Start-up biofuels companies say new regulations from Washington could have a big impact on which technologies prosper in a US push for cleaner energy, and they are preparing to make their voices heard.
The Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a new draft Renewable Fuels Standard that accounts for overall carbon dioxide emissions, kicking off a long-awaited process that will let everyone involved have a say. The well-established corn ethanol industry is particularly interested, but many involved in new fuel technologies insist the US government should not seek to "pick winners" among them, but allow the most efficient and affordable to prosper.
"The whole EPA definition process will be subject to the whole food fight in Congress," said Riggs Eckelberry, chief executive of algae biofuel firm OriginOil, but he added: "Anything that defines our industry is a good thing." Eckelberry does not see an imminent US biofuels boom given the country's relative late start, or even much opportunity in "regulation-bound" Europe, so he is most bullish about Asia when it comes to new types of fuel.
"The market's going to go well ahead of regulation," he said, adding that algae technology - once it is ready and can be done at a competitive cost - will succeed on its merits and on existing subsidies.
From soy and switchgrass to chocolate and coffee beans, any list of biofuel sources can read like a fixed-price menu for the adventurous, or just the start of a good compost heap. Add to this mix one of the world's simplest plants, algae, and the conversation gets very interesting now that the biofuel universe has expanded so far beyond just the ethanol that is already blended into US gasoline.
"This is not the Ten Commandments," Paul Lacourciere, from law firm Reed Smith, said of EPA rules. "It's an evolution and we will learn and we will grow," added Lacourciere, who also runs Sirona Fuels, a San Francisco firm producing biodiesel from used cooking oil as well as the robust jatropha plant.
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