Advocating for Public Policies to Promote the Development & Production of Alternative Fuels, Renewable Chemicals, Biobased Products, and Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Alternative Fuels & Chemicals Coalition
AFCC's
2022 & 2023
Legislative & Policy Requests
AFCC members are able to have a voice in and directly influence legislation affecting the alternative fuels,
renewable chemicals, and biobased products industries
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​| AFCC's FY2025 Appropriations Requests |
​​| AFCC's Proposed Administrative Approach: Allowing for Greater Use of Innovative Technologies & Materials for Infrastructure Construction and Repair |
​| AFCC's FY2021 Legislative Victory: Improvements to the DOE Title 17 Loan Guarantee Program |
| AFCC's Advocacy Efforts |
| Tips on How to Lobby Effectively |
Click on the links below to view or download
information on and copies of
AFCC's 2022 & 2023 Legislative and Policy Requests
to the U.S. Congress and Federal Agencies
Administrative &
Legislative Requests
U.S. Department of
Transportation
Innovations in Infrastructure
Construction & Repair
AFCC is working with the Department of Transportation on an administrative approach to allow for wider use in infrastructure construction and repair projects of innovative technologies and materials that offer benefits such as better performance, cost-effectiveness, improved integrity and longevity, use of recycled materials, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Legislative Request
U.S. Department of
Energy
Advanced Front-End
Engineering & Design
(FEED) Grant Program
AFCC is advocating for the creation of a new grant program -- using the annual interest payments made to the U.S. Treasury by projects funded by the Department of Energy's Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Program -- to provide 50/50 cost-share funding for projects using innovative, first-of-their kind technologies to complete the front-end engineering and design (FEED)
Legislative Request
U.S.Environmental Protection Agency
State & Tribal Assistance Grants
Smoke Preparedness Program
AFCC has proposed that legislative language be included in the FY2023 appropriation for the EPA's State and Tribal Assistance Grants, Pollution Prevention, Smoke Preparedness Program that:
(1) provides a definition for "Forest Residues" to identify the hazardous materials that contribute to catastrophic wildfires and the smoke from these wildfires,
(2) can be removed under the grant program,
(3) fulfills the mandate which has been renewed each year since 2017 directing EPA to adopt "Policies Relating to Forest Biomass Energy" that "recognizes the full benefits of the use of forest biomass for energy, conservation, and responsible forest management,” including removal of hazardous materials that contribute to catastrophic wildfires,
(4) expand the definition of biomass that may be removed from Federal lands that are at risk from wildfire under the definition of “Renewable Biomass” in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), and
(5) shall qualify for Renewable Identification Number credits (RINs).
Legislative Request
U.S.Environmental
Protection Agency
Direction to EPA to Adopt The Updated GREET Model
AFCC proposed that legislative language be added in the FY2023 appropriation for the EPA's State and Tribal Assistance Grants, Pollution Prevention Program that directs the EPA to update the modeling used for lifecycle greenhouse gas assessments by adopting the most recent Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation model, commonly referred to as the ‘‘GREET model,’’ developed by the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, to ensure consistency across all Federal agencies in assessing the impacts of human activities which the Agency’s pollution prevention programs are intended to address;
Legislative Request
National Science Foundation
Creation of an educational Program for the Sustainable Production of Biobased Products
Consistent with the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 116-283), Subtitle E – Sustainable Chemistry, Sections 261-267, AFCC requests that the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations subcommittees direct the National Science Foundation to use a portion of the funds appropriated for "Research and Related Activities" to incorporate sustainable chemistry into existing NSF research, development, demonstration, technology transfer, commercialization, education, and training programs.
Funding & Legislative Request
U.S.Department of Energy
Grants for
Scale-Up, Piloting, and Demonstration --
Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 7 & 8 --
and TRL 9 Front-End Engineering & Design (FEED)
AFCC has proposed that funding & legislative language be included in the FY2023 appropriation for the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) to close a significant, project stalling (and, worse, in many cases, project killing) gap that currently exists in the multipe federal programs and funding opportunities that support the development of new technologies, processes, materials, and innovations.
These programs are intended to provide funding from initial concept (TRL 1)
up through first commercial implementation (TRL9).
Without being able to successfully-scale up a promising new technology or innovation,
without being able to operate it at pilot scale or as a prototype,
and without being able to demonstrate that it can be succefully scaled up to commercial scale,
no new technology, process, material, or innovation will be able to advance beyond an initial promise
to be deployed at commercial scale to benefit the American public
by creating jobs, stimulating economic development, replacing less efficient technologies, mitigating environmental problems, and boosting U.S. leadership
in the development and deployment of new innovations,
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Legislative Request
U.S.Department of Agriculture
2023 Farm Bill Energy Title Requests
AFCC submitted a letter to the House Agriculture Committee Chair and Ranking Member on April 15 describing AFCC's requests for the programs and funding that AFCC wishes to have included in the Energy Title of the 2022 Farm Bill.
These requests include:
-- Increased mandatory funding for the full 5-year term of the Farm Bill for two existing Energy Title programs
-- Creation of four new programs for soil carbon capture and regenerative agriculture, compostable bioplastics, improved modeling technologies in assessing Life Cycle Analysis, and a Bioeconomy Development Opportunity (BDO) grant program to support and promote bio-based development opportunities in rural and underserved communities.
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Legislative Request
U.S. Department of Transportiation
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Producer Comments
These comments were provided to the professional staff of the Senate Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee during a video call, scheduled in mid-April at the request of the professional staff, to obtain input from SAF producers on what, from their points of view, is needed to facilitate the adoption and expanded used of SAF.
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The professional staff told AFCC that they always hear from airlines, but rarely from producers, on what is needed to facilitate the adoption of SAF.
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Eight AFCC member companies participated in the video call and provided comments to the THUD appropriations subcommittee.