A biofuels consulting firm predicts that global use of biofuels will double between now and 2015, despite conflicts over a number of key issues such as land use and food versus fuel.
The analysis by Hart’s Global Biofuels Center shows the U.S. leading the global expansion
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with projected growth of more than 35 percent over the next six years. Tammy Klein is the Biofuels Center’s executive director.
“I think as we begin to see some economic recovery here—as the RFS2 begins to be implemented—I think over the long term the public policy support and will to support ethanol production and consumption in the U.S. is there,” says Klein.
What about the so-called “blend wall” which currently caps ethanol blends for standard vehicles at 10 percent? Klein believes the blend wall will eventually be lifted, although it may not happen right away.
“What we’re projecting in the study is that, by 2015, we will begin to see some significant intermediate blending,” says Klein. “What we’re talking here is E12, E15—and I think there’s some potential to move beyond that in the later time frames—meaning post-2015.”
Klein’s analysis shows Brazil will grow domestic supplies of biofuels by 30 percent by 2015 and could more than double export volume. Klein says the U.S. will have to rely on increasing volumes of Brazilian ethanol to meet current advanced biofuels targets established by the federal RFS-2 and by the California Low Carbon Fuels Standard. But she thinks the U.S. could be in a position to export corn-based ethanol by 2015.
AUDIO: Tammy Klein (11 min MP3)
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