Incentives could turn costs of biofuel mandates into environmental benefits
URBANA, Ill. -- New studies from the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) shed more light on the economic and environmental costs of mandates in the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), a federal program to expand the nation’s biofuels sector.
Researchers, including faculty in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics and the Department of Crop Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, said the studies indicate a need to adopt more targeted policies that value the environmental and ecosystem benefits of perennial bioenergy crops over cheaper options — and provide financial incentives for farmers to grow them.