Today in Biofuels Opinion: “Near-negligible carbon mitigation, competition for arable land, and poor economics.”

From Brownfield Network: “While saying he’s a “strong supporter of renewable fuels,” Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia last week urged President Obama, Ag Secretary Vilsack and EPA administrator Lisa Jackson not to approve the current ethanol blend increase request. Goodlatte, the ranking member of the House Ag Committee, says “many other members of Congress” have joined him in a letter saying an ethanol blend above 10 percent in gasoline could “result in serious economic consequences that could negatively affect already struggling Americans.”

From Earth2Tech: “The [biofuels] industry “has plunged over a cliff amidst rancorous debate over its near-negligible carbon mitigation, competition for arable land, and poor economics.” So where are the opportunities? According to analysts at Lux, they’re in niche markets, infrastructure and vehicle technology — not in boosting yields through gene tinkering or new processing techniques, where many companies have been focusing their efforts.
There’s a misconception among biofuel advocates, Lux finds, that “demand will exceed supply as soon as costs are competitive with fossil fuels.” That’s the same basic assumption that’s driving the solar industry’s quest for grid parity. So let’s say biofuels, in a best-case scenario, do reach that price point; if the vehicles that can run on ethanol and the infrastructure to deliver it to the consumer doesn’t exist, even competitive costs won’t be enough to spur much demand.”

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