Biomass: Year-in-Review

Jetta Wong of Renewable Energy Access has done a nice job characterizing the strong advance made by biomass into the national dialog on renewable fuel options in 2006. She has also listed many specifics about the gaps between authorization and funding by the federal government, new bioenergy legislation under consideration by the U.S. Congress, the initiative shown by individual states to take the lead in renewable energy, and the surge in biomass/biofuels conferences.

Below is the introduction to the article. Click on the article title to read the entire entry.

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Biomass: Year-in-Review
by Jetta Wong, Agriculture & Energy Policy Analyst

The biomass industry made tremendous gains in 2005, but even those knee-deep in biomass could not have foreseen such amazing strides made in 2006. Even with appropriation woes, large venture capital investments, new leadership, increased acceptance from the environmental community, national security threats and unstable energy markets sparked the country's enthusiasm for biomass. The industry's capacity to ramp up production and the ability of this renewable resource to provide a considerable quantity of power, not just liquid fuel, has made biomass a significant player in the U.S. energy future.

With dozens of biomass conferences and events across the country, it is no wonder that in 2006 more than 50 biomass-related bills were introduced. Increases to the national RFS, incentives for alternative fueling stations and flex-fuel vehicles and extensions of biomass-related tax incentives were highlighted in these bills.


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