Road to a Clean Energy Future Runs through Rural America
From starches, crop oils and animal fats to cellulose and methane, America’s farms, ranches and forests are capable of supplying much needed bioenergy feedstocks without compromising their ability to feed and clothe much of the world. Our rural areas can also be a bountiful source of wind, water, solar and geothermal power and a highly effective sink for carbon. And all the while, they can provide needed environmental services such as protecting and improving soil, water and air quality, enhancing wildlife habitat and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In approving several biofuel policies last month, the Obama administration has offered a good start on tapping into the energy potential of rural America. Now, with what appears to be a renewed focus on energy legislation on Capitol Hill, the White House and Congress need to maintain that momentum by agreeing on a stable, long-term, comprehensive energy plan and policy platform that creates new markets for renewable energy solutions from the land. And it’s time for all renewable energy stakeholders to engage with policy makers to bring about a secure framework for new and innovative means of production.
Such a plan enhances predictability and will build confidence among investors. With financial backing and the strength, creativity and productivity of bioenergy entrepreneurs, America’s farmers and foresters will rise to the challenge of feeding and fueling the nation. The key to success is giving the markets and innovators the lead to blaze new paths. The temptation to try to add more regulation to the mix, to over-steer, must be resisted. Any farmer will tell you that you can’t regulate a crop or a calf into growing. It takes planning, nurturing, patience and a little faith in the process.
Farmers, ranchers and foresters operate on a long horizon. What they plant this spring is often tied to crops years in the future. Shifting to energy crops such as those that may be grown for biomass or managed to sequester carbon requires many to make substantial investments in production and handling equipment. If we’re going to ask our nation’s farmers to stake their families’ future on renewable energy, we have to provide them with the security of a solid, long-term policy and strong market signals. That requires the harmonization of our food, energy and environmental policies. Energy security, national security and food security are all inextricably linked to each other and to how we treat our environment.
To reinforce the message and keep policy makers on a path that nurtures the clean energy sector, all stakeholders, from farms and forests to laboratories, board rooms and committee chambers, need to play a role in shaping integrated policies that meet the needs of the market and the goals set by the Congress.
It’s time for farmers, ranchers and forest managers, along with conservation, energy and business leaders to come together and forge consensus on energy and climate policies that makes sense. We need to listen to each other – really hear each other – and find ways to collaborate. The energy, the security, the jobs and the innovation are going to come from the field, from finding ways to use our land resources to address our food and energy needs and our environmental goals.
Clearly, creating a thriving renewable energy sector is about more than just tripling our biofuels production within the next 12 years, or even meeting 25 percent of our energy from renewable sources by 2025, as advocated by 25x’25. The White House planted a great seed and put down the first application of fertilizer. It’s up to all stakeholders to work together and start cultivating our home-grown, clean energy sector with a stable, long-term energy policy so that it becomes a cornerstone of America’s new energy future.
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