Agricutlure Secretary Outlines Plans At A Speech To The
National Press Club
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (pictured) announced a
series of measures during a speech on Thursday to the National
Press Club in Washington intended to lead to the creation of a
national biofuels industry.
The Secretary announced several measures, including the
publication of a final rule to implement the Biomass Crop
Assistance Program (BCAP). Under the BCAP final rule, USDA will
resume making payments to eligible producers. The program had
operated as a pilot, pending publication of the final rule.
Authorized in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, BCAP
is designed to ensure that a sufficiently large base of new,
non-food, non-feed biomass crops is established in anticipation of
future demand for renewable energy consumption.
In a separate joint announcement with the FAA, Vilsack detailed
a five year agreement to develop aviation fuel from forest and crop
residues and other "green" feedstocks in order to decrease
dependence on foreign oil and stabilize aviation fuel costs. Under
the partnership, the agencies will bring together their experience
in research, policy analysis and air transportation sector dynamics
to assess the availability of different kinds of feedstocks that
could be processed by bio-refineries to produce jet fuels.
The participants will develop a tool to evaluate the status of
different components of a feedstock supply chain, such as
availability of biomass from farms and forests, the potential of
that biomass for production of jet fuel, and the length of time it
will take to ramp up to full-scale production. The agencies already
have existing programs and collaborative agreements with private
and public partners and resources to help biorefiners develop
cost-effective production plans for jet aircraft biofuels.
This cooperative agreement supports a larger research plan led
by USDA through its five Regional Biomass Research Centers, which
will help accelerate the development of a commercial advanced
biofuels industry across the United States. Just as important, the
plan sets out to include as many U.S. rural areas as possible to
maximize the economic benefits of biofuel production across the
country. The Centers will provide the critical mass needed to
develop high-performance teams that will guide biomass research to
address needs in both the public and private sector, including
commercial aviation, military transportation, and other
activities.
"Domestic production of renewable energy, including biofuels, is
a national imperative and that's why USDA is working to assist in
developing a biofuels industry in every corner of the nation," said
Vilsack. "By producing more biofuels in America, we will create
jobs, combat global warming, replace our dependence on foreign oil
and build a stronger foundation for the 21st century economy."
The BCAP final regulation reflects policies developed as a
result of more than 24,000 comments received on previous Federal
Register notices and a proposed rule, and knowledge gained by
implementing a portion of the program in 2009.
BCAP uses a dual approach to support the production of renewable
energy. First, BCAP provides assistance for the establishment and
production of eligible renewable biomass crops within specified
project areas. Producers who enter into BCAP contracts may receive
payments of up to 75 percent of the cost of establishing eligible
perennial crops. Further, they can receive payments for up to five
years for annual or non-woody perennial crops and up to 15 years
for woody perennial crops. FSA is accepting project area proposals
and, after project area proposals have been approved, eligible
producers may participate by enrolling at their FSA county
office.
In addition, BCAP also assists agricultural and forest
landowners and operators by providing matching payments for the
transportation of certain eligible materials that are sold to
qualified biomass conversion facilities. The facilities convert the
materials into heat, power, biobased products or advanced
biofuels.
FMI: www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/err102,
www.faa.gov