BioEnergy Producers Association

The California Air Resources Board states that its Low Carbon Fuel  Standard “seeks to expand the market for electric and hydrogen-fueled vehicles and jump-start a host of futuristic biofuels” that will extend the nation’s production of ethanol beyond food-derived resources and reduce our dependence on petroleum.

AB 222, sponsored by the BioEnergy Producers Association, seeks to implement those goals.  It passed the State Assembly by a vote of 54-13 in June, 2009, following unanimous approval by the Utilities and Commerce Committee.  In July, it was approved by the Senate Utilities, Energy and Communications Committee.  

However, the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, failed to act on the bill, and left it for consideration during the 2010 legislative session. 

This legislation will expedite the production of renewable energy from carbon-based wastes, California’s most practical and locally available energy resources for the production of advanced biofuels and green power. (CLICK HERE to see a copy of the bill in its current form.)

Just from the 35.5 million tons of post-recycled municipal solid waste that California placed in landfills last year, these new technologies could produce 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol and some 1250 MW of power, providing jobs, economic stimulus and low-cost renewable energy for the people of California in the process, enabling California to become an exporter, rather than an importer of ethanol. The transportation cost of importing ethanol to California from the Midwest is estimated to be 16-18 cents per gallon.

The bill establishes in statute a broad-based definition of a “biorefinery,” which will expedite the permitting and implementation of a wide range of technologies that can use these sustainable resources as feedstocks for the production of biofuels and/or green power.  

(Some 50 biorefineries, as they are defined in AB 222, are now in development, construction or operation in North America, but virtually none of them are in California, because its antiquated statutes inhibit biobased technology developers and investment capital from pursuing projects in this state.  19 projects received grants for pilot or commercial plant construction from the U.S. Department of Energy in December 2009.)

The bill removes from statute a scientifically inaccurate definition of gasification, which requires zero emissions from the entire energy generation or biorefining process, a standard required of no other manufacturing facility in the state.

It will enable green power produced from the biogenic portion of urban wastes to qualify as renewable energy under the Renewable Portfolio Standard.

The legislation protects not only the existing recycling industry, but those companies that have made a significant investment in Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and transfer stations, while providing new tools for jurisdictions seeking alternatives to the landfilling of their post-recycled waste materials.

These technologies will enable California to achieve its environmental goals and create significant economic development, while being fully and explicitly protective of public health and safety and the environment.  AB 222 requires that these projects meet or exceed all standards set by the State’s Air Resources and Water Resources Control Boards and local districts governing environmental quality in California, or they won’t be allowed to operate.

The bipartisan bill is being co-authored by Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) and Anthony Adams (R-Hesperia).

David Roberti, President of the BioEnergy Producers Association and the former President Pro Tem of the State Senate, has noted that “If it had not been for the impact of the recession, California today would be landfilling the same amount of municipal waste as it was before the passage of AB 939 in 1989.   Population growth and Increased disposal have totally offset the progress made in recycling. 

“Our municipalities need new tools for processing and converting to beneficial use the post-recycled fraction of our municipal wastes streams.  While fully protecting current recycling practices in the state, AB 222 will help to accomplish these goals.  Like the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, it will place California at the forefront of developing advanced biofuels that can be sustainably produced from waste materials.”

Testifying as an expert witness for the Association during 2009's legislative committee hearings was Chip Clements, who has over 35 years of experience in the solid waste field.  He is an expert in the development of solid waste transfer stations and Material Recovery Facilities, having consulted on over 50 such projects throughout California.  He is currently serving on the consulting teams that are evaluating the feasibility and assisting in the development of conversion technologies for the City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, the County of Orange, the City of San Diego and the City and County of Santa Barbara. (CLICK HERE to read Clements' Testimony.)