Replacing the Whole Barrel of Oil and the Need for Biobased Chemicals Policy Now

BioChemicals/Renewable Chemicals, Business News/Analysis, Opinions, Policy

July 24, 2012

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by Stephen J. Gatto (Biofuels Digest/Myriant) Post Kitty Hawk: 2012 and Beyond: Overwhelming Evidence in Support of Replacing the Whole Barrel of Oil and the Need for Biobased Chemicals Policy Now
We in the biobased chemicals industry have had our Kitty Hawk moment.
What that means is: we have proven the thesis that biobased chemicals can be produced, brought to commercial scale and quickly sold to a receptive, growing and eager marketplace. We have also demonstrated that sustainable chemicals can be made here in America at a cost that is lower than anywhere else in the world which results in a product-pricing model that, even without subsidies, is competitive with petroleum-based chemical manufacturing processes.
These factors in the aggregate suggest the time has long since come and gone to ask why biobased chemicals should be included in a nationl energy policy or why anyone would want to invest in the industry. The question now must be, ‘Why Not?
Given the national and global opportunities presented by biobased innovation, now is the time to recognize the value of policies and programs in support of accelerating commercialization and advancing the nation’s market leadership in the biobased chemicals industry.
… A failure to establish a durable U.S. energy policy that includes incentives for the production and commercialization of biobased chemicals carries significant national and global implications. The international leadership opportunity within our grasp, supported by the fact that we can be, right now, the lowest cost producer of biobased chemicals among all nations will be lost to countries with more resolve and a better understanding of the stakes.
…Specific policies should include:

A Renewed Farm Bill Inclusive of Biobased Chemicals …
Expanding Public/Private Partnerships …
Tax Codes that Extend and Support Reward Investment and Innovation in Industrial Biotechnology …
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