Biofuel - A 2% Trojan Horse

Mass. Heating Oil Dealers Starting to Supply Biofuel Blends:

As we reported August 21, a recent Massachusetts law requires that biofuel be mixed into home heating oil. Under the Clean Energy Biofuels Act, Massachusetts home heating oil and diesel fuel must contain 2 percent biofuel starting July 2010. The percent of biofuel then rises, with a target of 5 percent in 2013.

In addition to potentially lowering the carbon footprint of home heating, the biofuel component also contains no sulphur, reducing the overall sulphur content of the blended fuel. This means the fuel burns cleaner and more efficiently, reducing maintenance and cleaning costs. In the future, it may also allow heating systems to be built less expensively, since the cleaner fuel puts less stress on them.

Question marks remain, though. The EPA has not yet determined the greenhouse gas emissions of the renewable fuel, leaving it unclear just how much—or how little—biofuel blends will reduce emissions. It’s also unclear whether or not the mandate will be successfully met, since at present the state lacks the infrastructure to supply and blend sufficient quantities of biofuel. For heating oil consumers, the cost to blend in the biofuel raises the price of home heating oil fractionally—possibly by as little as $0.005 (half a cent) per gallon, but it’s still a cost.

Okay.

The state *lacks the infrastructure....to blend sufficient quantities of biofuel* and yet, somehow, it only adds half a penny in per gallon costs?

I smell BS.

And, let me just say that I'm not waiting with bated breath for the EPA's *scientific* report on biofuel emissions....