to be up and running by 2016.

President Obama said, “Now, I happen to believe that we should pass a comprehensive energy and climate bill. It will make clean energy the profitable kind of energy, and the decision by other nations to do this is already giving their businesses a leg up on developing clean energy jobs and technologies. But even if you disagree on the threat posed by climate change, investing in clean energy jobs and businesses is still the right thing to do for our economy. Reducing our dependence on foreign oil is still the right thing to do for our security. We can’t afford to spin our wheels while the rest of the world speeds ahead.”

“Advancing biomass and biofuel production holds the potential to create green jobs, which is one of the many ways the Obama Administration is working to rebuild and revitalize rural America,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Facilities that produce renewable fuel from biomass have to be designed, built and operated. Additionally, BCAP will stimulate biomass production and that will benefit producers and provide the materials necessary to generate clean energy and reduce carbon pollution.”

“President Obama and this Administration are strongly committed to the development of carbon capture and storage technology as a key part of the clean energy economy. We can and should lead the world in this technology and the jobs it can create,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu

“The actions President Obama has taken today will create jobs, slash greenhouse gas emissions and increase our energy security while helping to put America at the leading edge of the new energy economy,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “The renewable fuel standards will help bring new economic opportunity to millions of Americans, particularly in rural America. EPA is proud to be a part of the President’s effort to combat climate change and put Americans back to work – both through the new renewable fuel standards and through our co-chairmanship with the Department of Energy of the Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage.”

Background on today’s announcements:

Renewable Fuels Standard. EPA has finalized a rule implementing the long-term renewable fuels mandate of 36 billion gallons by 2022 established by Congress. The Renewable Fuels Standard requires biofuels production to grow from last year’s 11.1 billion gallons to 36 billion gallons in 2022, with 21 billion gallons to come from advanced biofuels. Increasing renewable fuels will reduce dependence on oil by more than 328 million barrels a year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions more than 138 million metric tons a year when fully phased in by 2022. For the first time, some renewable fuels must achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions – compared to the gasoline and diesel fuels they displace – in order to be counted towards compliance with volume standards. Read the full Renewable Fuel Standard Program rule.

Biomass Crop Assistance Program. USDA has proposed a rule for Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) to convert biomass to bioenergy and bio-based products. USDA provides grants and loans and other financial support to help biofuels and renewable energy commercialization. BCAP has already begun to provide matching payments to folks delivering biomass for the collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of biomass to eligible biomass conversion facilities. Read the full Biomass Crop Assistance Program rule.

Biofuels Working Group: In May, President Obama established the Biofuels Interagency Working Group – co-chaired by USDA, DOE, and EPA, and with input from many others – to develop a comprehensive approach to accelerating the investment in and production of American biofuels and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Today the Working Group released its first report: Growing America’s Fuel – a new U.S. Government strategy for meeting or beating the country’s biofuel targets. The report is focused on short term solid government solutions supporting the existing biofuels industry, as well as accelerating the commercial establishment of advanced biofuels and a viable long-term market by transforming how the U.S. Government does business across Departments and using strategic public-private partnerships. Read the Growing America’s Fuel report.

“This is a first-of-its-kind collaboration, involving key government, private sector and academic leaders,” said Darrin Morgan, [...]]]> Boeing, the Airports and Auxiliary Services agency, an arm of Mexico’s Ministry of Communications and Transport, and Honeywell’s UOP today announced a collaboration to identify, research and further the development of a commercially viable market for Mexico-sourced sustainable aviation biofuels.

“This is a first-of-its-kind collaboration, involving key government, private sector and academic leaders,” said Darrin Morgan, director of Biofuel Strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Working together, we are assessing the potential for large-scale production of aviation fuels made from sustainable biomass systems such as halophytes, algae, jatropha, castor and other so-called next-generation biomass-for-energy systems.”

ASA, which is responsible for all fuel management and airplane refueling operations in Mexico, together with Boeing made the announcement on the eve of the annual ALTA Aviation Leaders Forum, a gathering of more than 400 senior airline and aviation industry executives.

“We have a holistic view of the entire supply chain and are in an ideal position to push a collaborative framework forward and otherwise serve as a catalyst for progress,” said Alejandro Rios, director of Fuel Services for ASA.

Today’s announcement builds on meetings in September with more than 50 government and business representatives in Mexico. Based on strong stakeholder enthusiasm, ASA, Boeing and UOP agreed to commission initial studies on promising biomass systems for Mexico and to formalize this collaboration with a commitment to work via the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, a global multistakeholder initiative developing a global biofuel sustainability framework.

