the Organic Review: USDA Wasting $19.4 Million of Taxpayer Money on Funding Biofuel Production?

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by Ali Papademetriou

Last week, Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, declared funding for over one hundred advanced biofuel producers scattered throughout the United States, to hopefully support production and expansion of advanced biofuels from a wide variety of sources.

Financing is being provided through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Bioenergy program for Advanced Biofuels, which was constituted in the ‘Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008’, or commonly known as the Farm Bill. It’s explained in the Bioenergy program that payments are made to eligible biofuel producers. Eligibility is based on the amount of biofuels that the recipient produces from renewable biomass other than corn kernel starch.

USDA announced 19.4 million dollars in payments to 125 local producers of feedstocks for biofuels. Examples of qualified feedstocks are crop residue, animal, food and yard waste material, vegetable oil, and animal fat. The USDA is en route to support the research, investment, and infrastructure necessary to build a biofuel industry with plans of creating jobs and widening the range of feedstocks used to develop renewable fuels.

Mr. Vilsack explained, “Advanced biofuels are a key component of President Obama’s ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy to reduce the Nation’s reliance on foreign oil and take control of America’s energy future.” Concluding that, “these payments represent help to spur an alternative fuels industry using renewable feedstocks grown in America, broadening the range of feedstock options available to biofuels producers, helping to create an economy built to last.”

Despite vowing to help create an economy “built to last”, many other programs that the federal government has created since Obama’s administration was appointed have resulted in failure. Solyndra, a green energy company, which closed its doors in August of 2011, borrowed $500,000,000 million. In January of 2012 another large green energy group went bankrupt, Ener1, receiving $118 million in government grants. Three months later, Solar Trust of America, an Oakland-based funded $2 billion shutdown after going bankrupt. As SpreadLibertyNews reported  both Abound Solar, a Colorado energy group and Amonix, a Nevada solar company, went bankrupt in June and July, showing a huge flaw in government funded programs.

Although the ‘Bioenergy program for Advanced Biofuels’ is not exactly a solar energy company or relevant to the companies listed, United States’ federal government funds them all. With an understanding of the other “programs” funded, it would be logical to say funding another “program” through government is not a smart move.