URL: http://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/guest_columns/561277opinion05-10-07.htm

Thursday, May 10, 2007
Energy Act Pushes Biofuels Over Corn
By U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
    Last week the Energy and Natural Resources Committee overwhelmingly endorsed the bipartisan Energy Savings Act— a bill we wrote to expand the use of renewable fuels, encourage more efficient use of energy, and develop ways to capture carbon to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
    A Journal editorial ("Tall Corn on Horizon May Be Cruel Mirage") stated that our bill is flawed because it depends too heavily on corn as the source for ethanol— a fuel Americans will increasingly use to replace gasoline, thereby reducing dependence on foreign oil.
    It is true that corn is a thirsty crop not well suited for an arid climate like New Mexico's, and that a greater demand for corn could lead to an increase in the price of this essential food commodity. But it is not true, as the Journal states, that our bill mandates a "sevenfold increase in corn-based ethanol production."
    Two years ago, we helped write an energy bill that for the first time required our country to use several billion gallons of renewable fuels annually, starting last year. Now, we're ready to take the next step. Our new bill ramps up the amount of renewable fuels we use annually to 36 billion gallons by 2022. We know that we cannot rely on corn starch to provide much of that total, so we are counting on American innovation to meet the challenge.
    To that end, our bill increases funding by 50 percent for the advancement of "advanced biofuels"— renewable fuels derived from something other than corn kernels— and provides loan guarantees to construct the biorefineries to produce those fuels. Within two decades, our nation will be making 60 percent of our renewable fuels from these emerging sources. By definition, the majority of production our bill calls for must come from these advanced biofuels, rather than corn-based ethanol.
    New Mexico is already home to a plant that uses sorghum to make advanced biofuel ethanol. Sorghum is a much less thirsty crop than corn and it's grown in abundance in our state. Additionally, there are tremendous opportunities for our state to produce renewable fuels from agriculture waste, woody biomass and native prairie grasses, which are among the advanced biofuels our bill encourages.
    The Journal editorial also cites a University of Minnesota study which estimates that the "lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions" related to ethanol production— that means from harvest to gas tank— are only marginally better than that of fossil fuels. However, the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency find that ethanol from natural gas-fired biorefineries emits 30 percent less greenhouse gases than conventional gasoline. And the next generation of ethanol production will emit 90 percent fewer greenhouse gases than gasoline.
    Further, the Journal misconstrues the conclusions of the University of Minnesota analysis. The study did not refute ethanol as part of the solution— it simply states that advanced biofuels are even more beneficial. We agree. In fact, if we were to write a bill based on the recommendations of the Minnesota study, it would look very much like the bill we have written.
    The Energy Savings Act takes an important step toward not only moving away from gasoline, but moving beyond corn starch ethanol as well. It also improves the efficiency of household appliances and invests in ways to capture and store carbon. For these reasons, we think it represents a good policy for the country and we were proud it received such strong bipartisan support from our committee.