The Big Biofuels Blog

it can't do a president with Bush's approval rating any harm to be seen to be doing something that will be perceived by many as being good for the environment. I could and will make a similar point about, one of the EPA's SmartWay Transport partners, Coca-Cola, which aside from any environmental protestations the company may make, needs to look good in the eyes of its young, environmentally-aware target consumers. You've read all I've written about the conflict between water and biofuels, especially the stress that increasing production could put on the environment. You will also realise that the EPA is promoting tax-breaks for biofuels with this announcement. Will the US taxpayer be recompensed by equivalent carbon taxes on big oil... I think we both know the answer to that...

Why are they doing it? Partly because the President would like them to as EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson says

Through SmartWay Grow & Go, President Bush is moving the fuels of the future into the market today .By investing in technology that unlocks the energy from our domestic crops, EPA and our partners are bringing breakthroughs in renewable fuel from the labs to the streets.

What does the EPA want to achieve

The goal of the SmartWay Grow & Go program is to have 25 percent of EPA's SmartWay Transport partners using renewable fuels by 2012, and 50 percent by 2020. There are currently 481 SmartWay Transport partners including major truck and rail carriers as well as shipping and logistics companies.

Who's going to be doing it?

Leading SmartWay partners are already taking action. For example, H-E-B and Meijer are expanding the sale of renewable fuels at their retail pumps, while Coca-Cola Enterprises' light and heavy duty fleets are expanding their use of ethanol and biodiesel as these fuels become more widely available.

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