HARRISBURG, PA-- Governor Edward G. Rendell said this week that the commonwealth and other Chesapeake Bay watershed states can emerge as the national leader in developing advanced homegrown alternatives by following the recommendations of a recently released report.
The report, Next Generation Biofuels: Taking the Policy Lead for the Nation, is the result of a nearly year-long effort led by the commonwealth
and the Chesapeake Bay Commission to ensure that the region's states work in concert, and strategically, to maximize the economic and environmental benefits alternative fuels like cellulosic ethanol can yield.
The Next Generation Biofuels report was released today as part of a day-long summit on the topic in Harrisburg that was co-hosted by the
commonwealth and the Chesapeake Bay Commission.
Since calling for the summit in December, Governor Rendell said a panel of 25 energy and environmental experts have studied key issues, including raw materials supplies, natural resource protection efforts, as well as marketing and infrastructure concerns.
The report offers three major areas of action for states in the bay watershed to take in order to capitalize on the transition from conventional biofuels to next generation alternatives, including taking measures to assure the production of a large, reliable and accessible
supply of biomass feedstocks; adopting best management practices and planting the types of biomass feedstocks that could help improve water quality if grown in the right location; and ensuring that the proper infrastructure and marketing mechanisms are in place to spur development within the region.
The report also offers 20 recommendations -- 10 for the collective region and 10 for the states to each follow.
At the regional level, recommendations include coordinating state efforts to secure federal support for next generation biofuel development,
discouraging the use of invasive species, encouraging the local or on-farm use of biomass products, and establishing regional frameworks and
priorities for research and development, use and outreach.
Recommendations for individual states include establishing requirements and incentives for purchasing biofuels, using best management practices for growing and harvesting feedstocks, providing incentives for creating and implementing forest management plans, and supporting the sustainable production of next-generation feedstocks on abandoned or underutilized land.
Forest resources, including fast-growing trees developed on abandoned mine lands and other underutilized tracts, could also play a key role in
development of cellulosic ethanol in the region.
Next Generation Biofuels: Report
www.chesbay.state.va.us/summitdocs.html
Comments, Pingbacks:
No Comments/Pingbacks for this post yet...
3.gif&contenttype=gif "youtopia")
