Conference: Biomass needs regulatory, government support

Biomass Magazine January 2010
By Anna Austin
Posted January 15, 2010, at 11:58 a.m. CST

Jim Stewart of the California Bioenergy Producers Association relayed a simple message to the 400-plus attendees of Biomass Magazine’s Pacific Northwest Biomass Conference & Expo: it’s time to begin confronting the real issues involved in developing a constructive statutory and regulatory environment for bioenergy production.

Stewart referred to biomass as the “holy grail of sustainability,” touting production of ethanol from organic wastes as the only pathway available that can meet or exceed the goals for greenhouse gas reduction established in California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. “Many of us here have attended conferences before where we have a chance to network, say nice things about innovative technologies we’re working on, listen to a few speeches proclaiming the need for a better environment, and go home perhaps feeling a little better about ourselves without confronting the real issues,” he said. “But the time has come for a frank discussion and coordinated action. We will never achieve our goals for renewable energy and a better environment for this nation without a cooperative effort between business, labor, government and the environmental community.”

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