N.E. can lead the new energy boom
AMERICA NEEDS to shake its dependence on foreign oil. Our entire economic infrastructure is built on cheap energy, and with oil prices touching $100 a barrel, it is clear how vulnerable we have become. The global oil extraction rate is approaching an all-time peak, and global warming is at the top of the international agenda. The world is looking to America for leadership and New England is leading the nation.
Last month, Massachusetts introduced pathbreaking biofuels legislation; this month, the federal government responded in dramatic fashion with the enactment of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2008. This new federal law mandates greater energy efficiency and includes a major expansion to the Renewable Fuels Standard. Under the new law, the use of renewable biofuels will rise from 7.5 billion gallons, or 5 percent of our automotive fuels mix, to 36 billion gallons, or more than 20 percent of projected use, by 2022.
Skeptics say the new federal law pits our need for food against our need for fuel, but the facts are quite the contrary. It does assure a needed outlet for corn ethanol plants operating now or committed to construction, but focuses incentives overwhelmingly on so-called next-generation biofuels made from nonfood "cellulosic" sources - as would the Massachusetts proposal. Cellulosic sources include crop residues, wood wastes, canes, grasses, and other low-value agricultural products and byproducts that are widely available.
A major national study in 2005 concluded that sufficient surplus biomass is grown each year, on a recurring basis, to support more than 60 billion gallons of renewable fuel without impinging on food supply - well beyond the new target set by law. This biomass can be readily converted into versatile liquid fuels, not unlike hydrocarbon-based fossil energy. But unlike long-buried fossil resources, biofuels when burned add far less to atmospheric carbon levels, since the carbon is taken up through plant re-growth. Biofuels are sustainable and green.
The key to unlocking this energy is to commercialize the use of "white biotechnology," or advanced biotechnology that is the focus of tremendous activity in the Boston area and throughout New England. The last energy booms were led by the oil-rich states of Texas and Alaska. The coming energy boom may well be led by New England, with its rich resources of universities, laboratories, and entrepreneurial start-up companies.
Skeptics also claim that the technologies required for advanced biofuel production don't yet exist at scale. But several highly promising pilot or demonstration projects are well underway, building on decades of behind-the-scenes scientific and engineering work to develop the enzymes, microorganisms, and processes required to break down and convert biomass.
Modern, demonstration-scale facilities for cellulosic ethanol production exist today in Spain, Canada, and Japan. In the United States, the first demonstration-scale facilities are under construction and will be completed early next year. The industry continues to develop additional technology through exciting collaborations among industry, academia, and government. Processes range from proven chemical and gasification techniques, employed as far back as World War II, to lower-energy approaches using enzymes. The biofuels industry is on the cusp of commercialization and before long the skeptics will be proven wrong.
For this is the nation with a "can-do spirit" that inspired the Manhattan Project, the Apollo Project, and other national mobilization efforts. It is time this same spirit be applied to solving the current energy crisis. We can afford to do no less. Climate change, declining oil reserves and rising prices, and the rapid growth of developing nations like China and India all represent converging crises that will, like it or not, change our way of life. Our choice is to adapt through new energy technology or face a decline in our standard of living.
Government has an important role in helping the nation make the transition from a fossil-fuel economy to energy based on new technologies. At the federal level, the new energy law is just the beginning. Congress must now pass pending reforms of the nation's farm program to remove disincentives to energy crop production and provide support and incentives for initial commercial-scale ventures. A strong bioenergy-focused agricultural policy will help the new biofuels industry garner additional, much-needed private capital.
For now, though, Americans can enjoy the holiday season proud of a Congress and president who have enacted and signed a landmark law that promises to accelerate the transition to cleaner fuels for the 21st century. Not a bad way to end the year, and a potential boon for New England.
Carlos A. Riva is president and chief executive of Verenium Corp., which develops next-generation cellulosic ethanol and high-performance specialty enzymes.
