Cellulosic Ethanol Support Lags Ambitions
by Naureen S. Malik (Dow Jones Newswires) Makers of cellulosic ethanol warn that ambitious U.S. government goals to significantly boost production of the technologically advanced fuel over the next 12 years won’t be met without stronger backing from Washington.
…industry executives say they are frustrated because they have yet to secure government loan guarantees or enough private financial backing to build the first commercial-scale cellulosic plants. While investors have said they see potential for cellulosic ethanol in the market, it is more difficult to extract the needed sugars from tougher biomass than corn kernels, and they’re waiting for proof of economic feasibility before funding anything beyond demonstration plants.
…However, the EPA will have to waive large chunks of the annual federal cellulosic ethanol requirements for at least “the next three to four years,” given that no cellulosic-ethanol plant has received all the permits or funding to begin construction, said Renewable Fuels Association spokesman Matt Hartwig. The organization is seeking to extend tax credits of 45 cents a gallon for grain-based ethanol and $1.01 a gallon for cellulosic that expire at the end of 2010. Various companies have estimated that it will take around two years to build a plant that can produce more than 15 million gallons a year of cellulosic ethanol. READ MORE
