BioEnergy Producers Association

California's biobased industries are united under the banner of the BioEnergy Producers Association to promote the development of a positive statutory and regulatory environment for bioenergy production in the State of California.

For seven years, Democrats on California's environmental committees have blocked legislation sponsored by this Association necessary to correct scientifically inaccurate definitions and other antiquated provisions in statute that would enable the production of advanced non-food derived biofuels and renewable electricity from organic wastes.

During this time, the state has placed in landfills approximately 280 million tons of post-recycled solid waste, one of the state’s most readily available and environmentally favorable sources of energy. Theoretically, that is enough to annually co-produce approximately 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol and 1,250 MW of power.

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, a comprehensive initiative, AB 222, designed to correct these provisions, passed the California State Assembly by a vote of 54-13 and was ready for final Senate passage and signature by the Governor when the five Democrats on the Senate Environmental Quality Committee demanded to hear the bill.  After claiming publicly that they were interested in compromise that would provide a starting point for conversion technologies in the state, they stripped the bill of its essential elements and produced amendments that would have made it even more difficult to utilize California's vast resource of organic wastes as feedstocks for renewable energy production.

The Committee swept aside--literally ignored--AB 222 endorsements by more than 100 organizations, including the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission and CalRecycle (the former Integrated Waste Management Board). CLICK HERE to read their letter.

As a result of the continuing statutory and regulatory uncertainty, California-based bioenergy companies have now located, or moved out of the state, approximately $1 billion in commercial plant construction.

Late in 2010, CalRecycle issued rulings, as requested by several companies, that their technologies could comply with the intent of the definition of gasification in statute, following which, as one example, Plasco Energy of Canada, received confirmation from the California Energy Commission that, as per its existing RPS guidance document, electricity produced using their technology would qualify as renewable in the state. (See "News & Commentary" page for further coverage.)  In reliance upon this ruling, the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority is now acting as the lead agency in preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the installation of a Plasco Conversion System that would convert post-recycled municipal solid waste into electricity and usable co-products.

However, in 2011, the office of Senator Darrell Steinberg, President Pro Tem of the State Senate, wrote to the Brown administration demanding rescission of this ruling--a frontal attack on the waste-to-clean energy industry and a signal that the state's legislature, at least a small, controlling minority of its Democrats--is not interested in addressing such issues as national security, energy independence, low-cost renewable energy production, jobs and an improved environment by using as feedstocks for renewable energy production the 30 million tons of post-recycled municipal waste that are placed in landfills each year. Senator David A. Roberti (ret.), President of the BioEnergy Producers Association, wrote an opinion page article on these issues for the San Jose Mercury News.  To read his comments, CLICK HERE.