EPA Proposes Poplar, Willow Trees For Ethanol In U.S. Biofuel Rule Tweak

Oct 05, 2016

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed tweaks to its Renewable Fuel Standard that would allow biofuels to be processed at more than one location and would allow cellulosic ethanol to be made from poplar and willow trees.

EPA also proposed new quality standards and environmental performance guidelines for biofuel blends containing 16 to 83 percent ethanol, and the agency is taking comments on the proposal for the next 60 days before it is approved.

The Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, was enacted in 2007 and designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost use of advanced fuels such as cellulosic ethanol. However, critics say regulatory delays have contributed to slow growth in next-generation fuels.

EPA proposed adding hybrid poplar trees and willow trees as materials approved for production of cellulosic biofuel. DuPont Co and Poet LLC already produce small amounts of cellulosic ethanol made from crop waste such as corn stalks.

The change that would allow biofuel makers to partially process a feedstock at one location and further process into an biofuel at another location would “increase the economics and efficiency for the production of biofuels, particularly advanced and cellulosic fuels that have the lower carbon footprints,” the EPA said in a summary of the proposal.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.