Testifying before the U.S. House Small Business Committee's Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade, Michael McAdams, president, Advanced Biofuels Association – ABFA, said he is, "proud to report to this Committee and to this Congress that America's domestic advanced biofuels industry has moved from the beaker to the barrel, all in record time. And like most parts of our nation's economy, small business and American ingenuity are proving to be the engine driving our success."
McAdams began his testimony, "Let me start today by sharing some of the biggest success stories which have occurred over the last year. The Air Force has flown the F-16/Thunderbirds on a mixture of advanced biofuels, the navy has tested advanced biofuels in ships and vehicles, and the commercial sector has flown the first cross country flight on a blend of renewable jet fuel."
"We have one member, Dynamic Fuels, producing a million gallons of renewable jet and renewable diesel a week, and have five members who have gone public. In addition, two Colorado member companies are preparing to deploy their innovative technologies in the near term."
"Gevo, which will produce an isobutanol, a drop in, fungible fuel, will commission its 18 million gallon plant in June of this year in Luverne, Minnesota. While Sundrop Fuels is on target to break ground to build a 50 million gallon cellulosic gasoline plant in Louisiana this year."
McAdams also noted, "the single most important policy component is the Renewable Fuels Standard, passed overwhelmingly in 2007 by a bipartisan Congress and signed into law by President Bush. Although it is not perfect, it is fundamentally important that the Congress continue to send a strong bipartisan signal of support for this policy if we wish to continue the remarkable progress and grow an advanced biofuels industry."
He concluded his testimony, "We believe we can and should be a fundamental part of an American energy policy that adopts a portfolio approach. As I have shared with you this morning, we are already starting to see advanced biofuels delivering on its promise of creating new jobs, and helping to strengthen our nation's economic and energy security."
