[Top News] from [REUTERS]
[Green Business]
Republicans move to delay climate bill progress
Sat Oct 31, 2009 2:10pm EDT
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - All seven Republicans on the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee plan to boycott next week's work session on a climate-change bill, an aide said on Saturday, in a move aimed at thwarting Democratic efforts to advance the controversial legislation quickly.
"Republicans will be forced not to show up" at Tuesday's work session, said Matt Dempsey, a spokesman for Republican senators on the environment panel.
Under committee rules, at least two Republicans are needed for Chairwoman Barbara Boxer to hold the work sessions that would give senators an opportunity to amend the controversial legislation and then vote to approve it in the panel, which is controlled by President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats.
But Republicans are demanding more detailed economic analysis of the bill by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -- a task that could take more than a month -- before agreeing to participate in the work sessions that are called "mark ups."
The seven Republicans have not indicated they ultimately would vote for the bill, which Boxer wants to move through her committee before December's international climate-change summit in Copenhagen.
Even with committee approval of the bill, the full Senate is not expected to vote on it this year. The legislation, as currently written, would have a hard time gaining the support of the 60 senators needed to pass major bills.
Nevertheless, the Obama administration is hoping for more progress by Congress before the Copenhagen summit. In June, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill to reduce U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
CARBON POLLUTION
Boxer's bill, which she wrote with Democratic Senator John Kerry, would require U.S. manufacturers, utilities and refineries to reduce their carbon pollution output 20 percent by 2020, from 2005 levels. That is slightly more ambitious than the House-passed bill.
Most Republicans and some moderate Democrats in the Senate have criticized the emissions-reduction target of the Kerry-Boxer bill.
Kerry already has begun talking to other senators about significant changes to his bill, including expanding U.S. nuclear power generation.
Republicans on the environment committee say the climate-change bill would cause significant job losses by encouraging manufacturers to relocate more of their plants in countries that do not have as strict carbon controls.
They also say it would significantly boost consumer prices as companies are forced to use more expensive alternative fuels -- a claim that has not been backed up by some independent analysis or by a preliminary EPA analysis.
"Republicans are insisting on a full EPA analysis before a mark up. We are not opposed to a mark up, only on holding one this rushed," said a statement by committee Republicans. Full details of the Democratic bill were unveiled only a week ago.
The senior Republican on the committee, Senator James Inhofe, has been an outspoken opponent of legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, saying there is no sound scientific evidence that the world is suffering due to carbon emissions resulting from human activities.
(Editing by Will Dunham)
[Green Business]
U.S. advanced biofuel sector finds lenders wary
Sat Oct 31, 2009 2:14pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lenders are leery of putting money into cellulosic ethanol and other new-generation biofuels due to the recession and an industry shakeout, Agriculture Department and biofuel leaders said on Thursday.
That is one reason near-term production of advanced biofuels is unlikely to meet targets set by a 2007 energy law, said William Roe of Coskata Inc, which has a demonstration-size biomass plant in Pennsylvania.
Several witnesses at a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing on the future of new-generation biofuels pointed to difficulties in securing credit.
"Given the current recession and the banking sector's financial difficulties, lending has become scarce in the biofuels space," said Susan Ellerbusch, president of BP Biofuels North America.
Agriculture Undersecretary Dallas Tonsager said lenders also were discouraged by an industry shake-out last year that included the bankruptcy of the largest producer due to rising grain costs and a drop in petroleum prices.
Plants with roughly 12 billion gallons of annual capacity are in operation now while 1.2 billion gallons in capacity is idle.
USDA has awarded two loan guarantees totaling $105 million for advanced biofuels projects. Two applications remain under consideration.
Some applicants were rejected because they did not have a lender behind the project, Tonsager said.
New-generation projects often have costs that equal $10 a gallon or more for small-scale plants, well above corn-based ethanol and petroleum. Proponents say costs will drop rapidly for a commercial-size plant and as technology is refined.
Rajiv Shah, Agriculture undersecretary for research, said he was optimistic of a significant improvement over the next five to seven years in the economics of new-generation biofuels. Feedstocks account for one-half to two-thirds of the cost of biofuels, he said, so it is important to develop biomass crops and improvements in converting crops into fuels.
"We're not there yet in the dedicated feedstocks that would be required to do this," said Shah.
Ethanol industry officials suggested that producers should receive government grants for start-up costs instead of tax credits after they begin production.
They also said Congress should extend a cellulosic fuels production tax credit to cover all fuels produced before 2022 instead of the current cutoff of 2012.
Producers suggested that Congress create a "green bank" using government funds to support advanced biofuels and other clean energy projects.
They also said the USDA should relax its loan-guarantee rules to make it easier for advanced biofuels projects to obtain financing.
They said the government should help the biofuels market grow through the renewable fuels standard created by the 2007 energy law. It calls for use of 36 billion gallons a year of biofuels by 2022, most of it from new-generation feedstocks.
The industry is also unhappy with proposed U.S. environmental rules that would cover how biofuels meet requirements to reduce greenhouse gases.
(Reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by David Gregorio)
[Green Business]
Republicans move to delay climate bill progress
Sat Oct 31, 2009 2:10pm EDT
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - All seven Republicans on the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee plan to boycott next week's work session on a climate-change bill, an aide said on Saturday, in a move aimed at thwarting Democratic efforts to advance the controversial legislation quickly.
"Republicans will be forced not to show up" at Tuesday's work session, said Matt Dempsey, a spokesman for Republican senators on the environment panel.
Under committee rules, at least two Republicans are needed for Chairwoman Barbara Boxer to hold the work sessions that would give senators an opportunity to amend the controversial legislation and then vote to approve it in the panel, which is controlled by President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats.
But Republicans are demanding more detailed economic analysis of the bill by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -- a task that could take more than a month -- before agreeing to participate in the work sessions that are called "mark ups."
The seven Republicans have not indicated they ultimately would vote for the bill, which Boxer wants to move through her committee before December's international climate-change summit in Copenhagen.
Even with committee approval of the bill, the full Senate is not expected to vote on it this year. The legislation, as currently written, would have a hard time gaining the support of the 60 senators needed to pass major bills.
Nevertheless, the Obama administration is hoping for more progress by Congress before the Copenhagen summit. In June, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill to reduce U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
CARBON POLLUTION
Boxer's bill, which she wrote with Democratic Senator John Kerry, would require U.S. manufacturers, utilities and refineries to reduce their carbon pollution output 20 percent by 2020, from 2005 levels. That is slightly more ambitious than the House-passed bill.
Most Republicans and some moderate Democrats in the Senate have criticized the emissions-reduction target of the Kerry-Boxer bill.
Kerry already has begun talking to other senators about significant changes to his bill, including expanding U.S. nuclear power generation.
Republicans on the environment committee say the climate-change bill would cause significant job losses by encouraging manufacturers to relocate more of their plants in countries that do not have as strict carbon controls.
They also say it would significantly boost consumer prices as companies are forced to use more expensive alternative fuels -- a claim that has not been backed up by some independent analysis or by a preliminary EPA analysis.
"Republicans are insisting on a full EPA analysis before a mark up. We are not opposed to a mark up, only on holding one this rushed," said a statement by committee Republicans. Full details of the Democratic bill were unveiled only a week ago.
The senior Republican on the committee, Senator James Inhofe, has been an outspoken opponent of legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, saying there is no sound scientific evidence that the world is suffering due to carbon emissions resulting from human activities.
(Editing by Will Dunham)
[Green Business]
U.S. advanced biofuel sector finds lenders wary
Sat Oct 31, 2009 2:14pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lenders are leery of putting money into cellulosic ethanol and other new-generation biofuels due to the recession and an industry shakeout, Agriculture Department and biofuel leaders said on Thursday.
That is one reason near-term production of advanced biofuels is unlikely to meet targets set by a 2007 energy law, said William Roe of Coskata Inc, which has a demonstration-size biomass plant in Pennsylvania.
Several witnesses at a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing on the future of new-generation biofuels pointed to difficulties in securing credit.
"Given the current recession and the banking sector's financial difficulties, lending has become scarce in the biofuels space," said Susan Ellerbusch, president of BP Biofuels North America.
Agriculture Undersecretary Dallas Tonsager said lenders also were discouraged by an industry shake-out last year that included the bankruptcy of the largest producer due to rising grain costs and a drop in petroleum prices.
Plants with roughly 12 billion gallons of annual capacity are in operation now while 1.2 billion gallons in capacity is idle.
USDA has awarded two loan guarantees totaling $105 million for advanced biofuels projects. Two applications remain under consideration.
Some applicants were rejected because they did not have a lender behind the project, Tonsager said.
New-generation projects often have costs that equal $10 a gallon or more for small-scale plants, well above corn-based ethanol and petroleum. Proponents say costs will drop rapidly for a commercial-size plant and as technology is refined.
Rajiv Shah, Agriculture undersecretary for research, said he was optimistic of a significant improvement over the next five to seven years in the economics of new-generation biofuels. Feedstocks account for one-half to two-thirds of the cost of biofuels, he said, so it is important to develop biomass crops and improvements in converting crops into fuels.
"We're not there yet in the dedicated feedstocks that would be required to do this," said Shah.
Ethanol industry officials suggested that producers should receive government grants for start-up costs instead of tax credits after they begin production.
They also said Congress should extend a cellulosic fuels production tax credit to cover all fuels produced before 2022 instead of the current cutoff of 2012.
Producers suggested that Congress create a "green bank" using government funds to support advanced biofuels and other clean energy projects.
They also said the USDA should relax its loan-guarantee rules to make it easier for advanced biofuels projects to obtain financing.
They said the government should help the biofuels market grow through the renewable fuels standard created by the 2007 energy law. It calls for use of 36 billion gallons a year of biofuels by 2022, most of it from new-generation feedstocks.
The industry is also unhappy with proposed U.S. environmental rules that would cover how biofuels meet requirements to reduce greenhouse gases.
(Reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by David Gregorio)
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