Federal & State Mandates
Executive Order S-06-06 Biomass Production and Use Targets Download
In Executive Order S-06-06, Governor Schwarzenegger established the following targets to increase the production and use of bioenergy, including ethanol and biodiesel fuels made from renewable resources:
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Regarding biofuels, the state shall produce a minimum of 20 percent of its biofuels within California by 2010, 40 percent by 2020, and 75 percent by 2050.
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Regarding the use of biomass for electricity, the state shall meet a 20 percent target within the established state goals for renewable generation for 2010 and 2020.
As the state works toward continued and steady growth in the production and use of bio-fuels produced in-state, the Working Group believes that the state should not allow the current level of use to diminish in the near term.
AB118 State of California Download
Alternative and renewable fuel projects to develop and improve alternative and renewable low-carbon fuels, including electricity, ethanol, dimethyl ether, renewable diesel, natural gas, hydrogen, and biomethane, among others, and their feedstocks that have high potential for long-term or short-term commercialization, including projects that lead to sustainable feedstocks.
Biomass-Based Diesel Storyline (AB118 Update) Download
Discussion of Results… By far the greatest uncertainty was found in the feedstock supply.
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 Download
Today, President Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which will improve vehicle fuel economy and help reduce U.S. dependence on oil.
The bill the President signed today responds to the challenge of his bold "Twenty in Ten" initiative, which President Bush announced in January. It represents a major step forward in expanding the production of renewable fuels, reducing our dependence on oil, and confronting global climate change. It will increase our energy security, expand the production of renewable fuels, and make America stronger, safer, and cleaner for future generations.
National Clean Diesel Campaign (EPA):
The objective of the program is to reduce diesel emissions while using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funding to maximize job preservation and/or creation and economic recovery through a variety of diesel emission reduction strategies.
Diesel engines power the movement of goods across the nation, help construct the buildings in which we live and work, help build the roads on which we travel, and carry millions of children to school each day. While diesel engines provide mobility and are critical to the nation’s economy, exhaust from diesel engines contains pollutants that negatively impact human health and the environment. More than 11 million diesel engines in operation today do not meet EPA’s new clean diesel standards, yet these engines have an average lifetime of 20 to 30 years. Diesel engines emit large amounts of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and air toxics, which contribute to serious public health problems, including asthma, lung cancer and various other cardiac and respiratory diseases. These problems result in thousands of premature deaths, millions of lost work days, and numerous other negative health and economic outcomes every year.
To meet the challenge of reducing exhaust from diesel engines, EPA established the National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC). The NCDC’s goal is to accelerate emission reductions from older diesel engines to provide more immediate air quality benefits and improve public health. EPA will use Recovery Act funding to support the goals of the Recovery Act and NCDC.
Benefits of the National Clean Diesel Campaign
Public health benefits are immediate when emissions control strategies are applied to older diesel engines. Diesel retrofit technologies reduce pollution from the existing diesel engine fleet by up to 90% for particulate matter (PM), up to 50% for nitrogen oxides (NOx), and up to 90% for volatile organic compounds. New on-highway heavy-duty vehicles are up to sixty times cleaner than those manufactured prior to 1990.
In 2008 with an appropriation of nearly $50 million, DERA’s first year of operation, lifetime air quality benefits were estimated for four criteria pollutants and also for CO2. Over the lifetime of these grants, approximately 46,000 tons of NOx and 2,200 tons of PM will be reduced. These emission reductions translate into a significant public health benefit of approximately $580 million to $1.4 billion in quantifiable PM-related health benefits.1 Given these estimated benefits, Recovery Act funding is likely to lead to reductions of hundreds of thousands of tons of pollution resulting in billions of dollars in health benefits. In addition, Recovery Act funding for DERA will also create jobs and promote economic recovery.