Is it just me, or has this year gone by too quickly? It seems that every conversation at this time of year will inevitably include a similar sentiment as people reflect on all that has happened throughout the course of the year. For many of us, the holiday season offers a chance to say "goodbye, and good riddance" to 2009. It's been a difficult year for everyone, but the good news is: we made it! And conditions are primed to improve in 2010.

Last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration released its annual energy outlook for 2010 which included mixed reviews for renewable fuels, but was encouraging overall. The EIA predicts that existing policies will shift in favor of renewable fuels in 2010 and that long-term consumption of liquid fuels will be driven by the growth of renewable fuels. U.S. liquid fuel consumption is expected to increase by 3 million barrels per day by 2035 and the EIA says that biofuels will account for the entire growth. The industry is not expected to meet renewable fuel standard (RFS) mandates for 2022, due to a slow growth of commercial cellulosic facilities, but should exceed mandate expectations by 2035.

It is not surprising that RFS projections have been reduced, due to the financial issues that have plagued cellulosic producers this past year. However, with recent federal grant announcements and loosening lending markets, 2010 could prove to be the big boom for cellulosic, in my opinion. I spoke with several cellulosic producers over the past week or so and all of them are on the edge of constructing and producing at commercial scale.

The amount of cellulosic ethanol produced in 2010 might not be as much as was ambitiously laid out in the RFS, but there will be a measurable amount of cellulosic ethanol produced for the first time ever. And that is something worthy of celebrating.