USDA on track to select biorefinery locations

Ethanol Producer Magazine
December 2010
By Kris Bevill
Report posted Nov. 19, 2010

On Oct. 21, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack presented a plan for his agency to assist in expanding the production and availability of biofuels in the U.S. One month later, USDA officials are working feverishly to accomplish Vilsack’s lofty goals, which include assisting in the installation of 10,000 blender pumps within five years and financing and constructing five advanced fuels biorefineries in as many sections of the country.

A USDA senior official told EPM that the agency is on track to announce biorefinery locations by the end of the year. “We’re serious about this,” the official said. “We’re really working hard. It feels like a lot of match-making.” The goal of the USDA’s biorefinery commitment is to prove first-of-a-kind advanced biofuels technologies in specific regions of the country. Biofuels supported by the project can be any advanced transportation fuel, including cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel, biobutanol or drop-in replacement fuels. Vilsack has previously specifically identified cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel as potential projects, however, because they are the only existing advanced biofuel options, the official said. “We know we can’t hit our current goal of 36 billion gallons by 2022 if our current industry goes out of business,” the official added.

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