Renewable fuels standard

While Exxon Mobil's investment marks a sea change in activity in the sector, significant challenges remain in place to achieve wide-scale commercial development.

Next-wave biofuels that could reduce carbon emissions and displace oil imports are politically popular but have not moved into commercial production as fast as supporters would have hoped. Biofuels overall got a boost through a 2007 law that expands the national renewable fuels standard, or RFS, to reach 36 billion gallons by 2022.

But Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said the RFS expansion is too restrictive and could freeze out emerging technologies -- including algae-based biofuels. He is calling for changes that would make it more "technology- and feedstock-neutral" to accommodate fuels that could ultimately prove superior in several respects.

"Algae-based fuels are the most obvious example, which, despite having characteristics superior to any renewable fuels in commercial production today, have no home in the RFS," Bingaman said in a column about the standards published in the Politico newspaper.

Senior reporter Ben Geman contributed.

Reprinted from Greenwire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net, 202-628-6500

4 Comments

1. 1. txarcher 05:34 PM 7/14/09

   "... development of all commercially viable energy sources..."
   
   Bottom line is, that they are intent on finding something that we will continue to have to buy from them on a constant basis. They'll never let us have 100% renewable and FREE energy.

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2. 2. hotblack 07:13 PM 7/14/09

   Luckily, we don't need them to let us have it.
   
   Anyone can make micro thermal, microhydro, & micro wind & power their house. Anyone can build a small electric car or a personal Zeppelin and power it with electric motors charged off their own systems. Anyone can experiment and develop these things, instead of waiting for a company to do it for them. The technology's old and available. If America could get over its consumer-culture and revisit its old innovator culture, we'd be fine.

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3. 3. jimineycricket0 in reply to hotblack 10:43 AM 9/9/09

   we're not only putting blue green algae as nutritional supplements into our bodies, now we're putting it into our gas tanks. In Exxon's ad blue algae was mentioned first and green algae last. It's all snake oil and we can be sold anything as long as people can make "good money" from it.

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4. 4. jimineycricket0 10:48 AM 9/9/09

   Blue Green Algae to lose weight and build immunity. Now enhance stem cells and put a tiger in your tank. Who is kidding who here. Exxonmobil's TV Ad mentioned Blue Algae first then Green Algae last. Smells like snake oil anyway you put it.

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