Filed under: Biodiesel The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) boosted its 2012 goals for production of non-corn-based biofuels by about 36 percent, reflecting the federal government’s efforts to both cut its dependency on foreign oil and find alternatives to corn- and alcohol-based fuels. The EPA boosted its production goal for advanced biofuels, whose feedstocks range from sugarcane ethanol to algae, by 48 percent, while increasing its goal for cellulosic biofuels, or biofuels produced from grasses, wood and plants, by 34 percent. Production of biomass-based biodiesel is set to rise 25 percent next year, according to the EPA. The EPA also reiterated its goal set in June to boost renewable fuel production next year by 9 percent to 15.2 billion gallons, or 9.2 percent of total fuel production. Those numbers are up from the 13.95 billion gallons, or 8 percent of the fuel-production total, that the EPA set for 2011 . Annual increases in the EPA’s renewable-fuel production guidelines are in response to the Renewable Fuel Standard 2 (RFS2) and 2007′s Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), which in part set a U.S. production goal of 36 billion annual gallons of renewable fuel by 2022. What the new goals mean for the environment is debatable, given the issues surrounding the production of biofuels such as corn ethanol. Supporters say more ethanol production lessens domestic dependency on foreign oil and creates more farming jobs. But many environmentalists, academic researchers and economists have questioned using corn as a fuel feedstock, citing both spikes in corn prices that at times have exacerbated worldwide shortages of many grain-based foods, and environmental concerns related to potential waterway contamination from fertilizer and additional water and electricity requirements for corn production. Some of these issues may be mitigated by more production of second-generation ethanol from waste material, algae and other feedstocks instead of corn. Pressures to change are coming from all sides. Earlier this week, the United States Congress decided against extending corn-based ethanol subsidies in a move that’s drawn praise from environmental groups and taxpayer advocates. Continue reading EPA boosts production goal for advanced, cellulosic biofuels by more than a third EPA boosts production goal for advanced, cellulosic biofuels by more than a third originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments