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1
Introduction
T
ransportation is a critical component of sustained economic growth in industrialized
societies. Globally, about 94 percent of transportation fuels used are derived from crude
oil. As the largest consumer of crude oil in 2009, the United States was responsible for
about 27 percent of oil used worldwide (EIA, 2010f). The large quantities of oil consumed in
the United States (about 19 million to 21 million barrels per day in 2005-2009) contribute to
two major problems: energy security and greenhouse-gas1 (GHG) emissions. With respect to
energy security, 52 to 60 percent of oil consumed in the United States was imported in 2005-
2009 (EIA, 2009a). The use of petroleum-based fuel in transportation contributes about 30
percent of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States (EPA, 2010a).
The U.S. Congress enacted the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) in 2007 (110
P.L. 140) “to move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, to in-
crease the production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers, to increase the efficiency
of products, buildings, and vehicles, to promote research on and deploy GHG capture and stor-
age options, and to improve the energy performance of the Federal Government, and for other
purposes.” A subtitle within EISA entitled the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandates the
amounts of biofuels to be consumed each year. At the request of the U.S. Congress, the National
Research Council convened a committee to assess the economic and environmental impacts
of increasing biofuel production. (See Appendix A for statement of task and Appendix B for
committee membership.) In addition to drawing on its own expertise, the committee solicited
input from many experts in federal agencies, academia, trade associations, and nongovern-
mental organizations in a series of open meetings and in writing to fulfill the statement of task.
(See Appendix C for a list of presentations to the committee.) Box 1-1 shows how different
1 Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range,
and hence produce a warming effect. The Earth’s natural “greenhouse effect” makes the surface temperature of
the planet suitable for living organisms. However, a multitude of evidence shows that emissions of large quanti-
ties of greenhouse gases from human activities (for example, burning fossil fuels) have significantly intensified
the greenhouse effect (NRC, 2010a). The main greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere are water vapor, CO2,
methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.
13
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16 RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD
components of the statement of task are addressed in the six chapters of the report and the
interconnectedness of the different chapters. This chapter provides a brief history of U.S.
biofuel policies, goals, and production. It highlights some of the economic and environmen-
tal opportunities and concerns raised regarding U.S. biofuel policy.
Throughout this report, the committee uses the term “biofuels” to specify liquid fuels
for transportation derived from biological sources. “Bioenergy,” which encompasses all
forms of energy for electricity or heat generation and for transportation produced from
biological sources, is a broader term than biofuels. Recognizing that biomass can be used
to produce various forms of energy, the term “bioenergy feedstock” is used throughout the
report. Quantities of bioenergy feedstock are reported in dry weight. A glossary of terms
and list of select acronyms and abbreviations are provided in Appendixes D and E. With the
exception of GHG emissions, standard units that are commonly used in the United States
are used throughout the report. Conversion factors to International Systems of Units are in
Appendix F. GHG emissions are expressed in tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2 eq), the unit
commonly used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
INTEREST IN BIOFUELS
Changing Demand for Transportation Energy
Since World War II, petroleum consumption from transportation in the United States
has increased by at least four-fold. The transportation sector required just over 3 million
barrels per day of petroleum in 1949; by 2009, it consumed about 13 million barrels per day
(EIA, 2010b). The Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that U.S. demand for
transportation fuel will reach about 15 million barrels per day by 2022 and 16 million barrels
per day by 2035 (EIA, 2010a). The projections suggest that increase in demand is expected
to slow down. Petroleum consumption is not likely to increase in lockstep with population
growth because of projected improvements in energy efficiency and projected increases in
the use of biofuels as transportation fuel (EIA, 2010a). Therefore, although motor gasoline
consumption increased from 7.4 million barrels per day in 1978 to 9.0 million barrels per
day in 2008, EIA projected that consumption will peak at 9.5 million barrels per day in 2012
and eventually decline to 9.1 million barrels per day by 2035 (EIA, 2009b, 2010a).
