Energy Bill Becomes Law
Posted on: Sunday, 24 February 2008, 03:00 CST
By Parkinson, Gerald
In December, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, an omnibus energy-policy law designed to enhance energy security through expanded use of renewable energy, energy savings and increased efficiency. Its three key provisions are changes to the renewable fuel standard (RFS), tighter corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards, and appliance and lighting efficiency standards. It also gives a boost to energy research and development, as well as carbon capture and sequestration. The bill extends and revises the RFS set by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which requires minimum levels of renewable materials in U.S. transportation fuel. The previous standard was 5.4 billion gal in 2008, rising to 7.5 billion gal in 2012. The new bill starts at 9.0 billion gal in 2008 and increases to 36 bilhon gal in 2022. Beginning in 2016, the RFS target will be met using 15 billion gal of conventional biofuels, while the remainder must be advanced biofuels, i.e., cellulosa ethanol and other biofuels derived from feedstock other than corn starch. The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to temporarily waive part of the biofuels mandate if it is determined that a significant renewable feedstock disruption or other market circumstance might occur.
Renewable fuels produced from new biorefineries will be required to yield at least a 20% reduction in the Hfecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to emissions from gasoline and diesel.
The biofuels infrastructure will get a boost from the legislation, which authorizes grants for research, development and demonstration (RD&D), as well as commercial applications of biofuels. Among the research areas to be studied are: the feasibility of algae as a biofuels feedstock, of constructing dedicated ethanol pipelines, and of using higher percentages of ethanol in fuel blends; the conversion of existing corn-based ethanol plants to produce cellulosic biofuels; and the adequacy of rail transportation for delivery of ethanol fuel. A university- based program for R&D on renewable energy technologies will give priority to schools in low-income and rural communities with proximity to trees dying of disease or insect infestation.
Environmental safeguards included in the bill continue the Clean Air Act's prohibition against the introduction of new fuels or fuel additives into commerce unless a waiver is granted by the EPA. Previously, if the agency failed to act within 180 days of receiving a request, the waiver was treated as granted. Now, new fuels and additives may be introduced only if the EPA explicitly grants a waiver, and it has 270 days to take action.
The new law requires a restructuring of the vehicle fuel-economy program. A single CAFE standard applicable to passenger cars and light trucks has been set at 35 mpg by model year 2020, and interim standards will apply beginning with model year 2011. Standards for "work trucks" and commercial medium- and heavy-duty on-highway vehicles will also be developed.
The standards will be based on vehicle attributes and expressed in the form of a mathematical function. Manufacturers will have to come within 92% of the standard for a given model year. They can earn credits for exceeding the standards in one vehicle class to offset, within limitations, the CAFE of a different vehicle class that is falling short of compliance, and tiiey can buy credits from and sell credits to other manufacturers. CAFE credits for producing flexible-fuel vehicles (FFV) will be phased out by model year 2020.
Improving energy efficiency
Energy efficiency, particularly as related to appliances and lighting, is an important focus of the legislation. The bill sets new efficiency standards for external power supplies, residential clothes washers, dishwashers, dehumidifiers, refrigerators and freezers, electric motors, and residential boilers, and allows the Dept. of Energy (DOE) to establish regional variations in standards for heating and air conditioning equipment. It also sets standards that increase the energy efficiency of lightbulbs by 30%, and effectively phases out most common types of incandescent lightbulbs by 2014.
The bill encourages the development of more energy-efficient "green" buildings through a zero-energy commercial buildings initiative. It sets a national goal to achieve zero-netenergy use for new commercial buildings built after 2025, and a further goal to retrofit all pre-2025 buildings for zero-net-energy use by 2050.
Federal buildings are subject to additional requirements. By 2015, they must reduce their total energy use, relative to 2005 levels, by 30%. New facilities and those undergoing major renovations must reduce fossilfuel use by 55%, relative to 2003 levels, by 2010, and eliminate fossil fuels altogether by 2030. Major replacements of installed equipment (e.g., heating and cooling systems), or renovations or expansions of existing space, must employ the most energyefficient designs, systems, equipment and controls that are lifecycle-costeffective. Federal agencies may not lease buildings that have not earned an EPA Energy Star label.
The law directs the DOE to conduct research on, develop and demonstrate new processes, technologies and operating practices to significantly improve the energy efficiency of equipment and processes used by energy-intensive industries. It directs the EPA to establish a recoverablewaste-energy inventory program, including an ongoing survey of all major industrial and large commercial combustion sources in the U.S.
Research and development
Provisions for accelerated research and development aim to expand the use of solar, geothermal, marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy, and to develop energy storage technologies for transportation and electric power. Various types of support are provided for accelerated R&D in such areas as: reducing the weight of motor vehicles to improve fuel efficiency without compromising passenger safety; developing advanced insulation with an R-value greater than R35 per inch; identifying replacements for 60-W incandescent lights and halogen lights; and developing a "twenty- first century lamp" that achieves certain output, efficiency and color targets. DOE will establish a cost-shared renewableenergy innovative manufacturing partnership program to support R&D on advanced manufacturing processes, materials and infrastructure for renewable energy technologies, including solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, energy storage, and fuel cell systems.
The bill expands DOE's program for carbon capture and sequestration R&D, which will include large-scale demonstration projects. Interdisciplinary graduate-degree programs emphasizing geologic sequestration science will be established, and a university- based R&D grant program will fund the study of carbon capture and sequestration using various types of coal.
Ethanol plants will become more common sights as fuel producers increase the amount of renewables in U.S. transportation fuel.
Copyright American Institute of Chemical Engineers Feb 2008
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