Actions

Immediate (within 10 years-230 million tons/year)

Continuing (over the next 20 years-700 million tons/year)

Reseaech & development /Policy Focus

 Areas to Achive Goals

Resource Assessment

• Produce accessible state/regional inventories of current and projected cellulosic feedstocks.
• Policy: Expand national crop yield databases to include cellulosic feedstocks.
• Expand the national databases to include geospatial reports and crop model-based predictions for cellulosic commodity production and future trading.

Agronomic Systems

• Develop sustainable, site-specific guidelines and practices for crop residue removal that do not violate agronomic constraints or impair the environment.
• Develop agronomic systems that lower biomass production costs.
• Policy: Vastly increase research investments to develop systems that maximize sustainable production of biomass feedstock.
• Integrate new energy crops and management strategies into current cropping systems.
• Develop cropping systems to enhance annual capture of carbon on croplands and improve input use efficiency.
• Policy: Develop conversation programs and rules that accommodate and encourage sustainable production of cellulosic feedstock.

Crop Development

• Develop existing and new crops with enhanced cellulosic yield and ethanol conversion efficiencies.
• Policy: Increase investment in development of germplasm for new or unconventional crops with feedstock production potential.
• Deploy new high- yielding energy crops with significantly improved photosynthetic capacity   and increased stress tolerance.
• Policy: Implement policies and commodity programs that facilitate introduction and use of new cellulosic crops.

Feedstock Supply Logistics

• Develop engineered supply system technologies that reduce feedstock supply logistics costs to no more than 25% of total ethanol production costs.
• Policy: Implement financing, permitting and regulatory programs and policies encouraging the development of more efficient feedstock supply systems.
• Develop a common commodity- scale feedstock supply system for all cellulosic biomass resources, geographic regions, and conversion technologies.

Education and Extension

• Develop educational programs to train the professional work force needed for the bioeconomy.

• Create educational programs to advance public understanding of the new bioeconomy and need for stricter energy conversation policies.