Increase in U.S. demand for transportation fuel is projected to slow down in the next
25-30 years, but global demand is likely to continue to grow. World demand for petroleum
increased from 63 million barrels per day in 1980 to 85.8 million barrels per day in 2008
(EIA, 2010e). Much of that growth took place in developing countries. Demand in OECD
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries2 increased by less
than 6 million barrels per day, while demand in non-OECD countries nearly doubled, from
21 million barrels per day to 38 million barrels per day. In 1980, non-OECD countries’ pe-
troleum consumption was equivalent to just over 50 percent of that in OECD countries; by
2008, it had reached 80 percent. EIA projected transportation energy use to increase by 2.6
percent per year from 2007 to 2035 in non-OECD countries, surpassing OECD transporta-
tion energy consumption in 2025. World demand for petroleum in 2035 is projected to be
111 million barrels per day (EIA, 2010e).
2 OECD member countries as of March 2011 were Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lux-
embourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
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17
INTRODUCTION
Historic Interest in Biofuels
Petroleum is the dominant source of motor fuel today, but this was not the case when
internal combustion engines and automobiles were first invented. Indeed, biofuels have
been an energy source for vehicle engines since the development of the automobile. Henry
Ford’s first vehicle in 1896 ran on pure ethanol, and his Model T, produced in 1908, could
use ethanol, gasoline, or a blend of the two (EIA, 2008). Early models of the diesel engine
also could operate on vegetable oil (Knothe, 2001). The United States used 50-60 million
gallons of ethanol per year as motor fuel while engaged in World War I (EIA, 2008). During
World War II, the U.S. Army built an ethanol plant in Omaha, Nebraska, to supplement its
fuel needs (EIA, 1995), and experiments with blends of petroleum diesel and diesel from
vegetable and cottonseed oils were conducted (Knothe, 2001).
In the nascent years of the automobile industry, before the mass production of vehicles for
personal use, ethanol contended to be the motor fuel of choice. Unlike gasoline, ethanol did
not cause engine knock, and ethanol engines had higher compression ratios (Carolan, 2009).
However, gasoline had several advantages over ethanol that caused it to be more successful
before World War I and to be wholly dominant in the marketplace by the 1930s. Gasoline
was a byproduct of kerosene production, an industry that was already well developed but
that was beginning to lose its market share to electrical lighting powered by coal. There were
over 100 kerosene refineries in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century with an
established, decentralized distribution network (Melaina, 2007). As a less valuable byproduct
of kerosene, gasoline could use this network. There was an abundance of gasoline—7 mil-
lion barrels of gasoline were produced in 1905—but only 600,000 barrels were used to fuel
automobiles. Gasoline was often used as a solvent but was frequently disposed of in rivers
if it was not economical to distribute (Melaina, 2007). Therefore, there was a plentiful supply
of gasoline fuel to meet growing demand when Ford began to produce Model T cars quickly
and cheaply; though rudimentary, the infrastructure to deliver the fuel was already in place.
Later, the alleviation of engine knock through the inclusion of tetraethyl lead in gasoline and
an increase in compression ratios removed the few remaining technological barriers to using
gasoline in vehicle engines (Dimitri and Effland, 2007; Carolan, 2009).
In contrast, fuel from corn was not as abundant as gasoline, and the distribution system
for grain commodities was not congruent with fuel distribution (Dimitri and Effland, 2007).
High corn prices in much of the early 20th century also made ethanol less cost competitive
with gasoline (Giebelhaus, 1980; Dimitri and Effland, 2007). Later agricultural mechaniza-
tion and favorable subsidies expanded corn acres at the expense of other possible ethanol
feedstocks (Carolan, 2009). Ethanol’s competitiveness also was reduced by alcohol tax
during and following the Civil War until the tax was repealed in 1906 (Giebelhaus, 1980;
Dimitri and Effland, 2007; Carolan, 2009). A movement emerged in the 1930s to produce
fuel and other industrial products not only from corn but also from other crops high in
sugar and starch such as sugarcane, Jerusalem artichokes, and sweet potatoes (Giebelhaus,
1980; Finlay, 2003). However, gasoline was firmly established as the primary abundant and
cost-effective vehicle fuel by that time.
