(PIKEVILLE, KY)     On the heels of a whitepaper released in January on the potential for hemp as an energy feedstock, Patriot Bioenergy Corporation announced Tuesday its intention to begin the process to classify industrial hemp as a transportation fuel feedstock transportation fuel. The Kentucky-based company is pursuing project development in Kentucky, Mississippi, and West Virginia, along an integrated energy park business model that would produce multiple bio-based products and would also produce power from the integration of renewable, biomass, and fossil fuels.

 

The company will make application through the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. It was created under the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005, and established the first renewable fuel volume mandate in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the federal agency responsible for developing and implementing regulations to ensure that transportation fuel sold in the United States contains a minimum volume of renewable fuel. According to the EPA, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program regulations were developed in collaboration with refiners, renewable fuel producers, and many other stakeholders.

 

According to the EPA, it administers the RSF2 program that lays the foundation for achieving significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from the use of renewable fuels, for reducing imported petroleum, and encouraging the development and expansion of our nation's renewable fuels sector.

 

The company is working both nationally and internationally to build the case for the use of hemp as a biomass feedstock for conversion to transportation fuel and other energy-related uses. Its initial focus is on development within rural Appalachia.

 

Roger Ford, CEO of Patriot, said the company is being proactive as it moves forward with its planning, and the RFS application process will move forward in a dual path with broader research and development; and, plant design and construction.

 

Voicing support for Patriot's initiation of the process to classify industrial hemp as a fuel feedstock, David Hadland, who is President of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association, said he strongly supported Patriot's move. "Patriot Bioenergy is at the forefront when it comes to hemp as an energy crop. We must follow Patriot's vision to revitalize Appalachia through energy integration". He continued that "the work Patriot is undertaking in terms of research and development, and deployment, to have hemp classified as a feedstock for transportation fuel, will mean a better future for Appalachia".

 

National hemp organization Vote Hemp added its voice to the effort that Patriot is undertaking to classify hemp as a biomass feedstock for transportation fuel.

 

Vote Hemp spokesman Alex Brant-Zawadzki said "American industries are eager to develop a full-fledged hemp industry and the potential is great once farmers can grow industrial hemp again commercially". He continued that "Patriot Bioenergy is a great example of a company ready to innovate and create jobs from hemp. The only thing they are waiting for is the federal government to step out of the way".

 

Ford said the company is aggressively moving forward on several fronts and is in contact with international groups about joint ventures on research and development of hemp and in discussions on methods to convert hemp to energy products, such as blending materials and as a fuel feedstock. He cited the versatility of hemp for a variety of energy and manufacturing applications.

 

"We are energized by the potential of hemp, and we believe it can underpin the rural economies of Appalachia by both strengthening fossil fuels and building new energy and manufacturing opportunities". Ford continued by saying that "industrial hemp is an extremely versatile biomass feedstock with thousands of applications". He pointed to the ability to not only produce cellulosic-based fuels but also oil-based fuels, and the ability to manufacture a wide range of products ranging from construction materials to pharmaceuticals. "Flexibility is important as we drill down on specific sites. Having a flexible feedstock is important based on local site attributes, and hemp has the potential to give us that flexibility for end-product development".

 

In 2013, Patriot Bioenergy Corp. became the first corporate member of the Kentucky Hemp Growers' Cooperative Association and recently joined the West Virginia Hemp Growers Cooperative Association. The company recently became the first corporate member of the Central Appalachian Sustainable Economies (CASE) Network.

 

 

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ADDITIONAL FACTS: Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007

• RFS program was expanded in several key ways

• EISA expanded the RFS program to include diesel, in addition to gasoline;

• EISA increased the volume of renewable fuel required to be blended into transportation fuel from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons by 2022;

• EISA established new categories of renewable fuel, and set separate volume requirements for each one

• EISA required EPA to apply lifecycle greenhouse gas performance threshold standards to ensure that each category of renewable fuel emits fewer greenhouse gases than the petroleum fuel it replaces.