Michael McAdams, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA ), recently testified before the U.S. House Small Business Committee's Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade on the growth in the biofuels industry in the United States.
In his testimony, McAdams said, “America's domestic advanced biofuels industry has moved from the beaker to the barrel, all in record time. And like most parts of our nation's economy, small business and American ingenuity are proving to be the engine driving our success."
McAdams also noted several examples where biofuels had been used in high-performance applications. The U.S. Air Force has flown the F-16/Thunderbirds on a mixture of advanced biofuels, the U.S. Navy has tested advanced biofuels in ships and vehicles and the commercial sector has flown the first cross-country flight on a blend of renewable jet fuel, he said.
"We have one member, Dynamic Fuels, producing a million gallons of renewable jet and renewable diesel a week, and have five members who have gone public. In addition, two Colorado member companies are preparing to deploy their innovative technologies in the near term."
McAdams continued, "Gevo, which will produce an isobutanol—a drop-in, fungible fuel—will commission its 18-million-gallon-plant in June of this year in Luverne, Minn. Meanwhile, Sundrop Fuels is on target to break ground to build a 50-million-gallon cellulosic gasoline plant in Louisiana this year."
He said the most important policy component contributing to the growth of biofuels was the Renewable Fuels Standard, which was passed by Congress in 2007 and signed into law by President Bush. “Although it is not perfect,” McAdams said of the Renewable Fuels Standard, “it is fundamentally important that the Congress continue to send a strong bipartisan signal of support for this policy if we wish to continue the remarkable progress and grow an advanced biofuels industry."
He concluded, "We believe we can and should be a fundamental part of an American energy policy that adopts a portfolio approach. As I have shared with you this morning, we are already starting to see advanced biofuels delivering on its promise of creating new jobs and helping to strengthen our nation's economic and energy security."