House And Senate Pass FY 2015 NDAA Legislation With Conflicting Biofuels Provisions

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services passed versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 that included starkly different provisions on biofuels. The House version would severely limit U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) authority to promote the procurement of biofuels. For instance, it included a provision that would allow DOD to procure biofuels only if their costs were "equivalent to" conventional fuels. In addition, it included provisions preventing DOD from supporting the planning and construction of a biorefinery and exempting DOD from complying with Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Section 526). Section 526 prohibits federal agencies from procuring synfuel unless its lifecycle GHG emissions are less than those for conventional petroleum sources.

The version of the FY 2015 NDAA passed by the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services does not include an exemption from Section 526. In addition, it includes several provisions to allow DOD to further its goals to increase its purchase and use of biofuels. For instance, it would allow DOD to utilize its authority under the Defense Production Act to fulfill its part of a 2011 joint initiative among the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, and the Navy to facilitate the production of U.S. "drop-in" biofuels for military and commercial use.