Legislation Promoting Biofuels Blooms
Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:19:00
Gasoline has risen to more than $4 per gallon in New York, and there is no sign that prices will go down. But Assembly Member Kevin Cahill (D-Ulster/Duchess) and Sen. George Maziarz (R-Niagara/Orleans), chairs of their respective chambers’ energy committees, believe that New Yorkers can use biofuels, like switchgrass, to offset the price of fossil fuels.
But while academics agree with the idea, they caution that practical reality may get in the way.
“You can get power from biofuels like switchgrass,” said Jordan Morris, air and energy associate for the Environmental Advocates of New York, “but the technology needed to do that is years in the future.”
Ethanol produced from corn is the oldest and most commonly known biofuel in America. It is also among the most expensive. At more than $500 per ton of fertilizer and record gasoline prices, converting more than 2.3 million bushels into 6.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel last year, as calculated by the National Corn Growers Association, cost farmers billions of dollars in input costs. By comparison, switchgrass requires little or no fertilizer, already covers more than 40 percent of northern New York and provides more than twice the energy than that produced by corn, when the costs of gasoline and fertilizer are part of the equation.
“Everybody thinks of corn when you talk about biofuels,” said Larry Walker, a Cornell University economist who is currently examining the impact of switchgrass and other biofuels on the state’s energy policy. “But if you look at the amount of energy per cost, you get a higher ratio for cellulosic ethanol, like switchgrass, than you do for corn.”
Biofuels produced from switchgrass may be cheaper than that produced from corn, and due to the ability to grow in nitrogen-poor soil, would have less of an impact on the amount of corn needed for food.
But scientists are still wrangling with the logistics of how to make switchgrass into an energy source that is at least as viable as ethanol. Some have even begun to pull back from promoting the potential of switchgrass as a clean energy source.
Cahill and Maziarz, both of whom are exploring various energy options for New York, remain confident that fuel produced from switchgrass will ultimately become a part of the state’s increasingly diverse portfolio of energy sources. Rather than wait for scientists to reach final conclusions on how best to utilize grasses for fuel, some legislators have already begun to move forward with biofuel legislation in hopes that a fostered market will drive scientists to speedier and more certain results.
Maziarz recently introduced a bill that would give producers a 40-cent tax credit for each New York-produced gallon of cellulosic ethanol, or ethanol produced from the stalks and stems of plants. Assembly Member Marc Alessi (D-Suffolk) has introduced a series of bills that would make the use of biofuels standard for school buses and state vehicles, as well as encourage a greater use of biofuels among farmers and homeowners. And recently, the Senate passed a bill that would give a 25 percent tax credit to consumers and producers who build and maintain their own biodiesel and ethanol storage facilities.
Meanwhile, Gov. David Paterson (D) and other legislators have remained convinced that clean energy alternatives, such as solar power and cellulosic ethanol, are necessary to produce new jobs and increase tax revenues as well as address the residents’ growing need for power.
Maziarz, though, defended the idea of moving forward on bills expanding the use of biofuels in New York, despite the lagging conversion technology.
“Biodiesel fuels, like switchgrass, represent a clean, cheap and plentiful source of energy for the state,” said Maziarz. “That is where the future is headed.
But while academics agree with the idea, they caution that practical reality may get in the way.
“You can get power from biofuels like switchgrass,” said Jordan Morris, air and energy associate for the Environmental Advocates of New York, “but the technology needed to do that is years in the future.”
Ethanol produced from corn is the oldest and most commonly known biofuel in America. It is also among the most expensive. At more than $500 per ton of fertilizer and record gasoline prices, converting more than 2.3 million bushels into 6.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel last year, as calculated by the National Corn Growers Association, cost farmers billions of dollars in input costs. By comparison, switchgrass requires little or no fertilizer, already covers more than 40 percent of northern New York and provides more than twice the energy than that produced by corn, when the costs of gasoline and fertilizer are part of the equation.
“Everybody thinks of corn when you talk about biofuels,” said Larry Walker, a Cornell University economist who is currently examining the impact of switchgrass and other biofuels on the state’s energy policy. “But if you look at the amount of energy per cost, you get a higher ratio for cellulosic ethanol, like switchgrass, than you do for corn.”
Biofuels produced from switchgrass may be cheaper than that produced from corn, and due to the ability to grow in nitrogen-poor soil, would have less of an impact on the amount of corn needed for food.
But scientists are still wrangling with the logistics of how to make switchgrass into an energy source that is at least as viable as ethanol. Some have even begun to pull back from promoting the potential of switchgrass as a clean energy source.
Cahill and Maziarz, both of whom are exploring various energy options for New York, remain confident that fuel produced from switchgrass will ultimately become a part of the state’s increasingly diverse portfolio of energy sources. Rather than wait for scientists to reach final conclusions on how best to utilize grasses for fuel, some legislators have already begun to move forward with biofuel legislation in hopes that a fostered market will drive scientists to speedier and more certain results.
Maziarz recently introduced a bill that would give producers a 40-cent tax credit for each New York-produced gallon of cellulosic ethanol, or ethanol produced from the stalks and stems of plants. Assembly Member Marc Alessi (D-Suffolk) has introduced a series of bills that would make the use of biofuels standard for school buses and state vehicles, as well as encourage a greater use of biofuels among farmers and homeowners. And recently, the Senate passed a bill that would give a 25 percent tax credit to consumers and producers who build and maintain their own biodiesel and ethanol storage facilities.
Meanwhile, Gov. David Paterson (D) and other legislators have remained convinced that clean energy alternatives, such as solar power and cellulosic ethanol, are necessary to produce new jobs and increase tax revenues as well as address the residents’ growing need for power.
Maziarz, though, defended the idea of moving forward on bills expanding the use of biofuels in New York, despite the lagging conversion technology.
“Biodiesel fuels, like switchgrass, represent a clean, cheap and plentiful source of energy for the state,” said Maziarz. “That is where the future is headed.
