$62M more pumped into development of alternative fuels

By Gannett News Service

Published: Monday, July 2, 2012, 8:02 p.m.
Updated 14 hours ago

WASHINGTON — The government announced on Monday its latest effort to spur the development of biofuels through a $62 million investment.

The Obama administration said a key part of the spending was $30 million in federal funding being made available to quicken the development of biofuels to replace diesel and jet fuel consumed by the military and the commercial aviation and shipping sectors.

The White House promoted the investment as the latest step by the administration to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil and spur the development of biofuels in the United States — all of which amounts to a financial boon to states such as Iowa by creating jobs and boosting demand for crops.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a Squirrel Hill native, called the funding announcement a “very positive step forward” for rural America.

“This is a matter of national security. It’s a matter of energy security, but it’s also good news for rural America,” Vilsack said. “It opens up great promise for the development of non-food feedstocks as a potential cash crop for farmers, ranchers and producers throughout the United States. The refineries that will be converting this biomass ultimately into fuel likely will be located in rural areas, helping to create jobs.”

President Obama announced in August that the departments of Agriculture and Energy and the Navy will invest up to $510 million during the next three years to produce advanced drop-in aviation and marine biofuels to power military aqnd commercial transportation. The $30 million was part of this commitment.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said last year he wants half of the fuel used in Navy ships and aircraft to come from renewable sources by 2020.

Mabus told reporters every time the price of oil goes up $1 a barrel, it
costs the Navy $30 million more in fuel costs.