OP-ED: Achieving Carbon Emission Reductions with Biofuels
by Pat Gruber (GEVO/American Energy Society) It’s a gaping hole in most conversations about fuel: what do we do about liquid transportation fuels?
No matter how quickly we try to electrify our transportation sector, gasoline isn’t going away. Diesel isn’t going away. Jet fuel certainly isn’t going away. Even the most ambitious estimates set forth by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in their Annual Energy Outlook indicate that liquid transportation fuel market penetration will remain well above 50% through 2050.
Electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure is expensive, and much easier to install in cities and suburbs; rural communities especially will continue to rely on liquid transportation fuels. Furthermore, a third of the transportation fuel used in the United States goes to fuel heavy-duty applications. Think airplanes, trucks, large ships – these are not as easily electrified as a lightweight passenger car. Electric technology for these vehicles is limited and not available at scale.
To be clear: I support electrification of the U.S.’s transportation space. What is happening with electric cars is revolutionary, and it will be good for the planet. More electric vehicles means fewer carbon emissions, and regardless of political leanings, I hope to live in a world where we can all agree that pollution is bad. In fact, I want renewable electricity widely available because it lowers the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of biofuel production plants, too.
But EVs are not the be-all and end-all for the transportation space. We’ve invested billions over the years to develop advanced biofuels and other sources of renewable liquid fuels. Let’s make sure we are on track to decarbonize all the liquid fuels in our country, too. |
US motor gasoline and diesel consumption (2000 – 2020), in million barrels/day.
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That is exactly what Congress recognized when it first enacted the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in 2005 and expanded it in 2007. The policy was ahead of the curve: it created standards for compliance that rewarded higher GHG emissions reductions. It envisioned a future where we could grow carbon feedstocks from starch, cellulose, and other agricultural resources that could be scaled. And scalability is king.
Sustainability means nothing if not aggregated – even the most incremental improvements make a difference when we are talking about every gallon of liquid transportation fuel in the U.S. market. And over the last few years, we’ve proved that food and fuel can be delivered together in this way. A soybean can deliver meal alongside oil, corn can be grown sustainably, and innovative agricultural practices enable us improve soil quality and sequester carbon in the soil. Increased demand for protein for use in food drives availability of agriculturally based raw materials useful for making low carbon fuels. Starch is scalable. Cellulosic feedstocks like wood and municipal solid waste (MSW) are becoming scalable too.
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US liquid fuel components, by annual change
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