From the 1940s through the 1960s, the United States continued to increase petroleum
production, which met most of domestic demand. Biofuel production was largely aban-
doned. However, domestic petroleum production peaked in 1970 at 9.6 million barrels
per day while demand continued to increase (EIA, 2009b). Though just over 20 percent of
U.S. consumption was met with imports in 1970, the United States was importing over 40
percent of its petroleum needs by the second half of the decade (EIA, 2009b). That reliance
on foreign oil was acutely felt in the form of gasoline shortages and increased retail prices
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18 RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD
when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) embargoed oil in
1973 and when political unrest curtailed oil production in Iran in 1978. Those disruptions
led to increased exploration for domestic fossil fuel reserves and also renewed interest and
investment in biofuels (Duffield et al., 2008).
Policies to Encourage Biofuel Production
Spurred by concerns about energy security, the federal government included a tax in-
centive in the Energy Tax Act of 1978 (95 P.L. 619) in the form of an exemption for ethanol
blends of at least 10-percent ethanol by volume from the $0.04 per gallon federal motor
fuels tax (Table 1-1). Because ethanol was only 10 percent of the total volume, the $0.04 tax
exemption on the blend amounted to a subsidy of $0.40 per gallon of ethanol. The Energy
Security Act of 1980 offered insured loans to small ethanol plants (96 P.L. 294). This act
also instructed the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Energy to develop a plan
to increase ethanol production to the equivalent of 10 percent of the total U.S. gasoline
consumption by 1990 (Duffield et al., 2008). Although interest in biofuels waned when the
TABLE 1-1 History of U.S. Ethanol and Biofuel Legislation
Year Legislation Provision
1978 Energy Tax Act of 1978 $0.40 per gallon of ethanol tax exemption on the $0.04 gasoline
excise tax
1980 Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act Promoted energy conservation and domestic fuel development
and the Energy Security Act
1982 Surface Transportation Assistance Increased tax exemption to $0.50 per gallon of ethanol and
Act increased the gasoline excise tax to $0.09 per gallon
1984 Tax Reform Act Increased tax exemption to $0.60 per gallon of ethanol
1988 Alternative Motor Fuels Act Created research and development programs and provided fuel
economy credits to automakers
1990 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act Ethanol tax incentive extended to 2000 but decreased to $0.54 per
gallon of ethanol
1990 Clean Air Act amendments Acknowledged contribution of motor fuels to air pollution –
oxygen requirements for motor fuels
1992 Energy Policy Act Tax deductions allowed on vehicles that could run on E85
1998 Transportation Efficiency Act of the Ethanol subsidies extended through 2007 but reduced to $0.51
21st Century per gallon of ethanol by 2005
2004 American Jobs Creation Act Changed the mechanism of the ethanol subsidy to a blender tax
credit instead of the previous excise tax exemption
Extended the ethanol tax exemption to 2010
2005 Energy Policy Act Established the Renewable Fuel Standard starting at 4 billion
gallons in 2006 and rising to 7.5 billion in 2012
Eliminated the oxygen requirement for gasoline, but failed to
provide MTBE legal immunity
2007 Energy Independence and Security Established a Renewable Fuel Standard totaling 35 billion
Act gallons of ethanol-equivalent biofuels and 1 billion gallons of
biodiesel by 2022
SOURCE: Tyner (2008). Reprinted with permission from the American Institute of Biological Sciences.
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19
INTRODUCTION
price volatility of oil lessened in the 1980s, blenders’ tax exemptions were modified and
continued throughout the decade, and a tariff was established to prevent foreign ethanol
producers from taking advantage of the credits. Despite these policies, the use of ethanol
in motor fuels did not achieve the 10-percent target.
In the 1990s, the federal government began to look to ethanol as a means of combat-
ing air pollution from vehicle emissions. The Clean Air Act amendments of 1990 created
mandates for oxygenates in gasoline to address carbon monoxide and ozone problems in
urban areas (101 P.L. 549). This mandate increased demand for ethanol, but a petroleum
derivative, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), was a more cost-effective oxygenate (Duff-
ield et al., 2008). The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (102 P.L. 486) amended the motor fuels tax
exemption and the blenders’ credit to improve ethanol’s ability to compete with MTBE.
