Research news uels Biofuels caught in changing regulations The role of land-use changes and carbon emissions is being debated by scientists and policymakers alifornia’s new regulations for transportation- based Joint BioEnergy Institute. “But the science fuel carbon emissions are shaking up the bio- hasn’t changed at all.” fuelsC industry. When biofuels first took off, corn What has changed is the way California esti- ethanol was touted as having the potential to cut mates carbon emissions from transportation fuels. carbon emissions by nearly 20%. But now the carbon Under the LCFS, the carbon intensity of a fuel ac- intensity of corn ethanol can exceed that of gasoline counts for all emissions, from production to use. In under the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), addition, crop-based biofuels are accountable for which was adopted in April 2009 and requires a 10% emissions from converting wildlands to agriculture cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020. Moreover, because this releases plant and soil carbon dioxide the impact of the new regulations could be wide- into the atmosphere. spread because they are set to be the basis of fuel Called land-use changes, these conversions can standards elsewhere in the country and world. be direct or indirect. The former include conver- “Two years ago crop biofuels were elevated as sions of nonagricultural land to cornfield, while the saviors, now they’re seen as a negative force,” says latter include conversions of soybean to corn field Pamela Ronald, a UC Davis plant pathologist and that in turn result in nonagricultural land–to-soy- vice president of feedstocks at the Emeryville- bean conversions elsewhere, to satisfy global de- mand. Including indirect land-use change is what bumped up corn ethanol’s average carbon intensity in the new regulations. UC San Diego Controversy over indirect land-use change Scientists are mixed on holding biofuels ac- countable for indirect land-use changes. Opponents include David Zilberman, a UC Berkeley agricul- tural and resource economist. “It’s arbitrary, dif- ficult to calculate and damaging in the long run,” he says. “It will impede the industry. People will think twice about investing in advanced, second- generation biofuels.” On top of that, Zilberman does not think the new regulations will work. “It’s like a band-aid. The state is trying to solve a global problem with a local solution,” he says. Instead, Zilberman advo- Jim Demattia cates accounting for just direct carbon emissions combined with land protections such as ecological service–based fees or bans on biofuels produced from converted wildlands. Similarly, Ronald and more than 100 other California scientists signed a letter in March 2009 asking the state not to penalize biofuels for indirect land-use changes. “It doesn’t make sense to burn down tropical forests or use really fertile agricul- tural land for crop biofuels, because there are other ways to produce biofuels,” Ronald says. “The biofuel The San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology (SD-CAB), a partnership led by UC industry can plant perennial grasses rather than San Diego, is developing innovative methods for converting algae into biofuels. corn on marginal or abandoned agricultural lands.” Top, postdoctoral associate Dawn Adin examines streaks of algae in the lab of The biofuel industry also has options even un- Susan Golden, UC San Diego professor of biological sciences. Above, “raceway” ponds at a 40-acre algae farm located east of the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley der the new LCFS. For example, corn ethanol’s car- circulate 20,000 to 37,000 gallons of growing algae to test the feasibility of large- bon intensity varies with the production method, scale commercial production. ranging from 10% more than gasoline for biorefin- 162 CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE • VOLUME 63, NUMBER 4 UC biofuel research centers Bioenergy Research Group (BERG): Established in 2005, BERG is part of the UC Davis Energy Institute and includes more than 100 campus researchers from across the sciences and eco- nomics. BERG focuses on bioenergy develop- ment and policy, and includes work funded by a 5-year, $25 million grant from Chevron for Roy Kaltschmidt/Lawrence Berkeley Nat'l Laboratory Roy Kaltschmidt/Lawrence Berkeley developing affordable, renewable transporta- tion fuels from farm and forest residues, urban wastes and crops grown specifically for energy (bioenergy.ucdavis.edu). California Biomass Collaborative (CBC): CBC is part of the statewide California Renewable Energy Collaborative, which is managed by the UC Davis Energy Institute, and includes more than 500 members from government, industry, U.S. Department of Energy undersecretary Kristina Johnson (left) academia and environmental organizations. discusses Arabidopsis plants with Josh Heazlewood, the Joint BioEnergy Institute's director of systems biology. Established 2003, CBC has a 2-year, $800,000 grant from the California Energy Commission to coordinate the development of sustainable eries fired by coal to nearly 20% less than gasoline bioenergy, focusing on feedstock supply, energy for those fired by natural