Halophytic plants, which can be highly productive sources of biomass energy, will be the first research target. Halophytes thrive in arid land and can be irrigated with seawater waste streams from aquaculture, making halophytes potentially suitable for biofuels development in arid ecosystems with little competing land use potential. With improved plant science and agronomy, early testing results indicate halophytes also have the potential to deliver very high yields per unit of land.

Boeing, UOP and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi recently announced the first comprehensive, peer-reviewed assessment of halophytes, and Mexico will be a key contributor through this broader effort. The global team will collaborate with Mexican researchers in examining viability on arid, degraded land, where Mexico has opportunity to pioneer such biomass systems in conjunction with regions around the planet with similar climate and land use challenges.

Study elements will include evaluating aquaculture management and practices, assessing land use and energy requirements and identifying any potential adverse ecological or social impacts associated with using halophytes for energy development, specifically for aviation biofuels.

“Partnerships like this one are the key to a better understanding and, ultimately, commercial use of renewable aviation fuels,” said Jennifer Holmgren, UOP general manager for Renewable Energy & Chemicals. “There is great potential here to identify and implement a sustainable supply chain for the production of aviation biofuels.”

A successful study outcome will give ASA the opportunity to better understand the potential bioderived sources that can be produced in Mexico and converted into a sustainable aviation fuel supply. The results are expected to be available in late 2010.

“ASA aims to be a catalyst to jump-start the production of bio jet fuels in Mexico, enabling our country to become a leader in the development and commercialization of aviation biofuels worldwide,” said General Director of ASA Gilberto López Meyer.

Sustainable biofuels are a key component of aviation’s strategy for lowering carbon emissions. These advanced-generation biofuels are derived only from plant sources that do not distort the global food chain, compete with fresh water resources or lead to unintended land-use changes

“We [...]]]> Recent progress made at the High Level Meeting on International Civil Aviation and Climate Change in Montreal Canada has meet the approval of the International Air Transport Association. The IATA who represents some 230 airlines comprising 93% of scheduled international air traffic urged governments to move quickly to implement the recommended actions and accelerate the timetable.

“We took a step in the right direction, toward a global sectoral approach, but there is still a lot of ground to cover. As a united industry, we remain committed to the ambitious environmental targets that we brought to this meeting. Governments took note of our targets and recognized the need to work with industry to secure a sustainable future for aviation. This is significant progress,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

In a joint working paper by IATA with Airports Council International, Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation and International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations, a united industry committed to three sequential targets:

• Improving fuel efficiency by an average of 1.5% annually to 2020
• Stabilizing emissions from 2020 with carbon-neutral growth
• A 50% net reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005

States to work together to achieve a global annual average fuel efficiency improvement of 2% to 2020, followed by an aspirational goal of a further average annual 2% improvement from 2021 to 2050

ICAO and its contracting States to evaluate the possibility of more ambitious goals by the next ICAO Assembly (2010), taking into consideration industry’s collective commitments and the special needs of developing nations

• ICAO to establish the process to develop a framework for economic measures
• ICAO and its contracting States to encourage the development and use of sustainable biofuels

Airlines have set even more ambitious targets than governments for the longer term. “Industry is targeting net carbon emission reductions, while government discussions are focused on efficiency improvements. It is ironic that industry is setting tougher targets for itself than its regulators are prepared to require. But, our common goal is to effectively address climate change. That means reducing emissions. The challenge is to work together to close this gap by the next ICAO Assembly in September 2010,” said Bisignani.

In the medium term, to 2020, governments have set a more ambitious average annual fuel efficiency improvement target (2% per year) than the industry’s 1.5%. “Setting such a target comes with responsibility. We can fly the plane efficiently, but governments must deliver improvements in air traffic management—NextGen in the US for example. Governments must back their target with infrastructure investments to make it achievable. Governments must also accelerate the development of the legal and fiscal frameworks to support the use of sustainable biofuels,” said Bisignani.

“Most importantly, today’s Declaration sets the stage for future developments towards a global sectoral approach. Sustainable biofuels and a framework for a global approach to economic measures are key items that the Declaration has committed to address,” said Bisignani.

“The aviation sector will approach Copenhagen with a strong forward-looking vision for its future as a role model for other industries to follow. I congratulate ICAO Council President Roberto Kobeh González and ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin for their leadership in achieving this significant Declaration. The outcome of the HLM-ENV gives us much needed scope to further develop our strong industry cooperation with governments through the UN framework,” said Bisignani.

Source: ICAO