From 1992 to 1999, annual U.S. consumption of ethanol in gasoline-equivalent gallons in-
creased from 719 million to 979 million. Almost all of the consumption and the growth in
consumption was from using ethanol as an oxygenate (EIA, 2009b), which continued after
the phase-out of MTBE use that began in the late 1990s because of concerns about water-
quality contamination and state regulations prohibiting its use in motor fuels.
In the 2000s, federal legislation began to explicitly support biofuels to provide op-
portunities for agricultural and rural development. The Farm Security and Rural Invest-
ment Act of 2002 (107 P.L. 171) was the first farm bill to contain a title devoted to energy. It
authorized a number of programs in support of biofuels, including grants for converting
biomass into energy, programs to encourage farmers to increase use of renewable energy,
and grants to promote public outreach about biodiesel. The 2002 farm bill also authorized
continued funding for the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, which had been
approved in an earlier bill, and codified the Bioenergy Program within the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation. The Bioenergy Program made payments
available to biofuel producers who increased their level of production over the previous
year (Duffield et al., 2008).
The 2008 farm bill, called The Food, Conservation and Energy Act (110 P.L. 246),
included several provisions that encourage biomass production for fuels. Under the
farm bill, the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) and the Bioenergy Program
for Advanced Biofuels were established. BCAP provides financial assistance for crop
establishment, annual payments for crop production, and subsidies for collecting and
delivering biomass material to production facilities. Biomass production has to be within
an economically practical distance from conversion facilities to receive payments. The
Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels aims “to support and ensure an expanding
production of advanced biofuels by providing payments to eligible advanced biofuel
producers in rural areas” (USDA-RD, 2010). The program provides payments to eligible
producers of fuel derived from renewable biomass, other than corn grain. The farm bill
also includes a provision for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department
of Energy to award grants competitively to eligible entities to research, develop, and
demonstrate biomass projects through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative.
In addition to support for biomass feedstock and biofuel production, the farm bill
establishes a producer credit of $1.01 for each gallon of cellulosic biofuel until December
31, 2012. It modifies the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) of $0.51 per gal-
lon of ethanol blended into gasoline to companies that blend gasoline with ethanol; the
VEETC, which was established by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, replaced the
original excise tax exemption program from 1978 that was limited to specific blends with
a tax credit based on the volume of ethanol consumed (a volume-based credit for bio-
diesel was also introduced) (Koplow, 2007; Solomon et al., 2007). This farm bill reduced
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21
INTRODUCTION
TABLE 1-2 Equivalence Values Assigned to Renewable Fuels
Fuel Type Equivalence Value
Ethanol 1.0
Biodiesel (mono-alkyl ester) 1.5
Butanol 1.3
Nonester renewable diesel 1.7
Biogas 1.0
Electricity 1.0
NOTE: The energy content of pure ethanol is about 76,000 Btu per gallon (lower
heating value).
SOURCE: EPA (2010b).
In addition to increasing the required volumes, RFS2 divides the total renewable fuel
requirement into four categories:
• Conventional biofuel that is ethanol derived from corn starch. Conventional bio-
fuel produced from facilities that commenced construction after December 19,
2007, would have to achieve a threshold of at least 20-percent reduction in GHG
emissions compared to petroleum-based gasoline and diesel to qualify as a renew-
able fuel under RFS2.
• Advanced biofuels that are renewable fuels other than ethanol derived from corn
starch and that achieve life-cycle GHG reduction threshold of at least 50 percent.
Advanced biofuels can include ethanol and other types of biofuels derived from
such renewable biomass as cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, sugar, or any other
starch other than corn starch, biomass-based diesel, and coprocessed renewable
diesel.3
• Cellulosic biofuels that are renewable fuels derived from any cellulose, hemicel-
lulose, or lignin from renewable biomass and that achieve life-cycle GHG reduc-
tion threshold of at least 60 percent. In general, cellulosic biofuels also qualify as
renewable fuels and advanced biofuels.
• Biomass-based diesel, including biodiesel made from vegetable oils or animal fats
and cellulosic diesel, that achieves life-cycle GHG reduction threshold of at least 50
percent—for example, soybean biodiesel and algal biodiesel. Coprocessed renew-
able diesel is excluded from this category.
