Posted on June 02, 2023 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced on May 24, 2023, the launch of the Clean Fuels & Products ShotTM, a new initiative that aims to reduce significantly greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from carbon-based fuels and products. DOE notes that this is its seventh DOE Energy Earthshot, which focuses on reducing carbon emissions from the fuel and chemical industry through alternative, more sustainable sources of carbon to achieve a minimum of 85 percent lower GHG emissions as compared to fossil-based sources by 2035. According to DOE, the Clean Fuels & Products ShotTM supports the national goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 by developing the sustainable feedstocks and conversion technologies necessary to produce crucial fuels, materials, and carbon-based products that are better for the environment than current petroleum-derived components. It aims to meet projected 2050 net-zero emissions demands for 100 percent of aviation fuel; 50 percent of maritime, rail, and off-road fuel; and 50 percent of carbon-based chemicals by using sustainable carbon resources.
DOE notes that a ribbon-cutting took place on May 30, 2023, for the Biofuels National User Facility, a $15 million, three-year-long facility upgrade at Idaho National Laboratory funded by DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and an important asset to reach the goals of the Clean Fuels & Products ShotTM. According to DOE, the facility “is designed to solve critical biofuels production challenges associated with the feeding, handling and preprocessing of diverse biomass and waste materials.” DOE states that industry use of the facility “will enable rapid technology development and large-scale commercialization of biofuels and bioproducts, an important component of the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals related to clean fuels and products.”
Posted on May 05, 2023 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 28, 2023, that it issued an emergency fuel waiver to allow E15 gasoline -- gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol -- to be sold “during the summer driving season.” EPA states that this action will provide relief from ongoing market supply issues “created by Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine by increasing fuel supply and offering consumers more choices at the pump.” According to EPA, the waiver will help protect Americans from fuel supply crises by reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels, building U.S. energy independence, and supporting American agriculture and manufacturing. EPA notes that current estimates indicate that, on average, E15 is about 25 cents a gallon cheaper than E10.
Posted on May 04, 2023 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
On April 11, 2023, a bipartisan group of legislators led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging it to strengthen the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by maintaining the blending requirements for 2023; denying all pending Small Refinery Exemptions (SRE); eliminating proposed retroactive cuts to the renewable volume obligations (RVO); and setting RFS volumes at the statutory levels. According to Klobuchar’s April 14, 2023, press release, the letter states that the RFS “creates competition in the marketplace, keeping fuel costs low for consumers while bringing down carbon emissions.” By taking the suggested steps, EPA “can set the RFS on a path that provides stability and growth for the U.S. biofuel sector.” This would guarantee that this “essential program” continues to function as intended by reducing emissions, driving economic growth in rural communities, keeping gas prices low, and “bolstering national security by promoting an essential homegrown energy source.”
Posted on April 10, 2023 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
On March 23, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced the release of its 2023 Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP). The MYPP is used as an operational guide, setting forth BETO’s mission, goals, and strategic approach. It also serves as a resource to help manage and coordinate BETO’s activities and communicate its strategy to stakeholders and the public. The new plan identifies BETO’s forthcoming research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) plans and activities and outlines why these undertakings are critical to meeting the energy and sustainability challenges facing our nation. According to BETO, due to the urgency of reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) across all modes of transportation, BETO has shifted its focus to low-carbon and net-zero carbon fuels for the aviation, marine, rail, and heavy-duty, long-haul industries, which have fewer options for reducing carbon impact. The MYPP prioritizes strategies to enable the decarbonization of the industrial sector via the advancement of renewable chemicals and materials, recognizing the potential for bioenergy technologies to decarbonize communities and other economic sectors through sustainable agriculture, improved waste management, and additional beneficial uses of biomass.
Posted on April 07, 2023 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report on March 27, 2023, entitled Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Agencies Should Track Progress toward Ambitious Federal Goals. According to GAO, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production and use in the United States have increased in recent years; this fuel is now used by airlines at two major commercial airports in California. GAO states that while U.S. production reached 15.8 million gallons in 2022, it accounted for less than 0.1 percent of the total jet fuel used by major U.S. airlines, “fall[ing] well below the previous Federal Aviation Administration goal for U.S. airlines to use 1 billion gallons of SAF per year by 2018.”
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the aviation sector, the White House announced an SAF Grand Challenge in September 2021. The Grand Challenge goal is to supply three billion gallons of SAF per year by 2030 and 100 percent of expected domestic commercial jet fuel use by 2050. GAO was asked to review the federal role in SAF. GAO’s report discusses the state of SAF production and use for the U.S. commercial aviation industry and factors shaping this market, identifies how federal agencies have supported SAF, and assesses how they will monitor progress toward Grand Challenge goals. According to GAO, the roadmap published by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not establish performance measures to monitor, evaluate, and report the results of these actions. GAO states that without performance measures, the agencies are not well positioned to evaluate the effectiveness of federal government actions to meet the Grand Challenge goals. In contrast, according to GAO, establishing and using such measures can help identify progress on the extent to which SAF is contributing to emission reductions.
GAO recommended that DOT, DOE, and USDA develop and incorporate performance measures into the Grand Challenge roadmap. According to GAO, DOT and USDA concurred. DOE indicated the recommendation is completed and that planned roadmap activities will enable progress to be measured. GAO notes that as discussed in its report, it disagrees that the recommendation is completed.
