Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack makes no bones about it. In an interview with EPM, he calls himself a strong proponent of biofuels and declares his boss, President Obama, is a strong proponent as well. “We want a nationwide robust market for biofuels,” he says. It’s not the only time he’s pledged support for alternative fuels such as ethanol. Still, with the U.S. EPA announcing yet another delay on the E15 issue and no assurance of tax incentive extensions as of the end of June—some in the industry wonder if it’s all talk and no action.

Certainly a step in the right direction, the USDA’s “Regional Roadmap to Meeting the Biofuels Goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard,” released June 23, acknowledges the role of corn starch ethanol by pointing out that the U.S. is already on its way to meeting the 15 billion gallon goal set by the renewable fuels standard (RFS2). “I am confident that we can meet the threshold of producing 36 billion gallons of biofuel annually by 2022," Vilsack says. "The current ethanol industry provides a solid foundation to build upon and reach the 36 billion gallon goal.”

To generate the 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels, the June USDA report says, an estimated 527 biorefineries will need to be built, at a cost of $168 billion, assuming an average size of 40 MMgy for each plant. In addition, the report says that up to 50 percent of advanced biofuel production will come from the Southeast, due to a robust growing season that supports the highest gallons per acre. Closely trailing the Southeast is the central east region, with a potential to produce 43.3 percent of the advanced biofuel production goal.

Beyond just building biorefineries, the USDA recognizes that infrastructure is needed so that biofuels can get from the plants producing them to consumers using them. One area where the department could immediately offer assistance is blender pumps, the report says. Although the bulk of flex-fuel vehicles (FFV) are in the Midwest, there is a demand for ethanol elsewhere, with the primary targets for blender pumps and FFVs being California, Texas and Florida. In addition, infrastructure to distribute ethanol by rail or truck as well as blending terminals and storage facilities is needed.

The Future of an Industry
After Vilsack’s April 28 visit to Macon, Mo., where he accompanied the president on a tour of Poet Biorefining-Macon, EPM had an opportunity to interview the secretary. As stated in the regional roadmap, he stresses that it won’t just take emergent biofuel technologies to fulfill the RFS2. It will take current technologies too, namely ethanol produced from corn. The president’s visit to a corn ethanol plant was an appropriate recognition of the fact that ethanol will be a permanent part of the U.S. fuel supply, he says. “I think it sends a good message to the biofuels industry.”

When asked about the negative publicity campaign waged by anti-ethanol advocates, the head of the USDA downplays it. Don’t worry about that, he tells EPM. Some people just don’t realize the efficiencies and improvements made in the ethanol process over the years. “I think people are operating under the assumption that this is an energy user and not energy saver.” The more important issue, he says, is moving the industry forward. The goal is to enable the industry to flourish to take the pressure off fossil fuel and reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign oil. But it’s not just foreign oil that’s the bad guy here. As the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has shown, drilling off U.S. shores has risks with some very serious environmental consequences, Vilsack points out, and biofuels are an essential part of what it will take to move away from petroleum.

To do that, the blend rate issue must be resolved. “I’m interested in ultimately getting to E15,” he tells EPM, adding that he’d like to see the EPA move as quickly as it can, with proper scientific justification. He’s not willing to comment whether E15 would be approved for all vehicles or only newer models, saying only that it is currently being researched. Vilsack says the administration must work with the auto industry so flex-fuel vehicles continue to be built. What he doesn’t want to see, he says, is a situation in the market where a large majority of new vehicles aren’t built to utilize ethanol. In addition, there must be a functioning fuel distribution system, so all consumers have easy access to the fuel they want and need. That means, whether it’s a standard vehicle, one that takes E85 or an older model, the proper fuel should be available at every gas station. “That should be the goal,” he says.

Vilsack is also in favor of long-term extensions of the ethanol financial incentives. Without incentives such as the blenders credit, or Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, and the Cellulosic Biofuel Producer Tax Credit, it will be difficult to get investors interested, he says.

Impact on Rural Areas

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