August 7, 2006—Touting the economic and environmental benefits of bioenergy, Gov. Schwarzenegger announced the Bioenergy Action Plan, which outlines ways for California to bring alternative energy into the mainstream and reduce dependency on foreign fossil fuels.
Biofuels, such as ethanol, can be developed from specially grown crops such as corn and sugar cane, to produce clean, renewable transportation fuels or electricity. Fuels can also be developed from naturally occurring waste, such as rice straw, animal waste and municipal solid waste. The governor announced the action plan after touring the Pacific Ethanol plant in Madera County that will come online within the next few months to produce 35 million gallons of ethanol annually.
The Bioenergy Action Plan focuses on ways to create a positive environment for bioenergy development to help attract new facilities and investment in California. It commits state agencies to take detailed actions within a specific timeframe to advance the use of bioenergy in California. The plan is also designed to improve state agency coordination on bioenergy and expand and accelerate research and development, including partnerships with the federal government and private sector.
The plan was compiled by an interagency task force established by the Governor last year. The task force, led by the California Energy Commission (CEC), held a public workshop on March 9, 2006 and gathered input from more than sixty stakeholders.
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