Web exclusive posted March 3, 2009, at 5:09 p.m. CST 

 
 On Feb. 24, the Biotechnology Industry Organization released a report by the Bio Economic Research Associates, which detailed the economic impact of the advanced biofuels portion of the U.S. renewable fuels standard (RFS), including jobs, economic growth and oil import displacement. Advanced biofuels include cellulosic biofuels and biomass-based biodiesel. 
 
 The report, titled "U.S. Economic Impact of Advanced Biofuels Production: Perspectives to 2030" coincides with Sandia National Laboratories and General Motors Corp.'s "90-Billion Gallon Biofuel Deployment Study," which was released in mid-February and found that the RFS mandate of producing 90 billion gallons of biofuels by 2030 is achievable and sustainable. (Read <a href="http://www.ethanolproducer.com/article.jsp?article_id=5381&q=90%20billion&category_id=45">"Study: Renewable fuels standard is achievable."</a>) 
 
 "This new report compliments that study, which investigates the challenges and feasibility of increasing biofuel production targets of 60 to 90 billion gallons," said Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO's industrial and environmental section. "Using relatively conservative assumptions about crop labs and technology development, the Sandia study found that there are no significant economic barriers to developing a large-scale advanced biofuels industry. The current report by bio-era shows that the economic impact of continuing the deployment of advanced biofuels could be very significant."
 
 Erickson said that building advanced biofuels capacity will create new jobs in sectors that have been hard-hit by job losses over the past few months, such as agriculture engineering and processing. 
 
 James Newcomb, principal of bio-era and author of the report, said the organization looked at a range of economic metrics to understand the potential impact of advanced biofuel production over the decades ahead. "Those principle metrics are investment, economic output, job creation and petroleum import cost reduction," he said.
 
 The first threshold for the analyses was to look at implications of meeting the level of advanced biofuel production specified in the RFS — 21 billion gallons by 2022. "If we look at trajectory beyond that period, if investments were sustained at the same rate that occurs until 2022, that puts us on track for 45 billion gallons of advanced biofuel production by 2030," Newcomb said. "And this is consistent with the 90 billion gallons that was studied in the Sandia report. These reports tie together quite closely in terms of analytical framework and underlying assumptions, and we've also coordinated and cross-checked assumptions in terms of investment requirement for new biofuels production and the potential feedstocks to supply it."
 
 According to Newcomb, the study included reviewing two dozen individual studies published in independent journals. "A combination of engineering, and input-output analyses of economic impacts of biofuels production," he said. "Most were done at the level of an individual plant—few of them encompassed a regional or state business, so this study was the first of its kind to take that work as a foundation and build a national perspective looking out over the next few decades."
 

 Newcomb said the first step in the study was to conduct a meta-analysis of the two dozen studies, and from that work, build a foundation of assumptions built around capital and operating costs, feedstock production, biofuels transport and distribution costs. It was subject to independent review that was supported by BIO, a number of its members and bio-era industry contacts.
 
 "We aimed at a set of assumptions that are not pushing the envelope in terms of being the most optimistic for the technology," Newcomb said. "But rather the middle of the road—based on the best understanding today of the costs and the advancement of the technologies that we can see on the horizon." 
 
 According to Newcomb, some of the top implications of the study were: 
 <ul>	<li>The creation of nearly 200,000 jobs by 2022, and up to 800,000 jobs from the advanced biofuel industry's total economic impact. Nearly 80 percent of the jobs will be in areas of agriculture, engineering and construction and procurement.</li>
 	<li>The creation of 400,000 jobs by 2030, and up to 1.9 million jobs from total economic impact. </li>
 	<li>A direct annual contribution to the U.S. economic growth of $37 billion by 2022, with a full economic impact of about $150 billion. A direct annual contribution of over $100 billion by 2030, and a total economic impact of $300 billion.</li>
 	<li>A reduced annual oil import bill of about $23 billion by 2016; $70 billion by 2022; with accumulative total of better than $350 billion between 2009 and 2022. </li></ul>

 
 To view a full copy of the report, visit <a href="http://www.bio.org/EconomicImpactAdvancedBiofuels.pdf">www.bio.org/EconomicImpactAdvancedBiofuels.pdf</a>.

Study: RFS advanced biofuel requirement could create 800,000 jobs

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Study: RFS advanced biofuel requirement could create 800,000 jobs