The Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) this week urged Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member Pat Roberts (R-KS) to include two key tax extensions for advanced and cellulosic ethanol producers in the next farm bill.

In a letter to the committee leaders, AEC Executive Director Brooke Coleman wrote, “The Cellulosic Biofuels Producer Tax Credit (PTC) — created in the 2008 Farm Bill — and the Special Depreciation Allowance for Cellulosic Biofuel Plant Property are vital to the ongoing development of the domestic advanced ethanol industry. … Several billion dollars have been invested in advanced biofuels development with the expectation that Congress will stay the course with regard to its commitment to the industry. A tax increase on advanced biofuels at this time would curtail investment and undercut an industry just starting to close deals and break ground on first commercial plants.”

Beyond the tax extension, Coleman also highlighted four areas in which the Farm Bill could help accelerate the commercialization of advanced and cellulosic ethanol technologies. These areas include extending the USDA Loan Guarantee program for biorefinery projects with changes to facilitate participation by lending institutions.

Also, Coleman asked for support of USDA’s efforts to build out ethanol refueling infrastructure via the Rural Energy for America Program to allow ethanol to compete in the market based on price, reform the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, and modify the Repowering Assistance program to help existing bio-refining operations deploy advanced ethanol technologies and feedstock utilization.

Read the entire letter here.