U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Biomass Program
Federal Biomass Policy
Federal Legislation
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
- Section 202 creates a more aggressive Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) calling for transportation fuel sold or introduced into commerce in the United States, on an annual average basis, contains at least the applicable volume of renewable fuel, advanced biofuel, cellulosic biofuel, and biomass-based diesel:
| Year |
Conventional Renewable Fuels |
Advanced Biofuels |
Total Renewable Fuels |
| Cellulosic |
Biomass-Based Diesel |
Other Advanced Biofuels |
Subtotal |
| 2006 |
4.00 |
|
|
|
|
4.00 |
| 2007 |
4.70 |
|
|
|
|
4.70 |
| 2008 |
9.00 |
|
|
|
|
9.00 |
| 2009 |
10.50 |
|
0.50 |
0.10 |
0.60 |
11.10 |
| 2010 |
12.00 |
0.10 |
0.65 |
0.20 |
0.95 |
12.95 |
| 2011 |
12.60 |
0.25 |
0.80 |
0.30 |
1.35 |
13.95 |
| 2012 |
13.20 |
0.50 |
1.00 |
0.50 |
2.00 |
15.20 |
| 2013 |
13.80 |
1.00 |
1.00 |
0.75 |
2.75 |
16.55 |
| 2014 |
14.40 |
1.75 |
1.00 |
1.00 |
3.75 |
18.15 |
| 2015 |
15.00 |
3.00 |
1.00 |
1.50 |
5.50 |
20.50 |
| 2016 |
15.00 |
4.25 |
1.00 |
2.00 |
7.25 |
22.25 |
| 2017 |
15.00 |
5.50 |
1.00 |
2.50 |
9.00 |
24.00 |
| 2018 |
15.00 |
7.00 |
1.00 |
3.00 |
11.00 |
26.00 |
| 2019 |
15.00 |
8.50 |
1.00 |
3.50 |
13.00 |
28.00 |
| 2020 |
15.00 |
10.50 |
1.00 |
3.50 |
15.00 |
30.00 |
| 2021 |
15.00 |
13.50 |
1.00 |
3.50 |
18.00 |
33.00 |
| 2022 |
15.00 |
16.00 |
1.00 |
4.00 |
21.00 |
36.00 |
- Section 207 authorizes $500 million for the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2015 for a grant program that:
- Shall make awards to the proposals for advanced biofuels with the greatest reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to the comparable motor vehicle fuel lifecycle emissions during calendar year 2005; and
- Shall not make an award to a project that does not achieve at least an 80 percent reduction in such lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.
- Section 223 authorizes $25 million for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2010 for grants for research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of biofuel production technologies in States with low rates of ethanol production, including low rates of production of cellulosic biomass ethanol, as determined by the Secretary.
- Section 224 amends Section 932 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (described in detail below) by adding "The Secretary shall establish a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application for increasing energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption in the operation of biorefinery facilities."
- Section 234 authorizes $25 million for establishment of a competitive grant program, in a geographically diverse manner, for projects submitted for consideration by institutions of higher education to conduct research and development of renewable energy technologies. Each grant made shall not exceed $2 million.
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Section 932 required the Secretary of Energy to solicit proposals for cellulosic biorefinery demonstration projects that produce biofuels, in addition to chemicals power; ensured geographical distribution of projects; were able to be replicated; and did not require Federal funding after construction reached completion. The recipients of these awards were announced on February 28, 2007. More information about these projects can be found on the Deployment page of this Web site.
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Section 1501 establishes a Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that mandates that all gasoline sold in the United States contain 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2012. In 2013, the renewable fuels used should contain 250 million gallons of fuel derived from cellulosic biomass.
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Title XVII calls for the Secretary of Energy to establish a program that provides guaranteed loans for energy projects which "employ new or significantly improved technologies as compared to commercial technologies", including renewable energy technologies. Click here for more information on Department of Energy loan guarantees.
EPAct 2005 provides a variety of incentives for biofuels:
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Section 1342 provides a tax credit equal to 30% of the cost alternative refueling property, up to $30,000 for business property. Qualifying alternative fuels are natural gas, propane, hydrogen, E85, or biodiesel mixtures of B20 or more.
Buyers of residential refueling equipment can receive a tax credit for $1,000.
The credit is effective on equipment put into service after December 31, 2005. It expires December 31, 2009.
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Section 1344 extended the existing tax credit for biodiesel producers through 2008, and the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) through 2010.
The credits are $.51 per pure gallon of ethanol blended or $.51 per percentage of ethanol blended (i.e., E10 is eligible for $.051/gal; E85 is eligible for $.4335/gal); $1.00 per gallon of agri-biodiesel; and $.50 per gallon of waste-grease biodiesel.
If the biodiesel fuel is used in a mixture, the credit amounts to $.05 per percentage point ethanol or agri-biodiesel used or $.01 per percentage point of waste-grease biodiesel.
