WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2012- The Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) released a progress report today on the development of the cellulosic biofuels industry timed on the five-year anniversary of the signing of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
AEC said the report contains, for the first time, detailed information about the facilities under development in more than 20 states and Canadian provinces. Several companies, including POET-DSM and Abengoa Bioenergy, provided data on each facility’s path to commercial deployment, capacity, location and feedstock.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack mentioned the release of the report during a forum at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today, when he described the bio-based industry as a pillar of a new emerging economy in rural America.
Noting that the “cellulosic biofuel industry takes a lot of heat,” AEC Executive Director Brooke Coleman said when it comes to validating the biofuels industry, “there’s no better person to rely on to make that point than Secretary Vilsack.”
Coleman described the new report as “a lynchpin to our discussions on the Hill.”
“The inevitable question is ‘are you a concept or are you real?’” Coleman said. “The oil industry has been very creative with regard to sending a message that we’re not real. But we’re sitting here building facilities in the middle of recession.”
He noted several facilities hitting the commercial stage in 2013 highlighted in the report, adding that the next two years will be important for the industry in terms of commercialization and growth. Coleman projected the industry to produce around 10 million gallons of fuel made from non-food sources next year.
Bill Brady, Mascoma Corporation CEO and AEC Chairman, said in a press release today that “much has been made about the slow development of cellulosic ethanol. This report should put all that to rest.”
To view the report, click here.
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