US agriculture secretary advocates for biofuel during Paris Air Show visit

US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack encouraged development and production of biofuels to power commercial aircraft, telling a Paris Air Show audience there has been "extraordinary progress in the last 12 months" in understanding how biofuel blends can power flights.

"I think we're nearing a tipping point" in terms of building momentum toward use of biofuel on commercial flights, he said. "I think [biofuel powering airline flights is] not long-term. In the short term you'll see the benefits."

Vilsack became the first US agriculture secretary to attend a Paris Air Show, which this year features a sizable "Alternative Aviation Fuels Showcase" in a Le Bourget exhibit hall. His visit comes just two months after US President Barack Obama directed the Depts. of Energy and Agriculture and the US Navy "to work with the private sector to create advanced biofuels that can power not just fighter jets but trucks and commercial airliners" (ATW Daily News, April 15).

After visiting with air show exhibitors touting various aviation biofuel solutions and others involved in the issue, including Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative Executive Director Richard Altman (ATW, February 2010), Vilsack gave brief remarks and answered questions from reporters. He indicated that Obama is planning a major announcement in the "next 30 days or so" regarding the US government's effort to help develop biofuel.

He said he is trying to educate US lawmakers about "how close we are to getting over the mountain" to wide-scale biofuel production. The private sector needs "just a little push" from government in the form of loan guarantees and R&D grants to mitigate the risk of moving forward, he said.

Vilsack told ATW that if a market develops for biofuel to power aircraft, the infrastructure to produce and distribute it will quickly build up. "I think the infrastructure is going to be there if the market is there," he explained. "I'm sure if you have [airlines] interested, we'll get" biofuel to airports.   

He added that biofuel is an "opportunity to diversify farming" in the US. "This is a wonderful opportunity for rural America," he said, pointing out that many US rural areas have been hard hit by unemployment. He commented, "When policymakers are aware of potential job opportunities [that could be created by large-scale biofuel production] in rural areas that have had high unemployment," they become interested in backing biofuel development and are "reluctant" to cut R&D funding.

Photo: US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Courtesy, US Dept. of Agriculture