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Jun 29, 2007 12:15 PM

A proposal in Congress that would provide a tax credit for all producers of alcohol fuels from cellulosic biomass would encourage rapid growth in production of cellulosic ethanol and other alternative fuels, according to the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

The organization's president, Jim Greenwood, said the legislation introduced June 20 by the House Ways and Means Committee would provide a first-of-its-kind incentive for biofuel producers to begin using cellulosic biomass.

Innovative biofuels companies are right now beginning to take the technology from the laboratory to small-scale facilities and to begin production of cellulosic ethanol, using biomass sources from every part of the country – everything from crop residues in the Midwest to paper mill waste in the Northeast," Greenwood stated in a news release. "BIO has long advocated a tax incentive such as that proposed today to help the pioneer producers overcome the increased risk associated with bringing cellulosic biofuels to the marketplace. BIO also advocates continued investment in research and development that includes construction of demonstration facilities, which is necessary to improve technologies to produce biofuels.”