The Unicorn and the Fairy: Corn Declares War on Cellulose

Federal Legislation, Field/Orchard/Plantation Crops/Residues, Opinions, Organizations, Policy

August 26, 2011

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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The National Corn Growers Association declares War on cellulosic biofuels, calling them “non-existent”, then mysteriously removes the blog post. What gives?

Ten days ago, Cathryn Wojciki, communications manager for the National Corn Growers Association, wrote a blog post in which she tossed the cellulosic biofuels industry under a bus.

Referring to cellulosic biofuels targets in the Renewable Fuel Standard, she wrote: “Much as parents may tell stories about unicorns and fairies, some players in the ethanol and environmental industries pushed a product which they were not prepared to deliver. In both scenarios, optimism created a beautiful vision of a world that does not exist.”

…The point of the post? Observers expect that the goal of the corn growers is to re-open the RFS, and expand the allotment for corn ethanol. Why now? With the VEETC tax credit expiring at the end of the year, industry veterans tell the Digest that an expected reduction in ethanol demand (that comes with the price increases that VEETC’s expiration is expected to bring), may expose the industry to overcapacity problems, and cause a collapse in ethanol prices. In turn, that would ultimately rattle corn prices. Adding more mandated demand for corn ethanol would shore up prices, goes the theory.

There is a lot of support growing for penning up the Renewable Fuel Standard. The algal biofuels industry would like to see it re-opened to make the standard more fuel and feedstock neutral. Observers tell us that the American Petroleum Institute would like to see it re-opened and have the entire advanced biofuels pool removed. READ MORE and MORE (original National Corn Growers Association blogpost) and MORE (OPIS)

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