July 20, 2010
Vilsack voices continued support for ethanol
Published in Feedstuffs
Today Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited a POET ethanol plant in Marion, Ohio and again called for an aggressive biofuels agenda to revitalize and reenergize rural America.
In discussions with President Barack Obama prior to visiting an ethanol plant in Missouri earlier this year, Vilsack stated the need for a vision for taking biofuels to the next level. This Thursday Vilsack has a meeting at the White House with Obama's top advisors to try and "sell them on the vision he has for biofuels in America," he said. Vilsack noted Obama will not be in attendance at the meeting, but his discussions with Obama have "empowered" him to move the biofuels agenda forward.
Pictured below is Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and POET CEO Jeff Broin. Vilsack toured POET's Marion Biorefinery Tuesday morning along with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.
The secretary again referenced the idea first laid out in the roadmap released earlier this summer calling for 300 to 500 biorefinery facilities positioned across the country with centers in each region.
Vilsack also noted the need for increased flex fuel vehicles and fuel distribution, two of the biggest components of Growth Energy's Fueling Freedom plan announced last week to redirect funds currently used to pay for the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) or blenders' credit to pay for 200,000 blender pumps and mandate every new vehicle be FFV compatible.
Jeff Broin, chief executive officer of POET, said in his discussions with the Secretary today Vilsack supports the key tenants of Growth Energy's plan. Broin added that Vilsack has always been supportive of biofuels, but his comments today seemed "even more motivated than in the past to move rural America forward" with both grain and cellulosic ethanol.
Broin had to defend POET's move to transition away from the ethanol tax credit to many others who attended the event today including members from Ohio Corn Growers Assn and Ohio Farm Bureau. Both the National Corn Growers Assn and American Farm Bureau Federation came out in support of an extension of the current tax credit with the option to further study the idea of redirecting funds.
"We feel without question the time is right," Broin said of transitioning funds towards building market access.
With less than 25 legislative days left on the calendar, Broin said Growth Energy and ethanol producers wanted to make sure they positioned themselves to move the industry to compete on a leveling playing field with oil if climate legislation moves yet this fall. "We could get nothing and want to be at the table if something moves," he added...