Posted on March 03, 2023 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) will host a listening session at the 2023 Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference (ABLC) to obtain stakeholder feedback on the next Billion-Ton Report. BETO seeks suggestions for making this product even more useful, as well as feedback on the 2016 Billion-Ton Report and related products. The anticipated 2023 Billion-Ton Report will build on previous national assessments that have calculated the potential supply of biomass in the United States. Speakers for the session will include:
- Matt Langholtz, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Bioenergy Resource and Engineering Systems Team Lead;
- Nichole Fitzgerald, BETO Program Manager;
- Mark Elless, BETO Technology Manager; and
- Melissa Ladd, BETO Senior Facilitator.
The session will be held on Thursday, March 23, 2023, at 3:45 p.m. (EDT), at the Mayflower Hotel located in Washington, D.C. Registration for ABLC 2023 is open.
Posted on March 02, 2023 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
On February 16, 2023, Representative Randy Feenstra (R-IA) introduced a legislative package that includes bills regarding researching the potential of biofuels to power jet engines and developing a commercially viable fuel cell system for cars and trucks powered exclusively by biofuels. The package includes:
- The Comparison of Sustainable Transportation (COST) Act would direct the Comptroller General of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Secretary of Energy to compare the financial and environmental costs between replacing the entire federal gasoline-powered fleet with either electric vehicles or E-85 capable flex-fuel cars and trucks;
- The Biojet Fuel Research Act would direct the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish a working group focused on identifying research and development needs to produce biojet fuel. The working group would consist of the Bioenergy Technologies Office of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), biorefinery stakeholders, agriculture research universities, and others; and
- The Biofuel Cell Research Act would direct the DOE Secretary to establish a research, development, and demonstration program for a commercially viable fuel cell system that uses biofuels as the main fuel source.
Feenstra introduced similar legislation in the 117th Congress.
Posted on March 01, 2023 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a workshop on May 23, 2023, to examine “recyclable” adverting claims as part of its review of the Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides). The workshop, “Talking Trash at the FTC: Recyclable Claims and the Green Guides,” is free and open to the public, and pre-registration is not required.
According to the pre-publication version of the Federal Register notice announcing the meeting, the workshop will cover topics including the current state of recycling practices and recycling-related advertising in the United States, consumer perception of current and emerging recycling-related claims, and the need for any updates or other changes to the Green Guides related to recycling claims. FTC states that the workshop likely will include panels on these subjects, and it will publish a more detailed agenda in the coming months.
The workshop will be held at the Constitution Center in Washington, D.C., from 8:30 a.m. (EDT) to 12:30 p.m. (EDT), May 23, 2023. It also will be available for viewing live on the Internet. Written comments related to the issues to be discussed at the workshop must be received by June 13, 2023.
More information on FTC’s review of the Green Guides is available in our December 16, 2022, memorandum.
Posted on March 01, 2023 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on February 15, 2023, on “The Future of Low Carbon Transportation Fuels and Considerations for a National Clean Fuels Program.” The Committee heard from the following witnesses:
- Michael J. Graff, Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), American Air Liquide Holdings Incorporated;
- Geoff Cooper, President and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association; and
- Chris Spear, President and CEO, American Trucking Association.
In his opening statement, Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) noted that when exploring ways to improve federal policies, he often looks to see what works well at the state level. According to Carper, “states have learned from the federal government’s mistakes when it comes to programs like the Renewable Fuel Standard” (RFS). States such as California and Oregon have implemented, or are considering implementing, technology-neutral low carbon fuel standards. Carper stated that unlike the RFS, “existing state programs often focus more on emissions reduction potential when determining what qualifies as a clean fuel. In addition to reducing the number of questions the states have to ask when determining which fuels qualify for a clean fuels program, this structure allows multiple options for obligated parties to comply.” Carper concluded his opening statement by expressing his hope “that today’s hearing is the first of many conversations on how we can bring together industry, environmental groups, agriculture and other stakeholders to further decarbonize our nation’s transportation fuels, while also supporting job creation across our nation.”
Posted on February 22, 2023 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
As reported in our January 4, 2023, blog item, on January 3, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of a draft document entitled “Biofuels and the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress (External Review Draft)” for public comment. 88 Fed. Reg. 72. EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) and Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), in consultation with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE), prepared the document. The purpose of the report is to examine the effects of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program on the environment, including the impacts to date and likely future impacts to the nation’s air, land, and water resources. The draft report focuses on the dominant biofuel sources in the United States: (1) domestic corn ethanol from corn starch; (2) domestic biodiesel from soybean oil; (3) domestic biodiesel from fats, oils, and greases (FOG); and (4) imported ethanol from Brazilian sugarcane.
ERG, an EPA contractor, is organizing an independent external peer review of the draft report. The peer review meetings are open to anyone who would like to attend as an observer and will include a brief public comment period on the first day (February 24, 2023). Registration is required. Panel peer review meetings will be held:
- February 24, 2023, 11:00 a.m.-6:45 p.m. (EST);
- February 27, 2023, 11:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (EST); and
- February 28, 2023, 1:00 p.m.-3:40 p.m. (EST).
Comments on the draft report are due March 6, 2023.
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