The four renewable-fuel categories are nested within an overall mandate. There actu-
ally is no mandate for corn-grain ethanol, but a maximum quantity of conventional biofuels
that can be filled with corn-grain ethanol. If any advanced or cellulosic biofuel become less
expensive than corn-grain ethanol, the mandate for conventional biofuel could be filled
entirely with advanced or cellulosic biofuel. RFS2 also requires that all renewable fuels be
made from feedstocks that meet a new definition of renewable biomass. EISA’s definition
of renewable biomass incorporates land restrictions for planted crops, crop residue, planted
trees and tree residue, slash and precommercial thinnings, and biomass from wildfire areas.
Detailed definitions and EPA’s interpretations of the terms are found in Regulation of Fuels
and Fuel Additives: Changes to Renewable Fuel Standard Program; Final Rule (EPA, 2010b, pp.
14691-14697). A brief version of EISA’s renewable biomass definition and land restrictions
is included below.
3 Coprocessed renewable diesel refers to diesel made from renewable material mixed with petroleum during
the hydrotreating process.
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22 RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD
• Planted crops or crop residues that were cultivated at any time prior to December
19, 2007, on land that is either actively managed or fallow, and nonforested.
• Planted trees and tree residue from actively managed tree plantations on nonfed-
eral land cleared at any time prior to December 19, 2007, including land belonging
to an Indian tribe or an Indian individual, that is held in trust by the United States
or subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United States.
• Slash and precommercial thinnings from nonfederal forestlands, including forest-
lands belonging to an Indian tribe or an Indian individual, that are held in trust
by the United States or subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the
United States.
• Biomass obtained from the immediate vicinity of buildings and other areas regu-
larly occupied by people, or of public infrastructure, at risk from wildfire.
• Algae.
Figures 1-3 and 1-4 show the influence of energy policies on the projected production
of biofuels over time. Before the enactment of EPAct in 2005, production of fuel ethanol
was projected to reach a plateau by 2005. In 2006, EIA projected production of fuel ethanol
to increase from 4 billion gallons in 2005 to about 11 billion gallons in 2012. As of 2009, the
amounts of fuel ethanol produced each year from biomass closely approximated EIA’s 2009
projections (EIA, 2009a,b). In 2010, 13.2 billion gallons of ethanol, mostly from corn grain,
were produced and consumed in the United States (EIA, 2010d). Biodiesel production from
vegetable oil or animal fats peaked in 2008 at 678 million gallons (EIA, 2010b) but fell to
330 million gallons in 2010 (EIA, 2010c).4 As in the case of EPAct, EISA included provisions
for biofuels research and development and for research, development, and demonstration
related to biofuel distribution and advanced biofuel infrastructure. In addition to federal
energy policies, some states mandate a percentage of ethanol be blended in all gasoline sold
(Duffield et al., 2008).
IMPETUS FOR STUDY
Although the federal government has enacted many policies that support biofuel pro-
duction since 1978, the rapid increase in production of the 2000s has brought biofuels under
increased scrutiny. Economic and environmental concerns, such as effects on food prices,
land use, and air pollution, have been raised. However, directly connecting repercussions
from biofuel policy to measurable effects has many uncertainties because of complex inter-
relationships between effects and the paucity of information at appropriate scales. In part
because of these concerns, the U.S. Congress requested the National Research Council to
convene an expert committee to examine the economic and environmental effects of in-
creasing biofuel production. The next two sections summarize the potential economic and
environmental consequences of achieving RFS that have been raised since the enactment
of RFS.
4 Much of the biodiesel produced in the United States was exported before the market downturn. Biodiesel
consumption in the United States was 316 million gallons in 2008 and 222 million gallons in 2010 (EIA, 2010b,c).
