Farm bill offers big boost for biomass ethanol

Southeast Farm Press
Jun 5, 2008 10:10 AM
By Jim Langcuster
Auburn University

As gas and other oil-based energy costs rise, so do the calls for domestically produced bio-based products. And, in case you missed it, a new farm bill that passed both chambers of the Congress boosts congressional funding for bioenergy programs through 2012.

The new bill includes incentives for a new generation of cellulosic ethanol derived from biomass sources such as wood chips, crop residues and other sources of cellulose that comprises plants.
The bill calls for a $1.01 tax credit for biomass-derived ethanol, supported by a reduction in the existing tax credit for corn-based ethanol. The bill also would appropriate money to loan to biomass refineries as well as a new $45-a-ton subsidy for farmers who agree to collect biomass for ethanol production.

The bill also would set aside $118 million for biomass research. To allay concerns among investors, the legislation also would extend a 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol through 2010 — a measure designed to protect the American industry from Brazil’s burgeoning sugar cane-derived ethanol industry.

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