How bike co-op went off track - USDA Rural Development - US ...

citing sugar, wood chips and switchgrass.
The President also expressed strong
support for federal expenditures on
renewable energy research and “new
ways to conserve and new ways to protect
the environment through new technologies.”
He referred to hydrogen
power as a promising, long-term energy
resource. “We’re spending $1.2 billion
to encourage hydrogen fuel cells. It’s
coming. It’s an interesting industry evolution,
to think about your automobiles
being powered by hydrogen, and the
only emission is water vapor.”
The President said that with ongoing
research into new battery technologies,
he could “envision a day in which light
and powerful batteries will become
available in the marketplace so that you
can drive the first 40 miles on electricity
— and your car won’t have to look
like a golf cart.”
USDA funds biomass development
Secretary Johanns used his welcoming
speech to announce the awarding
of $17 million in USDA and
“Energy is going to
help determine
whether or not this
nation remains the
economic leader in
the world.”
— President George W. Bush
President Bush said more feedstocks, in addition to corn, must be developed to offset oil imports. USDA Under Secretary
for Rural Development Thomas Dorr (above, left) noted that Rural Development has invested $460 million to develop
new energy sources. Next page, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns addresses the conference.
Department of Energy (DOE) assistance
to 17 biomass research facilities.
“Our challenge is to increase the production
and use of alternative energy
across this great nation, to maximize
its potential so that renewable fuels
are an economically viable and sustainable
alternative,” Johanns said.
Both he and Secretary Bodman
extolled the potential of ethanol production
from cellulose.
It was also announced that an additional
$4 million will be awarded for
bio-based fuels research to accelerate
the development of alternative fuels.
The goal of the research is to lead to
breakthroughs that further the goal of
replacing 30 percent of transportation
fuels with biofuels by 2030.
Secretary Johanns noted that in the
past six years, the number of ethanol
plants in operation increased from 54
to more than 100 producing 5 billion
gallons per year. An additional 44 are
under construction, representing a further
3 billion gallons of annual production.
The number of biodiesel plants has
multiplied by more than eight times in
the past six years, from 10 to 86 plants,
with another 78 plants either under
construction or being expanded, which
will boost biodiesel production to about
2 billion gallons per year.
Johanns countered
arguments that without
government subsidies,
ethanol is not competitive
with oil. It costs an
average of about $1.10
to produce a gallon of
ethanol, he noted, and
the average wholesale
price of gasoline was
more than $2 per gallon
in 2006. “Ethanol
will continue to be
competitive with gasoline
as long as oil prices
don’t drop below $30
per barrel,” Johanns
said, noting that DOE
has forecast oil prices
will “even out, in the
long run, at more than
$50 per barrel.”
Energy Secretary Bodman said the
secret to success with cellulosic ethanol
is engineering the microbes used to
break down both plant cell walls and
the plants themselves. Department of
Energy-sponsored research is making
gains in this area, he said.
“Our goal, as the President
announced in his State of the Union
Address, is to make cellulosic ethanol
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2006 9