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24 RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD
Potential Economic Consequences of Achieving RFS2
The United States imports large quantities of oil from overseas each year. In 2008 when
crude oil prices fluctuated widely, the United States spent $10-$38 billion each month on
overseas oil imports. In 2010, oil product imports amounted to 17.4 percent of all U.S.
imports. (Additional information on economics of petroleum-based fuel is available in Ap-
pendix G.) Domestic production of biofuels presents an opportunity to reduce oil importa-
tion. However, cellulosic biofuels are not a cost-competitive source of energy compared to
petroleum-based fuels, even in most leading biofuel-producing countries (Kojima et al.,
2007; Steenblik, 2007). Corn-grain ethanol could not compete with fossil fuels in the U.S.
marketplace without mandates, subsidies, tax exemptions, and tariffs until the oil-price
increase in the recent years. This lack of competitiveness raises questions about the use of
government resources to support biofuels. Not only does the federal government expend
resources in its subsidized loans and grants for development of the industry, but it also
forgoes revenue in the form of tax credits for fuel blenders.
Because feedstocks for corn-grain ethanol and soybean biodiesel are feed and food
crops, competition between the biofuel industry and food and feedstuff markets in the
United States also has been raised as a concern. The diversion of corn to biofuel production
was widely criticized in 2008 as a cause of the spike in food prices (Lipsky, 2008; Mitchell,
2008; Rosegrant, 2008; Timmer, 2009), even though U.S. corn production increased and ex-
ports remained constant (USDA-ERS, 2010). Several organizations representing livestock
producers who purchase agricultural commodities for animal feed also suggested that price
spikes in animal feed were linked to increasing biofuel production. They expressed concern
that high feed prices would remain as biofuel production using food-based feedstocks in-
creases and that the profitability of their livestock operations would be negatively affected
(Brandenberger, 2010; Lobb, 2010).
Some livestock producer organizations contend that competition for feedstock between
fuel and animal feed can be at least partially alleviated by using grass, forage, and co-
products from biofuel production, such as dried distiller grains and soybean meal as feed.
However, other producers are concerned that those feedstuffs would affect the quality of
their products (Stillman et al., 2009; Jonker, 2010). Pork and poultry producers cannot sub-
stitute forage or grass for corn, and distillers grains can only be used in small percentages
with nonruminants (Brandenberger, 2010; Lobb, 2010; Spronk, 2010). Scholars contended
that biofuel is a contributing, but not the only, factor that drives food and animal feed
prices. Rather, food and animal feed prices are driven by a combination of supply and use,
exchange rates and macroeconomic factors, and linkages between energy and agricultural
markets (Abbott et al., 2009, 2011; Baffes and Haniotis, 2010; Trostle et al., 2011).
Cellulosic bioenergy feedstock—for example, crop and forest residues, perennial
grasses, urban-derived waste materials, and other sources—is less likely to directly com-
pete with food and animal feed. However, some cellulosic feedstocks have other uses. For
example, representatives of the forestry and paper industries are concerned that the RFS2
mandate and other incentive policies distort wood-product markets (Noe, 2010). They
worried that a growing demand for wood products for biofuel production would increase
costs for their industries and that incentives favorable to biofuels will put them at a further
disadvantage for purchasing timber. Reduced competitiveness would, in turn, cause job
losses in the forestry and paper mill sectors (Noe, 2010). However, forest owners suggested
that a developing biofuel industry can introduce new viable markets for forest biomass and
encourage conservation of working forests (Tenny, 2010).
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INTRODUCTION
Potential Environmental Consequences of Achieving RFS2
Early interests in displacing fossil fuels with biofuels stem from desire to improve
energy security. Potential GHG benefits compared to fossil fuels have been an additional
motivation for federal support (EPA, 2002; Ribeiro et al., 2007). However, critics assert that
the GHG benefits of biofuels might have been overstated. If all direct and indirect emissions
associated with biofuel production are included in GHG accounting, their GHG benefits
might not be as high as previously believed; some suggest that production and use of bio-
fuels could result in higher GHG emissions than that of petroleum-based fuels (Fargione et
al., 2008; Searchinger et al., 2008; Plevin et al., 2010).
Growing biomass for fuels will likely increase the demand on U.S. agricultural and for-
estry output. The external costs or unintended consequences of agriculture, such as deple-
tion of natural resources and environmental degradation, and the need to mitigate those
external costs, have been recognized and documented (NRC, 2010b). For example, water
scarcity is a key concern as many aquifers in the United States have been pumped exten-
sively to provide water for agriculture and other competing uses (NRC, 2010b; USGS, 2010).
