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mandate, takes longer-term view than Rendell Several energy-related bills, including a plan to mandate biodiesel at fueling stations, won approval Tuesday from a state Senate special session committee on energy policies. Some of the bills could come before the full Senate for a vote before the end of the year, said the panel’s chairwoman, Sen. Mary Jo White, R-Venango. The biodiesel mandate bill, sponsored by White, would give fueling stations more time to meet the mandate than a plan proposed by Gov. Ed Rendell. Under the governor’s plan, 2 percent of every gallon of diesel would have to be biodiesel once in-state production levels hit 30 million gallons per year. White’s bill wouldn’t impose the 2-percent requirement until in-state production levels hit 60 million gallons annually. Under Rendell’s plan, the biodiesel requirement would be ramped up over time as in-state production levels increase, up to 20 percent once biodiesel production levels hit 300 million gallons annually. White’s bill also would ramp up the mandate over time, but wouldn’t hit 20 percent until in-state production levels were at 600 million. “I am not a fan of mandated content,” White said during Tuesday’s meeting. “But the biodiesel industry seems to believe that they need some mandated content. So if we’re going to do it, it’s my feeling that it should be phased in gradually and that we should have infrastructure milestones in place to make sure that it is feasible.” White’s bill would require the state departments of Agriculture and Transportation to certify, at least six months before any mandates went into effect, that the state has the necessary infrastructure to require the biodiesel content. A third-party study, contracted by the Department of Environmental Protection, also would be required to determine how this bill impacts Pennsylvania’s efforts to meet national air quality standards. That study would be due by July 1, 2009. A spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection, the agency that has crafted Rendell’s energy plan, did not immediately respond to calls for comment Tuesday afternoon. In addition to the biodiesel bill, the Senate committee approved seven other energy-related bills. CLICK HERE for a full listing of the bills approved by the committee. Among the bills approved was a measure requiring diesel-fueled vehicles owned or leased by the state to use 20-percent biodiesel blends. Other bills would give a 25-percent tax credit to homeowners for the cost of installing solar panels; create $60 million in tax credits for alternative energy research and development; and designate next October as a tax holiday for certain energy-saving home products, like windows, doors and furnaces. White’s biodiesel mandate bill won the unanimous approval of the committee, despite the concerns of some senators to an amendment offered by Sen. Ted Erickson, R-Delaware. Erickson proposed allowing fueling stations to substitute biodiesel with Pennsylvania-produced “renewable diesel,” a fuel derived from vegetable oils, animal fat and animal waste. The amendment passed by a vote of 12-3. Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-Chester, said that the biodiesel fuel substitute would produce less clean fuel, and hurt in-state agriculture and biodiesel firms. He, along with Sens. Michael Brubaker, R-Lancaster, and Jim Ferlo, D-Allegheny, voted against the amendment. Dinniman said after the meeting that oil giant ConocoPhillips and other big oil firms “were pushing” for the fuel substitute in Erickson’s amendment. Dinniman said he has seen studies showing that renewable diesel may contain only about 10 percent of traditional biodiesel. “I just don’t understand why we want to put it in there,” Dinniman said during the meeting. He also said that he believed “business development, which is already going on with biodiesel firms which are producing whole biodiesel, would be significantly hurt by increasing the production of a product which is only one-tenth of what whole biodiesel would be.” Erickson responded: “I don’t quite see it that way. I see it again as trying to stimulate business development in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and doing so by recycling greases and oils that have been used. This should be thrown into the mix as well; that’s simply expanding our horizon in terms of renewable diesel.” Erickson also said that two companies were interested in setting up business – one in Philadelphia and the other in Delaware County – to produce renewable diesel. Dinniman said after the meeting he was hopeful the renewable diesel substitute would be removed before the bill was voted on the Senate floor. White said that floor votes on the biodiesel bill and legislation creating an alternative energy development fund could see votes on the Senate floor before the end of the year. The special session committee voted on the alternative energy fund bill a few weeks ago. “I think our leadership would like to move some of these bills before the end of the year, but it’s not a sine die year so if we miss it by a couple of weeks it’s not the end of the world,” White said. She also said: “We’re meeting our promise to the governor that we would make every effort to move bills out of the special session on energy before the end of the year. So I think this action that the committee has taken today is a substantial step forward in getting these bills positioned to be able to be acted on by the whole Senate and sent over to the House in time to see something by the end of the year.” Written by: Christopher Lilienthal Staff Reporter, Capitolwire  |
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 Chamber Newsletter: Business Connections UPCOMING EVENTS 9/14/2010 Tuesday 3:30 PM Membership Orientation Sponsored by Sphere 9/16/2010 Thursday 5:00 PM Business After Hours @ Penn State Brandywine 9/23/2010 Thursday 5:30 PM DCYP Mortgage Seminar 9/28/2010 Tuesday 11:30 AM Knowledge @ Noon - Knowledge is Power: Is it Safe to Get Back in the Water?
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