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harnessing the benefits of homegrown Energy
Renewable energy production offers a tremendous new market opportunity for farmers and ranchers. Increased funding for the development of technologies to convert cellulose-based raw materials into “biofuels” and renewable energy standards can expand profitable and environmentally sustainable domestic market opportunities for farmers.
A New Energy Future
Biofuels: What are the issues?
Biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel have grown from niche fuel additives found primarily in the Midwest to worldwide competitors with gasoline and diesel. As production of these alternative fuels has increased, the role that biofuels play in solving global warming, improving national security and helping the environment has increasingly become a topic of debate. more»
 Ethanol from Switchgrass
Conventional ethanol (from corn) and biodiesel (from soybeans)—together account for less than 4 percent of U.S. fuel needs—and are unlikely to cover more than 10 percent of current or future demand for fuel. Enter switchgrass.
Switchgrass has been touted as the next miracle crop of the renewable fuel industry. It’s a fast-growing variety of prairie grass that once grew wild across the eastern United States and has the potential to grow in areas from the Great Plains all the way to the Southeast.
A new study documents that ethanol from switchgrass is nearly five times more efficient to produce than corn ethanol.
Electricity from Manure
In the United States, the cows, chickens, pigs and sheep we raise for food release 28 percent of all methane gas [PDF]. But what if all that waste could be turned into energy and the greenhouse gases eliminated in the process? Methane biodigesters, which have been around for over 30 years, are expected to make a comeback due to new technologies and better government support. By burning waste methane produced in animals’ guts and using the heat to power a generator, digesters could help meet electricity needs while destroying methane—a powerful greenhouse gas.
Renewable Energy in the Farm Bill
Policy Recommendations:
- Funding research into cellulosic feedstock production and harvesting
- Providing assistance for the installation of energy production equipment and energy efficiency
improvements on farms and ranches
- Offering incentives for converting targeted rural industrial sites into advanced biofuels facilities
- Encouraging the production of sustainable energy crops through a green payments program
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As the Conference Committee works to complete the farm bill, please urge the committee to support at least $500 million in mandatory five-year funding for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) in the farm bill.
REAP boosts our rural economies, increases our national security by producing homegrown clean energy, and cuts global warming pollution.
Renewable Energy and Conservation
When improved energy and fuel efficiency is coupled with adequate support for natural resource conservation, the new energy future being grown on America’s farms and ranches has enormous potential
to help sustain our working lands, improve our environment, and address some of the most important
economic and political challenges of our time.
The farm bills passed by the House and Senate increase funding for programs that would boost many renewable energy technologies. Make sure your legislators stay on course and visit our Action Center today.
» AFT's Growing Renewable Energy Recommendations
The Energy Bill
The Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) included in the energy bill increases incentives for both conventional and advanced biofuels (cellulosic ethanol like switchgrass). The RFS calls for 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuels by 2015—a tripling of current production—and 36 billion gallons by 2022, of which over half must be advanced biofuels that reduce emissions by 50% above gasoline or diesel. Current corn ethanol technology attains at most a 10 to 15% reduction. But a new study documents ethanol from switchgrass is nearly five times more efficient to produce than corn ethanol.
AFT applauds the energy bill, but President Ralph Grossi warns it must include more environmental safeguards. While there are requirements for conventional biofuels to meet greenhouse gas reductions of at least 20% and restrictions against cultivating land that isn't already in production, there are no requirements for avoiding other environmental impacts such as increased water pollution or soil erosion. Additional funding for conservation programs in the farm bill are critical to ensuring that renewable fuel production is a net positive for agriculture, the economy, and the environment. |
