Sustainable Bioenergy, Farms, and Forests - November 3, 2017 | Newsletter

Republican Tax Package Leaves Out “Orphaned” Renewables, Biodiesel

On November 2, House leaders announced their Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1). Among the major proposed changes to the U.S. tax code, there are significant changes to the tax incentives offered to the renewables sector which would chill investments in solar and wind technologies. However, most notably for biomass supporters, the plan does not address the “orphaned” technologies, so-called because they were left out of the last production tax credit (PTC) extension in 2015. Additionally, the package does not include an extension of the biodiesel tax credit, which expired at the end of 2016.

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Climate Change’s Compounding Effect on California Wildfires

Wildfires have burned almost nine million acres of land across the West this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Dozens of lives have been lost, thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate from their homes, and the U.S. Forest Service spent $2.41 billion in fiscal year 2017 to put out the fires. The agency had to borrow $576.5 million to cover the costs of fire suppression through the end of the year, and the fires are continuing to burn into fiscal year 2018. Amid a series of other natural disasters and national and international crises, the U.S. government faces a host of serious decisions on how to mitigate future threats as well as recover from recent disasters.

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Headlines:

1. Humans to Blame for Global Warming, Massive Federal Government Report Says

2. DowDuPont to Exit Cellulosic Biofuels Business

3. Sam Clovis Withdraws His Nomination for USDA’s Top Scientist Post After Being Linked to Russia Probe

4. US EPA Sends Final RFS Volumes to White House For Review

5. Icahn Refinery Cuts Biofuels Short Amid Reform Standstill

Upcoming Briefing:

Can Fuel Efficiency Standards Be Met Cost-Effectively?
The Potential for High-Octane, Low-Carbon Fuels

Monday, November 13
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Room 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Constitution Avenue and 1st Street, NE

Please RSVP to expedite check-in

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing examining how high-octane, low-carbon fuel can enable CAFE compliance. Research suggests that high-octane, low-carbon fuel is the lowest-cost compliance option for both consumers and the automotive industry. To cut petroleum usage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fuel efficiency standards are set to rise significantly by 2025 under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and greenhouse gas (GHG) standards—jointly administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and EPA. However, the automotive marketplace has changed significantly since the standards were written in 2009. Sustained low gas prices and the growing popularity of trucks and SUVs have led the auto industry to claim that it will be impossible to meet both 2025 and long-term efficiency standards without significant changes to the programs. Fortunately, there is another low-cost pathway available to regulators to preserve strong fuel efficiency standards and improve fuel quality.

To Contact the Editor: Jessie Stolark at [email protected]

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