Winter 2017-18

14 West Virginia Forestry Association Mountain State Forestry  | Winter 2017 www.wvfa.org I N D U S T R Y N E W S administrations have sought to reduce dependence on foreign oil while also improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, legislative efforts have produced virtually nothing sustainable. Nevertheless, biofuels have great potential in the future. Global petro producer BP has full ownership of three ethanol production plants in Brazil with a combined processing capacity of 10 million tons of sugarcane per year. To be sure, large-scale fuels manufacturers are engaging in the scientific research and development of next-generation fuels, and many of these companies may even be able to purchase the recently-shuttered cellulosic plants at bargain prices. While DowDuPont has decided to exit the manufacture of biofuels for now, the company remains connected to the sector, noting that “We will continue to participate in the overall biofuels market through specialty offerings, including biofuel enzymes and engineered yeast solutions that improve yield and productivity for biofuel producers.” Addressing a group of investors, Todd Becker, Chief Executive of Green Plains Ethanol, recently touched on the central roadblock preventing the further development of cellulosic biofuels. He said that Green Plains “did not spend any time on” investigating investment in formulating cellulosic ethanol, which could be manufactured from corn stover. He added that investors have spent the equivalent of “$10–15 a gallon trying to get these plants up and running,” and that “You could build a new corn-based ethanol plant for $1.80 a gallon.” Global petro corporations Like BP and Shell have the capacity to continue the important R&D work into future biofuels production. But with high costs, limited investment and a wavering RFS propping up the sector, developing a system of profitable cellulosic biofuels plants seems like it may be years away. To quote Mr. Becker, it is “a hard equation, and it’s a long road.”  continued from previous page