Advanced Biofuels Crucial to Obama Blueprint

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following statement from Michael McAdams, president of the Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA), follows remarks made by President Barack Obama today in Washington on strengthening our nation’s energy security and continued investment in clean energy alternatives:

"I am hopeful the energy security blueprint the President unveiled today will keep America on track with his earlier challenge to our nation and to Washington of meeting 'our generation's Sputnik moment'."

"America stands at a deciding juncture for deploying clean energy alternatives and particularly, the future of all biofuels, just as we were when our cellphones made the technological jump to today's smart phones." 

"It is essential that our industry help the President and the Congress by identifying tangible and proven opportunities to invest in tomorrow's clean energy fuels. These opportunities are here today, but they require us to make smarter investments that can strengthen America's energy security.  Advanced biofuels technologies can deliver ready to use, drop-in fuels that can be used in today's planes, trains and automobiles without waiting for the day when costly changes are made for example on car assembly lines."

"By taking a small fraction of the more than 20 billion dollars already invested in building the first generation biofuels plants, we can deploy new technologies to those existing facilities to successfully commercialize and produce next generation molecules that are energy efficient and usable in vehicles on the road today without significant changes." 

"I was encouraged to hear the President emphasize his continued commitment to the commercial deployment of advanced and cellulosic biofuels technologies and supporting the government's role in helping bring these renewable gallons to the market sooner rather than later.  Many of today's most promising and potentially impactful technologies will simply not be commercialized without the support of our government in the short term."

"We support this effort and pledge to continue our work with the Administration and Congress to make sure the programs currently on the books, such as the loan guarantee programs at the Departments of Energy and Agriculture are workable and deliver on their promise. These programs should focus on the cost to the taxpayers and ultimately consumers who will buy these products, not picking a winning or losing technology."

"Working together, the entire biofuels industry can find the right balance, so America will no longer be at the mercy of foreign interests every time we pull up to the gas station."

SOURCE Advanced Biofuels Association