The amount of biofuels being produced in the world will double between 2010 and 2030… and that represents a significant increase from previous U.S. government estimates of how much ethanol and biodiesel will be produced in the future.
This story from Reuters says a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration says biofuels will be “an increasingly important source” of global energy supplies over the next two decades:
Global biofuels production will rise from 1.3 million barrels per day in 2010 to 2.7 million bpd in 2030, with the United States accounting for almost half that growth, EIA said in its new long-term forecast.
The forecast marks a big jump from the EIA’s previous estimate of 1.7 million bpd of biofuels production by 2030.
The boost will help renewable fuels take up about 8.5 percent of global energy use by 2030, up from about 7.7 percent in 2005, the EIA said.
The report goes on to say that U.S. biofuels output will grow from half a million barrels each day in 2010 to 1.2 million barrels each day in 2030.
A group of junior high students from Boise, Idaho has won first place in the National Fuel Cell Competition at the 2008 National Middle School Science Bowl in Golden, Colo.
“This year we got a monster trophy, so we can show everybody this is what we did and this is what we got,” said Eddie Smith, an eighth grader on the team.
On May 25th, 2008, an F5 tornado ripped through the town of Parkersburg, Iowa… killing six people and practically wiping out the small town in Northeast Iowa. Now, with some help from biodiesel, the town is rebuilding.
Due to the current market volatility, 
To wrap things up here at the Farm Foundation Transition To A Bio Economy conference I spoke with board member, Cornelius Gallagher. He says the conference brought together world class leaders who were able to listen to some fantastic presentations. I’ve posted interviews with almost all of them so please scroll back through them.
What we know and what we need to know was Peggy Caswell’s, USDA-ERS, topic here at the Farm Foundation Transition To A Bio Economy conference. She says we need to know things about how farmers or the providers of biofuels and feed stocks are going to have to change the way they do business. She used the example of having to look at different types of contracts and financing.
The issue of investment and financing for ethanol plants and bio refineries in general was addressed today by Chris Groobey, Baker & McKenzie, LLP. He works on project financing with investors and lenders and mostly in renewable fuels. He painted a pretty bleak picture.
Our USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics is Gale Buchanan. He was here at the Transition To A Bio Economy conference to talk about the need for research in a growing bio economy. In fact, he sees a need for a tremendous amount of research to address the opportunities presented by the whole energy picture.
When it comes to infrastructure needs for a bio economy our rural road system is a key component. To speak about it here at the Transition To A Bio Economy conference we heard from Frank Dooley, Purdue University. He sees a big increase in grain production, primarily in the midwest. With that comes a growing demand for transportation. He thinks we should be concerned because most of the corn will be moved by truck and that’s going to impact rural roads. He also sees an increase in rail transportation but not significantly.