USDA projects 527 biorefineries needed
By Holly Jessen


To meet the renewable fuels standard goal of 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels, 527 biorefineries averaging 40 MMgy will need to be built at an estimated cost of $168 billion, according to a USDA report released in June. The "Regional Roadmap to Meeting the Biofuels Goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard" is intended to provoke discussion and further work on what the report calls an issue that "may prove to be one of the most important of the 21st century."

The objectives of the 21-page report are to identify challenges and opportunities for the biofuels industry as well as to come up with solutions. Job creation is one benefit from biofuels, with the USDA estimating 40 direct jobs created for each 100 MMgy ethanol facility. In order to build biorefineries in areas of economic distress, the USDA suggests regional strategies will allow for proper leveraging of transportation, labor and feedstock resources. "USDA recognized that different regions of the country have a comprehensive advantage to the type of feedstock that can be produced and utilized in biofuel production," the report states.

The report begins by acknowledging the role of corn starch ethanol in approaching the 15 billion gallon goal set by the renewable fuels standard (RFS2) for conventional biofuels. "The current ethanol industry provides a solid foundation to build upon and reach the 36 billion gallon goal," USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said. "I am confident that we can meet the threshold of producing 36 billion gallons of biofuel annually by 2022."

The USDA roadmap examines the regional potential for producing the additional 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels. It identifies the Southeast states and Hawaii, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, as having the greatest potential with up to 50 percent of the advanced biofuels volume coming from these states due to their long, robust growing seasons. The east central region, which includes Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Virginia, is right behind at 43.3 percent of potential advanced biofuels production. The Northwest and Western regions trail far behind, with only 4.6 percent and less than 1 percent respectively of expected biofuels volume.