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PennFuture Lauds Passage of Biofuels Legislation
HARRISBURG, Pa.-(Business Wire)-July 4, 2008 - Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture) today commended the Pennsylvania legislature for passing two bills to expand the use of biofuels in Pennsylvania. One bill (House Bill 1202) requires transportation fuels sold in Pennsylvania to include increasing amounts of cellulosic ethanol (in gasoline) and biodiesel (in diesel fuel). A second bill (Special Session Senate Bill 22) extends the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Program (AFIG) to include incentives for Pennsylvania biodiesel producers. Together, these new policies will level the playing field for Pennsylvania farmers and producers, enabling them to grow their industry and offer increasing amounts of home-grown fuels for home heating and transportation.
"We must begin to move away from our 'addiction to oil,' as President George W. Bush characterized our energy problem," said Jan Jarrett, vice president of PennFuture. "With oil prices over $140 a barrel and diesel over $4.60 a gallon, these bills will start us on the road to recovery. These policies will bring some relief to Pennsylvania's hard-pressed families and businesses, bringing heating oil and gasoline and diesel costs down. And it will also help Pennsylvania farmers who grow soybeans and other crops for biodiesel production, offering them a chance to compete both in and out of state.
"Without a home-grown biofuels market, we will continue to be at the mercy of other oil producing nations, many of which have shown their scorn for our nation and our values," continued Jarrett. "These policies will put us on the path of energy independence, at last.
"Finally, with headlines worldwide reporting on the possible melting of the polar ice cap this summer, this bill will help us ameliorate some of the damage traditional fuels are doing to our air, our water and our planet," said Jarrett. "The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that the use of biodiesel made from soybeans creates significantly fewer heat-trapping gases than traditional biodiesel. Cellulosic ethanol produced in the state must reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent versus conventional gasoline. This program is truly good for Pennsylvania's environment and economy.'
Special Session House Bill 22 provides funding to producers from the AFIG program of 75 cents per gallon for all biodiesel produced in Pennsylvania by Pennsylvanians and sold in Pennsylvania. The fund, which has a surplus, will rebate up to $5.3 million each year for the next three years, with no one producer receiving more than $1.9 million each year. No new taxes or bonding would be needed, and no funding would be available for corn-based ethanol.
House Bill 1202 requires that each gallon of diesel includes a percentage of biodiesel, starting at two percent content and rising to ten percent content, based on levels of in-state production. The bill also requires that gasoline sold in the state contain 10 percent cellulosic ethanol once Pennsylvania production of the new fuel reaches 350 million gallons.
PennFuture praised several members of the General Assembly for their vital role in passing the legislation. Representative David Kessler (D-Berks) and Senator John Gordner (R-Columbia) were the leaders of the effort and prime sponsors of the original biodiesel bills in their respective chambers. Representative Mike Gerber (D-Montgomery) provided consistent leadership as the prime sponsor of House Bill 1202. Senators John Pippy (R-Allegheny), Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny) and Andy Dinniman (D-Chester), House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee Chair Bud George (D-Clearfield), House Majority Whip Keith McCall (D-Carbon) and Sen. Robert Tomlinson (R-Bucks) (the prime sponsor of Special Session Senate Bill 22, which included the biodiesel language) also made great contributions to this victory.
PennFuture is a statewide public interest membership organization, founded in 1998. Working from the premise that "Every environmental victory grows the economy," PennFuture has successfully advocated for landmark environmental legislation, including passage of the largest ever environmental funding bond, passage of the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act, adoption of the Clean Vehicles Program and adoption of a regulation that protects Pennsylvania's babies by restricting mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants. PennFuture has staff throughout the state, in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, West Chester and Scranton. The Philadelphia Inquirer called PennFuture the "state's leading environmental advocacy organization."
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