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Section 1345 allows a tax credit of $.10 per gallon to small agri-biodiesel producers for up to 15 million gallons.
To be eligible, a producer must make less than 60 million gallons of biodiesel per year.
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Small ethanol producers are allowed a 10-cents per gallon production income tax credit.
Section 1347 changes the definition of a "small ethanol producer" to include a production capacity of up to 60 million gallons (instead of the up to 30 million gallons originally established by Congress in 1990).
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Energy Policy Act of 1992
This Act contained several provisions to encourage the use of renewable energy resources:
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Renewable Energy Production Incentive (REPI): This 1.5 cent/kWh incentive was created by EPAct Section 1212 and provides incentive payments for renewable power by publicly-owned electric utilities and rural electric cooperatives. While previously accepted projects are still being funded, this program expired in 2003, so new applications can be accepted.
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Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit (PTC): The PTC provided 1.8¢/kWh (originally 1.5¢/kWh) to private entities that generate electricity from renewable sources and sell this electricity to an unrelated party (expired on Dec 31, 2003, if not reinstated).
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Alternative Fuel Fleet Requirements: Titles III-VI of the EPAct established voluntary and regulatory programs to encourage growth of the alternative fuels market. Primarily, they deal with alternative fuel vehicles - requiring fleets to purchase a certain percentage of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) for their light-duty vehicles. Subsequent legislation placed requirements on fleets to actually use alternative fuels in these vehicles: Executive Order (EO) 13149 required Federal fleets to do the majority of their fueling (51%) with alternative fuels; EO 13423 superceded previous EOs, and now requires annual fuel usage increases. In addition, a large percentage of vehicles purchased to comply with the various fleet laws are flexible-fuel vehicles capable of using E-85 (70%-83% ethanol blend with gasoline), greatly increasing market potential.
- Credit for Biodiesel under Alternative Fuel Fleet Requirements (PDF 199 KB): The EPAct was amended in 1998 to allow covered fleets to meet a portion of their annual AFV acquisition requirements through the use of biodiesel (B100 or B20) in their heavy-duty vehicles as of January 9, 2001. The program is detailed in the Biodiesel Fuel Use Interim Rule (PDF 59 KB).
The Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003
- Reduce dense undergrowth that fuels catastrophic fires through thinning and prescribed burns;
- Improve the public involvement in the review process by providing opportunities for earlier participation, thus accomplishing projects in a more timely fashion;
- Select projects on a collaborative basis involving local, tribal, state, Federal and non-governmental entities;
- Focus projects on Federal lands that meet strict criteria for risk of wildfire damage to communities, water supply systems and the environment;
- Authorize the Healthy Forests Reserve Program, to protect, restore and enhance degraded forest ecosystems on private lands to promote the recovery of threatened and endangered species;
- Encourage biomass energy production through grants and assistance to local communities creating market incentives for removal of otherwise valueless forest material; and
- Develop an accelerated program on certain Federal lands to combat insect infestations.
- Created the Biomass R&D Technical Advisory Committee and the Biomass R&D Board.
- Calls for the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department ofAgriculture to coordinate all Federal R&D as it relates to biofuels and bioproducts.
- Sets the scope for the National Biomass Initiative.
- Governs the annual USDA/DOE joint solicitation.
- Federal Procurement of Biobased Products (Section 9002)
- Biorefinery development grants
- Biodiesel fuel education programs
- Energy audit and renewable energy development program
- Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements (Section 9006)
- Cooperative research and extension projects
- Continuation of the Bioenergy Program (Section 9010)
- Biobased Products and Bioenergy Coordination Council (BBCC)
- New Farm Bill expected in 2007
Executive Orders
Executive Order 13423: Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management
Signed into law on January 24, 2007, to strengthen the environmental, energy, and transportation management of Federal agencies.
Sets the renewable energy goals for Federal Agencies, including:
- Require in agency acquisitions of goods and services (i) use of sustainable environmental practices, including acquisition of biobased, environmentally preferable, energy-efficient, water-efficient, and recycled-content products, and (ii) use of paper of at least 30% post-consumer fiber content;
- Ensure that, if the agency operates a fleet of at least 20 motor vehicles, the agency, relative to agency baselines for fiscal year 2005, (i) reduces the fleet's total consumption of petroleum products by 2% annually through the end of fiscal year 2015, (ii) increases the total fuel consumption that is non-petroleum-based by 10% annually, and (iii) uses plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) vehicles when PHEV vehicles are commercially available at a cost reasonably comparable, on the basis of life-cycle cost, to non-PHEV vehicles.
More Information
For more information on Federal energy policy, see the Department of Energy's Office of Policy and International Affairs.
For more information on Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), see the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
For more information on Federal transportation-related incentives and laws, see the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center.
State Biomass Policy
State policies such as oxygenate requirements and renewable fuels standards can be very effective in fostering local production and use of biofuels and other bioproducts. Information on State policies can be found on the Information Resources page.
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