Advanced Biofuels in US, Canada to Surge to 1.6-2.6 Billion Gallons by 2015 amidst Domestic Manufacturing Comeback
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) New downloadable reports from Environmental Entrepreneurs and PriceWaterhouseCoopers detail strong advances in advanced biofuels, chemicals, wood, plastic and rubber sectors.
In California, Environmental Entrepreneurs has just released its annual survey of advanced biofuels, the Advanced Biofuels Market Report for 2012, and is projecting that, for the US and Canada, advanced biofuels production (qualifying for RFS2 consideration) will increase to at least 1.6 billion gallons by 2015 and on the high end, this number could reach 2.6 billion gallons.
The group noted that “Requirements such as the RFS2 and LCFS, in concert with financial support from federal agencies like DOE and USDA are resulting in the construction or retrofit of 27 biorefineries by 2015. Fuel standards can be met by the capacity of these & existing facilities, but continued support of these government programs is crucial.”
…The report comes as PwC published a new report predicting a “sustained manufacturing renaissance in the U.S. beyond any cyclical recovery, potentially improving investment, employment, production output and research & development (R&D).”
While the PwC report nods to a consensus view that rising labor costs in China will drive manufacturing jobs to the US, PwC identified seven factors—transportation and energy costs; currency fluctuations; U.S. market demand; labor costs; U.S. talent; availability of capital; and the tax and regulatory climate—as the primary catalysts influencing manufacturers’ decisions to establish production facilities domestically and produce products closer to their major customer bases.”
… “Industrial manufacturers may increasingly rethink their U.S. strategies, including the merits of continuing to separate production and R&D and producing abroad and importing back to U.S. buyers. Depending on the industry, there may be considerable benefits to establishing regionalized supply chains and R&D facilities in the U.S., such as reducing costs, shortening lead times, protecting intellectual property and mitigating many of the risk factors inherent in developing markets.” READ MORE Download E2 Report Download PwC Report
