Washington state is far short of its target for biofuel

Another bold Locke/Gregoire move. Set a high goal, then miss it by a mile. Then say... What do they say?

Governor Locke set the goal of the state's fleet of vehicles using 20% biodiesel by June 1, 2009. No single agency will meet that goal, let alone the total fleet. They got to 2.1%. Hey, that's over 10% of their goal!

A subsequent law, HB2424, signed by Chris Gregoire in 2006 has no penalties for noncompliance. This is the government! Penalties are for citizens and private industry.

What does Chris Gregoire say now?

"I don't want to lose the momentum that we've built up..."

The big problem was cost. Biofuels cost more. Surprise! Supply is somewhat tight because farmers won't plant unless there is a market for their crops. The refiners invested big money and have idle plants, like Imperium in Hoquiam.

That state said "Go ahead and invest;" it would be the market, but hasn't been good for its word. But it's good for us taxpayers that Chris Gregoire's government has had some restraint on costs

Everett Herald: Washington state way off its target for biofuel