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Nelson, Johanns sponsor biogas bill The Grand Island Independent, Nebraska, Saturday, January 24, 2009 "Nebraska Sens. Ben Nelson and Mike Johanns are among the sponsors of legislation promoting the development of biogas — a natural gas substitute created by converting agricultural, animal or other organic wastes — through tax incentives. “We already have the technology to break down these wastes to create biogas, but it needs encouragement from the federal government to become a commercially viable alternative to natural gas,” Nelson said. He said the new energy source would benefit rural communities and the environment while lessening the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and ensuring energy security. “This bill promotes innovative technology for the production of renewable energy, and it is good for Nebraska’s livestock producers,” said Johanns. “In addition to being a potentially abundant energy resource, biogas holds the added benefit of turning manure from a waste product into an energy resource.” Nelson is the lead sponsor of the bill. Along with Johanns, Sens. Mike Crapo of Idaho, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, John Thune of South Dakota, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan are co-sponsors. Nelson’s legislation, the Biogas Production Incentives Act of 2009, would encourage greater production of biogas for energy purposes by providing biogas producers with a tax credit of $4.27 for every million British thermal units (mmBtu) of biogas produced. “This could mean more jobs and a boon for rural communities,” Nelson said. Biogas production also offers environmental benefits such as a reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions of both carbon dioxide and methane and improved water quality through better manure management." http://www.theindependent.com/articles/2009/01/24/news/ag/doc497bdf516246a164638928.txt -- Vote for Change - help make biogas part of President-elect Obama's energy plan: http://biogas.ifas.ufl.edu/voteforchange.htm ********************************************************************** Dr. Ann C. Wilkie Tel: (352)392-8699 Soil and Water Science Department Fax: (352)392-7008 University of Florida-IFAS P.O. Box 110960 E-mail: [log in to unmask] Gainesville, FL 32611-0960 ______________________________________________________________________ Campus location: Environmental Microbiology Laboratory (Bldg. 246). http://campusmap.ufl.edu/ ______________________________________________________________________ BioEnergy and Sustainable Technology Society http://grove.ufl.edu/~bests/ **********************************************************************