Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack met last month
with representatives of Boeing, United Continental Holdings, and Honeywell to underscore administration efforts to develop
second and third generation advanced renewable fuels. "By working with the commercial airline industry, [the Department
of Agriculture] is supporting new markets for these fuels and encouraging further research and innovations that will help
reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil and lay a solid foundation for a strong rural economy," said Vilsack.
"Advanced biofuels provide landowners, businesses, and communities
throughout the country the opportunity to pursue new energy advancements that create jobs and build a stronger economy. The
United States is particularly well-positioned to now transition to a broader bio-economy, which includes production of aviation
fuel in commercial quantities." Vilsack also highlighted
these U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiatives:
•
partnerships with FAA and the industry to promote aviation biofuels;
•
invested more than $80 million in research focused on developing aviation biofuels;
• partnered with the U.S. Navy and Department of Energy (DOE) to invest up to $510 million during the next three
years to produce advanced, drop-in aviation and marine biofuels to power military and commercial transportation;
• with the Navy, announced that the Defense Logistics Agency had signed a contract
to purchase 450,000 gallons of advanced drop-in biofuel, the single largest purchase of biofuel in government history;
• awarded a $40 million grant to the University of Washington for research on using
sustainably grown woody energy crops to produce bio-gasoline and renewable aviation fuel;
• provided a research grant to Washington State University to convert closed timber mills into
bioenergy development centers to develop a regional source of renewable aviation fuel for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport;
• invested in a New Mexico facility to produce crude oil from
algae to be refined into transportation fuel;
• provided $310
million to help build five bio-refineries to produce advanced biofuels.
Along with Airlines for America and the Boeing Company, USDA released a report on its FARM to FLY initiative, an effort by
industry and government stakeholders to ensure "that aviation biofuels will become an economical and environmentally
preferred alternative to petroleum-based jet fuels in the near future. This commitment also includes the creation and implementation
of programs and incentives to assist American farmers in the selection and cultivation of energy crops for conversion into
affordable and sustainable aviation biofuels."
‘Unique
Opportunity'
FARM to FLY has brought together
the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Transportation, and Defense to focus government and industry efforts to develop sustainable
biofuels. "Coupling the need, interest, and initiative of the pursuit of aviation biofuels by the American aviation industry
with the opportunities provided by American agriculture presents a unique opportunity for a sustained biofuels industry,"
according to the report.
"To secure the
future of the industry requires proof of concept--more precisely, proof of commercialization--in the near term. The focused
commitment of limited government resources in the near term to support investment in biofuels innovation can help secure a
future in which domestic businesses are the primary funders of a large share of commercial aviation renewable fuel production. The
production of environmentally preferred aviation biofuels by U.S. companies will also support the President's goal of dramatically
increasing U.S. exports to support our nation's main street rural economy and win the future."
2012
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