By the 2018 model year: proposed standards would reduce CO2 emission and fuel consumption 20% for combination tractors; 10% for gasoline Heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans and 15% for diesel vehicles; 10% reductions for
Vocational vehicles.
The technologies fostered by this program would also yield economic benefits, enhance energy security, and improve air quality. Such new technologies include widespread use of aerodynamic improvements and decreased tire rolling resistance, as well as engine and transmission upgrades.
EPA and NHTSA are providing a 60-day comment period that begins when the proposal is published in the Federal Register. NHTSA has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed fuel efficiency standards. It compares the environmental impacts of the agency's proposal with those of a number of regulatory alternatives.
Comments may be submitted on the draft EIS through January 3, 2011 at the NHTSA website. See the EPA press release, the proposed regulations and standards, and the NHTSA Corporate Average Fuel Economy Web site.
USDA Readies Expanded Biofuels Initiatives, Including FAA Jet Fuel Project
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a series of measures on October 21 to promote production of biofuels from renewable sources.
USDA will publish a final rule to implement the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), which has operated as a pilot since 2009. Under the BCAP final rule, USDA will resume making payments to eligible producers. Authorized in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, BCAP is designed to ensure that a sufficiently large base of new, non-food, non-feed biomass crops is planted to meet future demand for renewable energy consumption. The overall goal of the measure is to create green jobs and mitigate the effects of climate change.
BCAP uses a dual approach to support the production of renewable energy. First, BCAP assists with the establishment and production of eligible renewable biomass crops within specified project areas. Producers who enter into BCAP contracts may receive payments of up to 75% of the cost of establishing eligible perennial crops. Further, they can receive payments for up to five years for annual or non-woody perennial crops and for up to 15 years for woody perennial crops.
In addition, BCAP assists agricultural and forest landowners and operators by providing matching payments for the transportation of certain eligible materials that are sold to qualified biomass conversion facilities. The facilities convert the materials into heat, power, bio-based products, or advanced biofuels.
USDA also announced jointly with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) a five-year agreement to develop aviation fuel from forest and crop residues and other green feedstocks in order to decrease dependence on foreign oil and stabilize aviation fuel costs.
The agencies will work together to assess availability of various feedstocks that could be processed by bio-refineries to produce jet fuels. The cooperative agreement supports a larger research plan led by USDA through its five regional biomass research centers, which will help accelerate development of a commercial advanced biofuels industry across the US.
A report by USDA's Economic Research Service determined that replacing more petroleum with cost-competitive domestic biofuels reduces crude oil imports, thereby lowering prices for energy and benefiting the U.S. economy. See the
USDA press release, the
ERS report, the
BCAP Web site.
