Green Jobs and Biofuels

One of President-elect Obama's key objectives early in his administration is to create 2.5 million jobs through investment in green technologies. Investing in cleaner-burning biofuels are among the clean energy technologies likely to be included in this critical initiative.

This makes eminent sense because America's renewable energy industries, whether solar or wind for the generation of electricity or biofuels for replacing imported oil, are on the cusp of major technological breakthroughs that will transform our energy and environmental future.

President-elect Obama and the new Congress have the opportunity to build upon the existing renewable energy infrastructure. The federal tax incentive to promote the use of ethanol, a tax credit available to oil companies for each gallon of ethanol they blend with gasoline, has helped establish a growing domestic renewable fuels industry. Because of this program, ethanol today represents 8% of our nation's gasoline supply. It has also helped reduce our dependence on foreign oil, cut our trade deficit, made the federal government money, and put more money into the pockets of average Americans. Further, the expansion of the industry has created hundreds of thousands of new jobs making it, along with fuel economy standards, the original green economic stimulus.

Another example of a policy to expand the production and use of greener energy is the Renewable Fuels Standard, which will help reduce greenhouse gas emission while creating an expanded ethanol industry based on cellulosic materials -- switchgrass, wood chips, corn cobs and municipal waste. The emergence of this next generation of renewable biofuel technologies promises even greater economic and environmental benefits than we are realizing today. Continuing these sound public policies should be at the top of President-elect Obama's blueprint for the green economy.

President-elect Obama must also take into account policies that increase the demand for renewable energy. On the transportation fuels front, increasing the current arbitrary 10% limit on the amount of ethanol that can be blended into a gallon of gasoline is essential. With the expanded production of biofuels, buying gasoline blended with 15% or 20% ethanol will provide the necessary market. At the same time, increasing the production of flex fuel vehicles (FFVs) would create even greater demand for renewable alternatives to gasoline and imported oil.

Striving to create more opportunity in the renewable energy sector is about more than just the jobs that directly produce the energy. It is about the network of suppliers and distributors which provides goods and services to these industries. For example, while a 100 million gallon per year ethanol biorefinery will directly employ about 50 people, this facility will help support 1,500 jobs in companies that provide services and supplies as well as new businesses in communities where new facilities are built. This is particularly the case in rural communities that experience economic revival with the construction and operation of a new facility.

President-elect Obama is absolutely right in placing emphasis on investing in renewable energy and fuel technologies for part of his "green jobs" agenda. The green economy is a platform for long term sustainable economic growth as well as a key component of our energy, national security, and environmental strategies.

Follow Bob Dinneen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ethanolbob

Comments

[deltaman]

Nice piece, for those who don't have the time to read a 50 page report, I found this summary of Obama's energy policy: http://www.ethanolplug.com/PlugNews/WebExclusiveObamasEnergyPolicy/tabid/125/Default.aspx

Also checkout CAP's summary of a $100 bl green economic recovery program

Enjoy

[bcole]

ALGAE: THE NEW OIL

Algae is a renewable fuel, does not affect the food channel and eats C02. Algae oil can be converted into fuels such as jet fuel, biodiesel, and biogasoline. Algae will help the US get off of foreign oil, become energy independent and create new green jobs.

To learn more about algae commercialization, you may want to check out this website:
www.nationalalgaeassociation.com

[Ged2012]

Here's what I would like to share:

Everyone knows that electricity is produced by dams, that the kinetic energy of water is used to make the turbines run, which, with the interaction of magnetism, produces electricity. T

Here's the punchline: Why not create automobiles which run on electricity, but their batteries are charged by their own kinetic energy, instead of wasting such a precious resource? Have computer batteries function by compartments; that is, as certain parts of the battery are being charged, the others are used to run the energy requirements of the vehicle, and when the latter are about to become empty, the other newly recharged parts would take over as the other compartments take a turn to get themselves recharged? It does not take a complex computer system to make these power routing adjustments within the battery possible. And when the vehicle is not being used, you could just plug it into a wall to recharge.

