National & World Ag News Headlines UDSA, DOE Release National Biofuels Action Plan USAgNet - 10/09/2008 Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer and Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman released the National Biofuels Action Plan, an interagency plan detailing the collaborative efforts of Federal agencies to accelerate the development of a sustainable biofuels industry. "Federal leadership can provide the vision for research, industry and citizens to understand how the nation will become less dependent on foreign oil and create strong rural economies," Secretary Schafer said. "This National Biofuels Action Plan supports the drive for biofuels growth to supply energy that is clean and affordable, and always renewable." The NBAP was developed in response to President Bush's plans to change the way America fuels its transportation fleets in the 2007 State of the Union Address. The President's "Twenty In Ten" goal calls for cutting U.S. gasoline consumption by 20 percent over the next 10 years by investing in renewable and alternative fuel sources, increasing vehicle efficiency and developing alternative fuel vehicles. "The National Biofuels Action Plan is a strategic blueprint that shows us the way to meet the President's goal of meaningful biofuels production by the year 2022," Secretary Bodman said. "And to do it in cost-effective, environmentally-responsible ways that utilize a science-based approach to ensure the next generation of biofuels that are made primarily from feedstocks outside the food supply that are produced sustainably." The President's ambitious alternative fuels production target was later followed by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, which responded to the President's "Twenty in Ten" challenge with mandatory funding of more than $1 billion for such energy activities as loan guarantees for cellulosic ethanol projects as well as other renewable energy and energy-efficiency-related programs. The NBAP was developed and is being implemented by the Biomass Research and Development (R&D) Board. Co-chaired by USDA and DOE officials, the Board was created to coordinate the activities of federal agencies involved in biomass research and development. Its membership represents the combined expertise and resources of senior decision makers from nearly a dozen executive branch agencies and the Administration. Copyright © 2010 - USAgNet.com. All Rights Reserved.