Crop-Based Biofuels Still Play a Role in Clean and Affordable Energy

Environmental Protection Agency, European Union (EU), Federal Agency/Executive Branch, Federal Regulation, Feedstocks, Field/Orchard/Plantation Crops/Residues, Germany, Not Agriculture, Opinions, Policy, Sustainability

February 3, 2023

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by Dawson Schmitt (The Heartland Report) … Ukraine, a major producer of corn and wheat, could not ship grain from its ports in the Black Sea, a major transportation outlet for food exports. Since agriculture is global, U.S. prices reacted, increasing inflationary pressures on food prices.

Historically high prices of grain created a predicament for the cost of food, largely because production competes with fuel production, namely, biofuels.

Tight supplies amid uncertainty sparked a battle between food and fuel, drawing stark criticism toward the biofuel industry and modern agriculture. That brought up the question of if the U.S. and the world should be less dependent on corn for ethanol or soybeans and canola for biodiesel.

So far, the U.S. has shown no inclination to reduce crops in biofuels, albeit the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest biofuel blending mandate proposal wasn’t necessarily a win for the biofuels industry. However, other countries have questioned the role crops should play in decarbonizing the transportation sector.

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German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke announced Germany’s plan to phase out biofuels produced from crops such as rapeseed (canola), grains and beets.

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Germany’s plan isn’t to do away with biofuels completely but rather increase investment in biofuels produced by waste, residual materials, and cooking oil. Global food giant Cargill expressed similar interest in creating alternative energy from second-generation biofuels using non-food feedstocks such as woody crops, agricultural residues or waste, or non-food crops grown on marginal land.

While it is important to diversify energy sources, the pitfall comes from Germany’s intention to do away with practices like genetic engineering that have helped advance Western civilization.

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Additionally, crops processed for fuel are not only used for transportation. Rather, corn coproducts like dried distillers grains are used for animal feed, helping to utilize all the output and reduce waste.

Coproducts are value-added inputs that help reduce feeding costs. And reducing cost-effective supplies increase the need for imports, which only shifts the burden of producing crop-based fuels and other products elsewhere. That seems to counter the idea of sustainability.

Crop-based biofuels could play a role in climate-friendly systems for some time, and it might not yet be time to phase out a tool that has provided cheaper and cleaner options at the pump. READ MORE

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