If this technology would be fully developed, which would obviously require batteries which take a lesser time to recharge and powerful enough to run vehicles, matched with the principles of electromagnetism, the time would come in the future when no energy is wasted--even the kinetic energy we use to steer our cars could be used to, let's say, make our IPOD, or whatever equivalent it has, years from now.

Not to mention the latest demonstration of the application of passive electricity.

[GoldEnergy]

Flex Fuel cars/truck should be a priority goal for all at least 90% of the automakers' fleets by 2012 with a large portion also being hybrids.
Renewable liquid fuel (ethanol) and renewable electricity can help us break the back of the oil monopoly in this country...­can you say Brazil or Sweden?

[GoldEnergy]

Great article. We do need an energy policy instituted that puts people to work building solar, wind & biofuel factories/­production facilities.
Getting ethanol blended into gas at 20-30 percent should be a big part of the goal...thi­s alone will wean us off of the oil imported from the Middle East (accounts for approximately 30% of our oil imports).
Ethanol produced from corn reduces overall CO2 by 29% and ethanol produced from cellulosic sources reduces CO2 by 85%! Not to mention that ethanol produces a net energy gain of around 25% vs gasoline's energy loss of around 25%. Argonne National Lab sums it up here: www.chicagocleancities.org/PDFs/Wang2005Summary.pdf

[PlugINCarsRule]

We have to look at "the big picture." The days of tunnel vision need to cease. Our nation better wake up and smell the coffee. With all our bail outs along with the 168 billion economic stimulus package, that btw did nothing for our economy it is hard to understand why our government can't see the need to bail us out of our dependence on foreign oil. The high cost of fuel this past year did serious damage to our economy and society. While we are doing the "happy dance" around the lower prices at the pumps they are planning to cut production to jack prices back up. Instead of spending billions on stimulus pkgs that don't work and millions to bail out everyone and his brother why don't we invest a few on renewable energy projects. WE could provide cheap clean energy, create millions of badly needed green collar jobs and reduce our dependency on foreign oil. This would be a win-win situation all the way around. Jeff Wilson has a great new book out called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence NOW, these guys all need to read this book.

[AuntSally]

Ethanol is a terrible example, with a carbon footprint of up to twice that of gasoline, by some estimates.

There exists, however, the potential for carbon-neutral biofuels. It is these we should be pursuing..­.

[GoldEnergy]

Ethanol is a great example. Made from corn it reduces CO2 when burned by 29% and when made from cellulosic sources this goes up to 85%!
You must be getting your info (some estimates) from the API - American Petroleum Institute - that works put out as much negative propaganda about ethanol as possible. Ethanol is a direct competitor & complete substite for gasoline..­.so the API (funded by the likes of Exxon - Big Oil) try and put out false information to scare the public.
See http://www.chicagocleancities.org/PDFs/Wang2005Summary.pdf

[ImpressedByHonesty]

How much energy and carbon is expended when 'making it from corn'? How many acres of foods are not grown to make way for corn or palm oil plantings? How many folk in foreign countries will go hungry as a result? How much higher will our food prices become since less farmers will grow our vegatable supply?

If you are talking algae farms or jatropha grown in 'unfarmable' lands maybe you may have a point. But either way, ethanol still contributes global warming both in vehicle emissions and the farming and processing methods.

[AuntSally]

No -- I know it seems counterintuitive at first, but ethanol is exceptionally problematic. There are quite a few studies on the topic, but when calculating TOTAL footprint, ethanol is a big loser. Here's a quick blurb to get you started; there are a number of peer-reviewed stuides on the issue.

Fortunately, ImpressedByHonesty is right, algae-based biofuels are showing real promise...

[ImpressedByHonesty]

Algae farms are a great example. While they can be grown best in the sunny desert in 'greenhouses' they also need lots of co2 piped in. They could be next to coal factories and try to offset their huge carbon emmissions.