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U.S. Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, John Thune, R-S.D., and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., recently introduced legislation that authorizes loan guarantees for the construction of renewable fuel pipeline projects.
In February, Reps. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, and Lee Terry, R-Neb., introduced the Renewable Fuel Pipeline Act, which would qualify a renewable fuel pipeline as an eligible project under the federal loan guarantee program within the U.S. Department of Energy.
While the Midwest and Plains states produce the majority of the biofuels in the United States, the nation is currently lacking the infrastructure to efficiently transport these liquid fuels to population centers in the East and elsewhere. This bill will address this issue by encouraging the construction and use of pipelines which can easily transport these fuels in a clean, safe and cost efficient manner.
In March ethanol producer Poet joined Magellan Midstream Partners in studying the feasibility of building a pipeline from Northwest Iowa to the East Coast. The companies stated federal loan guarantee authorization is a must before the pipeline will be built.
According to a statement from the senators, when compared to other forms of biofuel transportation, pipelines have the lowest energy input requirements and produce the least amount of carbon emissions. In fact, pipelines produce 30% less emissions than railcars and 87% less than trucks. Pipeline transport of biofuels is also safer than using trucks or trains. In addition to these efficiency and safety advantages, it is estimated that the construction projects related to the renewable fuel pipelines will create up to 25,000 jobs nationally. Thune added the pipelines will create an estimated 25 jobs for every $1 million of construction.
Policy is one of the most important issues facing farmers today, but often the most difficult to digest. Jacqui Fatka has a passion to decode the often difficult world of agricultural policy into terms understandable for today's ag players.
Fatka joined the Farm Progress team as E-Content Editor in August 2003 after graduating from Iowa State University. Prior to full-time employment with Farm Progress, she interned at Wallaces Farmer magazine, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley's press office and the Iowa Pork Producers Association and freelanced for National Hog Farmer. She also worked as a public relations consultant with Iowa Industries for the Future, an effort to bring together major players in the biorenewables industry.
Currently Fatka is a staff editor at a sister publication, Feedstuffs. For Farm Futures she regularly tells the story of ongoing agricultural policy changes. Her byline can also be found on management profiles.
Fatka grew up on a grain and livestock farm near Atlantic, Iowa. She currently lives in central Ohio with her husband Eric.
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