Ethanol Article:

Farm To Fuel

Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson is assisting Florida farmers and ranchers in producing bio-fuel crops to help reduce the nation’s dependency on foreign oil.

The goal of the nation’s agriculture industry is to produce 25 percent of the energy consumed in the U.S. by the year 2025 -- a program known as “25/25.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently developed new standards which will provide the first step toward the Renewable Fuel Standard Program. The program will focus on reducing vehicle emissions and strengthen U.S. energy security by doubling the use of fuels produced from American crops by 2012. The new standards will help industry comply with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which requires that 2.78 percent of the gasoline sold or dispensed to U.S. motorists in 2006 be renewable fuel. Various renewable fuels can be used to meet the requirements of the program, including ethanol and bio-diesel. Under the standard, refineries, blenders and importers would collectively be responsible for meeting program requirements for 2006, where compliance would be calculated over the entire pool of gasoline sold to consumers.

Bronson believes that Florida can be a leader in the effort of producing energy from crops and timber because of the vast amount of farm acreage in the state and its mild climate, which permits crops to be grown virtually year round.

On January 12, 2006, more than 50 agricultural producers, researchers and those already in the business of producing commercial fuel-grade ethanol and bio-diesel crops attended the Commissioner’s ambitious “Farm to Fuel” meeting in Tallahassee. Powerpoint presentations from the meeting can be viewed by clicking on the links below.

In the coming months, Commissioner Bronson will be working with Governor Bush and the Florida Legislature, Florida’s Congressional Delegation, and colleagues from other states to develop and implement strategies to assist farmers and producers of bio-fuels in Florida.

In addition to promoting a “Farm to Fuel” program, the Department has taken the following steps necessary to protect consumers from purchasing substandard alternative fuels, as they appear on the market.

The Department is amending the definition of petroleum fuels in Chapter 525, Florida Statutes, to include alternative fuels, such as predominantly alcohol-blended and bio-diesel fuels. Companies are now attempting to market and sell alternative fuels in Florida and auto manufacturers are producing an increasing number of vehicles that are equipped to run on alternative fuels; therefore, the use of alternative fuels in Florida is expected to increase in the near future. In the meantime, the Division of Standards has amended its rules to define and adopt the standards to which alternative fuels must conform. The division is also looking to purchase new laboratory equipment for the Bureau of Petroleum Inspection’s three testing laboratories to analyze new alternative fuels entering the market to ensure fuel quality standards are met.