EPA has announced the biofuels goals for 2012. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) established annual "renewable" fuel volume targets for the nation, which steadily increase to an overall level of 36 billion gallons in 2022. The proposed 2012 volumes and standards are:
- Biomass-based diesel (1.0 billion gallons; 0.91 percent)
- Advanced biofuels (2.0 billion gallons; 1.21 percent)
- Cellulosic biofuels (3.45 - 12.9 million gallons; 0.002 – 0.010 percent)
- Total renewable fuels (15.2 billion gallons; 9.21 percent).
You'll notice that the "total renewable fuels" figure is not the sum of the previous three lines, as you might expect. That's because the vast majority of so-called renewable fuels--More than 12 billion gallons--are corn-based ethanol. Corn ethanol, is less of an energy program than a subsidy to farmers, and probably has little or no benefit for either energy security or environmental quality.
The 1 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel (similarly, is made of (we hope) canola oil, but may be other oils too, including soy, palm, or other edible oils.
These standards, says EPA, "lays the foundation for achieving significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from the use of renewable fuels, for reducing imported petroleum, and encouraging the development and expansion of our nation's renewable fuels sector." http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/index.htm