Soil erosion from agricultural land and transport of dissolved nutrients from fertilizers that
were not taken up by plants have contributed to reduced water quality (NRC, 2010b).
The question for estimating environmental consequences of achieving RFS2 is how
much bioenergy feedstock production and processing will add to existing concerns, par-
ticularly the nation’s consumptive water use, water quality, and soil erosion (NRC, 2010b).
Some critics assert that expanding corn-grain ethanol production would further degrade
the environment (Donner and Kucharik, 2008). Others suggest growing a mix of bioenergy
crops and using appropriate management practices could achieve the multiple goals of
providing biomass for food, feed, and fuel and enhancing the natural resource base simul-
taneously (Robertson et al., 2008).
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to provide an independent assessment of the economic
and environmental benefits and costs associated with achieving RFS2 that have been raised.
The committee distinguishes between the opportunities that biofuels can provide—which
studies have suggested could provide many benefits if done right (Tilman et al., 2009)—and
the effects of meeting the consumption mandate of 36 billion gallons of different types of
biofuels by 2022; this study focuses on latter effects. Although the committee was asked
to discuss “means by which the federal government could prevent or minimize adverse
impacts of the RFS on the price and availability of animal feedstocks, food, and forest
products, including options available under current law” (Box 1-1), it was not asked to
discuss whether or how RFS2 could be modified to better achieve energy security and GHG
reduction. The committee also was not asked to compare carbon mitigation potential of
using biomass for fuels against using biomass for other purposes. Thus, alternative uses of
biomass such as biopower for electric vehicles or combined coal and biomass for fuel and
their effects on energy security and GHG emissions are not discussed.
This study relies on data from literature published up to the time of its preparation.
Therefore, some topics are discussed in more detail than others depending on the amount
of published literature on each subject. Fuel ethanol is discussed more frequently than other
types of biofuels for two additional reasons:
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26 RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD
• Under RFS2, over 40 percent of biofuels to be consumed to meet the mandate in
2022 will be conventional biofuel, most likely corn-grain ethanol. In addition, con-
sumption mandates for advanced biofuels and cellulosic biofuels could be met, at
least in part, by ethanol.
• Some issues, such as compatibility with existing infrastructure, are only applicable
to fuel ethanol.
When possible, the report describes empirical evidence for the economic and environ-
mental effects of increasing U.S. biofuel production. However, biofuel production is a de-
veloping industry, which has complex interactions with other sectors including agriculture,
forestry, transportation, and energy. In cases in which the published literature provides
diverging information or quantitative effects or model predictions that span a wide range,
the committee sought to explain the sources of differences or areas of uncertainties.
The committee recognized that the effects of biofuels depend on the type of feedstock
used, how and where it is grown, conditions prior to establishment of the bioenergy crops,
logistics involved in feedstock transport and storage, conversion processes used to produce
fuels from biomass, distribution of biofuels to the end users, and engine technology and
performance given the specified blend of biofuels. Any assessment of environmental and
economic benefits and costs is contingent upon details of each of these steps in a given sys-
tem. Therefore, Chapter 2 provides background information on the biofuel supply chain.
In addition, the economic and environmental effects of biofuels depend on site-specific
conditions and the quantities of feedstock used. Because cellulosic biomass for fuels was
not produced in large quantities as of 2011, its supply could only be estimated on the basis
of experimental yields and assumed economic conditions. Therefore, Chapter 3 describes
the projected supply of cellulosic biomass up to 2022 in the United States. The economics
of biofuel production (including factors that influence the cost of biofuels such as feedstock
prices and costs of conversion) and the economic effects of increasing biofuel production
(including the extent to which biofuel production affects food prices, the linkage between
biofuel production, animal feed prices, and coproducts, and the effect on the federal bud-
get) are discussed in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 describes the projected or estimates of local,
regional, and global effects of biofuel production on the environment. Chapter 6 presents
potential economic, technical, environmental, social, and policy factors that could prevent
the United States from meeting RFS2 mandates without passing judgment as to whether
the mandate should be met.
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