gas, and lower still for conversion and environmental impacts those fired by biomass. “The LCFS is a performance (biomass.ucdavis.edu). standard, so the industry can make changes to meet the requirements,” says Bryan Jenkins, a UC Davis Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI): Established biological and agricultural engineer who directs both in 2007, EBI is a partnership of UC Berkeley, the the UC Davis Energy Institute and the California Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Renewable Energy Collaborative. the University of Illinois. With a 10-year, $500 Supporters of California’s approach to biofuel million commitment from BP, more than 300 standards include Chris Somerville, a UC Berkeley researchers will initially focus on developing plant biologist who directs the UC Berkeley–based clean next-generation biofuel from sustainable Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI). “In my opinion, sources such as nonfood crops. EBI provides the sole purpose of biofuels is to do something that’s data to help policymakers minimize the envi- environmentally positive, and the argument for in- ronmental impacts of biofuels. (see page 165) cluding indirect land-use change is good,” he says. (www.energybioscienceinstitute.org). However, Somerville cautions that further evaluation is needed before calculating carbon emissions from Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI): Led by Law- indirect land-use changes. rence Berkeley National Laboratory, JBEI in- “The big question is how to calculate it — the data cludes Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence are not good,” Somerville says, adding that so far the Livermore National Laboratory, UC Berkeley state has set standards for only corn and sugar cane and UC Davis, and the Carnegie Institution ethanol, and that EBI economics research will help for Science. One of three such centers nation- the state set standards for additional biofuels. About wide funded by the U.S. Department of Energy 90% of conventional biofuels are bioethanols from a (DOE), JBEI was established in 2008 with a variety of starch- or sugar-rich crops, and the rest are 5-year, $135 million DOE grant, and focuses on biodiesels from vegetable oil, used cooking oil and developing the next generation of biofuels from animal fat. plant biomass. (www.jbei.org). Beyond California San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology (SD- The controversy over California’s LCFS notwith- CAB): Established in 2008, SD-CAB is a partner- standing, more states may be poised to adopt similar ship of UC San Diego, Scripps Institution of regulations. Eleven Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic Oceanography, The Scripps Research Institute states have committed to developing a regional LCFS and private industry. SD-CAB’s goal is develop- based on California’s, and they expect to draft a ing biofuels from algae, fast-growing plants that memorandum of understanding (MOU) by the end of thrive in salt water and wastewater, and can 2009. Likewise, British Columbia and Ontario signed yield up to 50 times more oil per acre than food a 2007 MOU to match California’s LCFS. crops (algae.ucsd.edu). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also included accounting for indirect land-use changes in http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.org • OctOBER–DEcEMBER 2009 163 Research news Eucalyptus Switchgrass Poplar Rice Photo credits, left to right: Potential biofuels, left to right. Biomass from eucalyptus, an oily Australian hardwood, could be heated at high Roy Kaltschmidt/Lawrence Berkeley temperatures to produce “bio-oil” for fuel. Native to the North American prairie, switchgrass has been used for Nat'l Laboratory; Peggy Greb/ conservation plantings and cattle feed; it produces high yields with minimal inputs, and can sequester carbon in soils for USDA-ARS; Stephen Ausmus/USDA- extended periods. Poplar hybrid trees are characterized by rapid growth and easy propagation. Rice hulls are currently ARS; Wikimedia Commons * being burned for electricity, and rice straw can be converted into low-cost ethanol. a May 2009 proposal for new, national, renewable International Energy Association. Promising fuel standards. However, now the agency plans feedstocks for advanced biofuels include agri- to wait 5 years for further evaluation, Somerville cultural residue, which is plentiful in California; says. This approach is in keeping with that of the logging and tree thinning residue, which is European Union, which in 2008 adopted a revised plentiful in California and the Pacifi c Northwest; Fuel Quality Directive stipulating that biofuels switchgrass, which is native to Midwest; and mu- must be produced sustainably but waiting until the nicipal green waste. end of 2010 to set any standards accounting for in- Beyond carbon direct land-use changes. Other aspects of transportation-fuel standards The new California regulations could also fa- could also use re-evaluation, Jenkins says. For ex- vor biofuels from nonfood crops that are grown ample, currently indirect land-use change applies either in rotation with food crops or as cover only to biofuels, which could unfairly put them crops.