Ewing Proposes Alternative Fuel Technology Development Bill

September 10

Rep. Tom Ewing (R-IL) has introduced a bill to authorize funding for technology development for alternative fuels. The bill mirrors a bill introduced by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN). Biomass fuel development is one focus of the legislation along with expansion of ethanol production.

Ewing's bill authorizes $49 million per year for six years to develop technology for alternative fuel production. The biomass section allows "essentially a new commodity" to be created from such products as corn stalks, leaves and husks now discarded after harvest, he notes. "It's been estimated this may generate as much as $30 additional net revenue per acre for the corn farmer."

The bill has three benefits, says Ewing: a shift to alternative fuel "is the only way to introduce an environmentally friendly energy technology that will have a decisive impact on the risk of climate change with minimal modifications to America's existing transportation infrastructure."

By providing farmers with the possibility of additional commodity products, whether dedicated energy crops or income from collecting agricultural residues, "biomass processing can lead to a healthier rural economy."

And third, technologies that result from this research "could provide the corn farmer additional sources of income. The capability to produce more industrial products form corn will increase demand and stabilize or even increase prices," Ewing says.