Biofuels Will Fly High, U.S. Officials Predict

by Jon Hilkevitch (Chicago Tribune) The Obama administration is committed to "help buy down the cost" of building refineries and growing feedstocks for use in producing clean, renewable aviation fuels, even though the current price of such biofuels is at least three times higher than regular jet fuel, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday in Chicago.

The plan for American-produced biofuels that Vilsack outlined before business and airline industry officials is aimed at creating thousands of jobs, especially in the rural economy; establishing energy security by reducing dependence on foreign oil; and slowing global warming, he said.

"The beauty of this is that it stimulates what America does best: innovation," Vilsack told a business round table held at Boeing Co.headquarters in the Loop. "It makes a lot more sense to buy (energy) from the farmer down the road" than rely on overseas markets, he added.

...Billy Glover, Boeing's vice president of environment and aviation policy, said it's difficult to make predictions, but the key to lowering the price rests with increasing production.