Keith Good over at Farm Policy.com referenced this NY Times editorial about new energy legislation about to be introduced. Senators Bingaman and Domenichi have a three part proposal:

It seeks to reduce oil consumption by quintupling the production of biofuels — principally ethanol from sources other than corn — by 2022. It would mandate stronger efficiency standards for energy-intensive household appliances, including lighting fixtures and refrigerators. And, perhaps most important, it would try to bring to commercial scale the government’s nascent efforts to build coal-fired power plants capable of capturing and storing emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas.

I would argue that while capturing coal plant emissions of carbon dioxide is a noble endeavor and essential to stemming global warming, increasing the production of non-corn based biofuels by a factor of five is a huge deal. There is a growing census that policy makers need to take action on the transition to cellulosic ethanol and expanding biodiesel production. It will be curious to see how this provision fares in the competition for dollars with corn based ethanol.