[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 31 (Saturday, February 17, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E392]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       ADVANCED FUELS INFRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES T. WALSH

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 16, 2007

  Mr. WALSH of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today in fundamental 
support of H.R. 547, The Advanced Fuels Infrastructure Research and 
Development Act, which provides important direction for further 
development of the infrastructure needed to bring various biofuels, 
like ethanol, to the entire U.S. market.
  Currently the biofuel infrastructure in our country is not ready for 
an influx of biofuels and the impending transition from petroleum fuels 
to alternative fuels. Appropriately, the corrosive nature of ethanol is 
addressed in H.R. 547. The bill directs federal agencies to look at new 
infrastructure components, along with potential additives to alleviate 
the harm ethanol and other biofuels can have on our Nation's current 
energy infrastructure.
  But H.R. 547 needs to do more. My home State of New York is currently 
dependent on ethanol produced in the Midwest. Regions outside the 
cornbelt, such as New York, are subjected to additional costs 
associated with the transportation of ethanol across the country. Such 
costs can easily be alleviated by regional biofuel markets. While H.R. 
547 addresses some of the issues surrounding biofuel infrastructure, it 
does not address the idea of regional biofuel markets. The concept of 
regional markets has the potential to supplement and augment the 
existing ethanol infrastructure while easing transportation risk and 
costs.
  Further, regionalized biofuel markets have many economic 
implications. Local and regional markets bring jobs to rural areas 
throughout our country by putting farmers back to work. Regional 
markets create new opportunities for hard working Americans at 
refineries and jobs through the local transportation networks needed 
for ethanol distribution. Such economic activities add to the tax base 
in our small towns and immediately promote environmental consciousness.
  Such environmental consciousness and the promise of a regional 
ethanol market are most notably being felt in Upstate NY. Stemming from 
research and development done at SUNY-ESF, shrub willow trees are now 
being used to produce cellulosic ethanol. This technological 
advancement was funded by the Federal government and the State of New 
York over the last decade. Through the financial backing and support of 
Catalyst Renewables, the ESF technology has been integrated with a 
biomass electric facility to create a CO2 neutral to 
negative cellulosic ethanol refinery. This energy independent facility 
creates transportation fuel, electric energy and provides residual 
steam to other industries, which further reduces fossil fuel use. The 
result will be one of the first commercial cellulosic ethanol plants in 
North America which will create a regional market that will be felt 
throughout New York and surrounding states.
  Such encouraging developments in New York State will greatly benefit 
from the ethanol technologies supported in H.R. 547. However, the 
cellulosic ethanol industry, which is still in its infancy, faces 
numerous challenges. These include competition with established fossil 
fuels, corn based ethanol production, and tax inequality with wind and 
solar energy. As a Nation, we must promote the regionalization of 
biorefineries beyond the cornbelt. Currently, such markets do not 
receive equal funding opportunities, hindering biomass refinery 
commercialization.
  If our Nation is serious about lessening our dependence on foreign 
oil and promoting alternative energies like that developed at ESF, we 
must embrace and encourage the economic benefits of regional biofuel 
markets.

                          ____________________