Administration invests in biofuels for future growth

America's renewable energy industry has quickly expanded and evolved since 2009 when President Barack Obama's administration embraced an 'all-of-the-above' energy strategy. Since then, we have more than doubled renewable energy production, and today we import less than half our oil. We are saving Americans money at the pump with improved and expanded ethanol and biodiesel production. Our national security has been bolstered because we are more energy secure and also because our nation's military is a major commercial customer for U.S. biofuels. We're also combating climate change with investments in technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And we're building our economy by exporting U.S. biofuels to other nations, creating good jobs in small towns and rural communities like Eastern Iowa.

There are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of the bio-economy and the role biofuels and advanced biofuels will play in that future, and I am confident we have acted aggressively to expand the groundwork to support that brighter future. At USDA, expansion of renewable fuels is a key component of a four-part strategy focused on helping rural America grow and thrive, and our commitment to biofuels under since 2009 has been unshakable. The strategy is comprehensive, from seeds in the ground, to research, to distribution infrastructure, to military ships and planes defending our nation in distant seas.

Since 2009, USDA has provided financial tools to support more than 850 farmers under the Biomass Crop Assistance Program to plant and raise non-food feedstocks on more than 50,000 acres. The Poet plant in Emmetsburg is a great example of these investments. We're also investing in advanced biofuels production. Since 2009, USDA has provided $280 million to more than 350 producers in 47 states to produce nearly 6 billion gallons of advanced biofuel.

We have invested more than $330 million in cutting-edge research at land grant universities across the country, including Iowa State, to look at genomic research and uses for untraditional items like agricultural waste and algae. At the same time, USDA has established six regional research centers to ensure biofuels production is profitable and available to all rural areas.

Hard infrastructure is also important, like the E85 gas pumps we see popping up across the country. We need more infrastructure to drive demand, so we've invested more than $750 million in loan guarantees for nine biofuel refinery plants, such as the Fiberight Plant outside of Cedar Rapids. We're also using existing authorities to support producers in times of sagging crop prices and decreased demand due to disasters such as highly pathogenic bird flu. That is why this past week I visited Florida to announce $100 million in grants through the Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership (BIP) to nearly double the number of fueling pumps that supply higher blends of renewable fuel, such as E15 and E85, to motorists nationwide. With matching commitments by state and private entities, BIP is investing $210 million to strengthen the rural economy and deliver American-grown renewable fuels. That infrastructure also provides a foundation for next-generation biofuels like cellulosic ethanol.

The defense sector is another area that demonstrates the future is bright for renewables. Under this Administration, the federal government has committed $500 million to producing drop-in aviation and marine biofuel for the Navy so that 50 percent of its energy is generated from alternative sources by 2020. USDA has partnered with the Departments of Defense and Energy to build three facilities in three different parts of the country to help produce these aviation biofuels. Once the defense sector takes wing, I predict we're going to see the commercial aviation industry skyrocket. To lay this groundwork, USDA launched the Farm to Fly effort in collaboration with the commercial aviation industry to produce 1 billion gallons of biofuel for commercial airlines by 2018.

Finally, under our leadership at USDA and thanks to the productivity and innovation of America's producers, U.S. agricultural exports since 2009 have achieved the strongest growth in our nation's history. With crop prices experiencing a decline, it is important that we continue to hold trading partners accountable for unfair barriers and to build new markets for U.S.-grown goods, including biofuels. As the second-largest energy consumer in the world, China represents a large prospective market for U.S. ethanol, but China does not currently allow the importation of ethanol for fuel use. So, for the first time ever last year, a USDA-led trade mission to China included representatives from the ethanol industry. That trade mission was critical in showing the Chinese an opportunity to import biofuels grown in the United States as they start to develop their own biofuel production capacity.

There are some who wish to pin the success or failure of ethanol, and by extension, renewable biofuels as a whole, on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) alone or the current Administration. That is just wrong. There is no question that this Administration's commitments and investments in biofuels have been significant and a reality for hundreds of thousands of Americans who have good paying jobs thanks to America's evolving renewables sector.

Today, U.S. biofuels is a sophisticated industry that has evolved to become economically competitive with gasoline. The RFS is one piece of that equation, but it is not the only piece.

• Thomas J. Vilsack is the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former governor of Iowa. Comments: (202) 720-7100; agsec@usda.gov