Renewable Energy and the Farm Bill

Tuesday, January 29, 2002

10:00 -11:00 a.m., 222 Senate Russell Office Building

The Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) sponsored a Congressional staff briefing on the Energy Title of the proposed Senate Farm Bill.  The Farm Bill, which passed the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry in November, contained an innovative new Energy Title, which would establish several new programs to provide incentives to farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses to develop their on-farm renewable energy resources and make energy efficiency improvements. 

Developing the nation’s on-farm renewable energy resources has the potential to boost farmer income, create jobs in rural communities, diversify the nation’s energy market, and protect the environment. The title, which has been endorsed by a wide array of farm, commodity, industry, rural development, environmental, and renewable energy organizations, would: 

• Establish a biobased product purchasing requirement for federal agencies.
• Create a program to administer farmer, rancher and rural small business energy audits and renewable energy development assessments.
• Provide financial and technical assistance to farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements.
• Provide grants for the commercialization of cellulosic ethanol and the establishment of biorefineries for the production of transportation fuels and a variety of marketable chemicals and biobased products.
• Extend the Biomass Research and Development Act through 2006.
• Fund important hydrogen fuel cell research.

The briefing  featured a diverse panel of experts listed below:

Ø      Carol Werner, Executive Director, Environmental and Energy Study Institute

Ø      Dan Reicher, Visiting Fellow, World Resources Institute, former Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy  

Ø      Dr. Pat Gruber, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Cargill Dow, LLC. 

Ø      Krysta Harden, American Soybean Association  

Materials:

   Summary of the proposed Energy Title to the Senate Farm Bill

   EESI's Policy Report: The 2002 Farm Bill: Revitalizing the Farm Economy Through Renewable Energy Development

 For more information, contact Allen Hance of the Northeast-Midwest Institute: (202) 464-4015, ahance@nemw.org, or Jeremy Ames of EESI: (202) 662-1892, james@eesi.org.