The Department of Agriculture is scrambling in the closing months of the Biden administration to prove that ethanol can be good for the climate.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack noted the tight timeline in an address Thursday to the American Coalition for Ethanol, telling biofuel supporters USDA wants biofuels to play a key role in a clean energy tax credit due to take effect next year.
“We understand very well the significance and the importance of the next several months in this process,” Vilsack told the group gathered in Omaha, Nebraska.
Officials at USDA have been poring over 260 responses to a formal request for information from the agency on which biofuels can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to petroleum and how to grow them to maximize the benefit.
