The reconstruction of New Orleans and other Louisiana cities following Hurricane Katrina was aided by Renergie Inc. This energy company was created following the 2005 disaster to create local energy solutions for storm-ravaged parishes and cities. Renergie Inc. along with 27 state legislators have taken the company’s initial push for local energy to the next level with the Advanced Biofuel Industry Development Initiative. This initiative was signed into law by Governor Bobby Jindal this week and sets Louisiana apart from the rest of the country.
The major problem with ethanol production and distribution in the United States is the various ethanol fuel blends. Louisiana is the first state to fund fuel pumps with different ethanol blends on a statewide basis. The state legislature will provide financial support for pumps that give E10, E20, E30 and conventional E85 fuel to budget-conscious drivers throughout Louisiana. This trial run will last through January 1st, 2012 with possible approval thereafter by the state legislature.
This legislation features multiple criteria for biofuel producers who want funding to produce ethanol. Legislators worked with Renergie to address the problem of rising food costs on a local level due to greater crop yields used for fuel. The primary characteristic of biofuel funding under the program is that producers cannot use corn to produce ethanol. Producers funded by the Advanced Biofuel Industry Development Initiative will need to complete their work in Louisiana and create at least 600 gallons of ethanol per acre.
Every state in the Union should take a look at Louisiana’s leap forward into biofuel development. The new law stresses localized development of fuels that aren’t based entirely on food crops. Renergie has worked in the past to produce ethanol plants in Florida that run on plentiful supplies of sorghum juice. The company’s recovery work in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina gives it a pedigree that is uncommon in the energy industry. This bill will boost the farm industry in Louisiana as the American economy begins to sink into recession. There is no provision in HB 1270 about mitigating pollution problems associated with ethanol but the bill takes an important first step in taking local approaches to fuel production.
