Gov. Deval L. Patrick and legislative leaders proposed a bill on Monday to require all home heating oil and diesel fuel to contain at least 5 percent biofuel by 2013. Massachusetts would be the first state to require that home heating oil contain renewable fuels, a significant issue in a state where 36 percent of homes use home heating oil, according to Census figures. That compares with the 8 percent national average.

Maine leads the nation, with 87 percent of its homes using heating oil, according to the Census. The bill would require that all home heating oil and diesel fuel contain 2 percent renewable fuel alternatives by 2010 and increase to 5 percent by 2013. It would also waive the state’s 23-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax on fuel made from cellulosic ethanol, a gasoline alternative derived from the cellulose in wood chips, switchgrass and other plant mass. Cellulosic ethanol will not be available commercially for about three years.

“For the sake of our environment, our economy and our national security, we must act, and we must act now,” Mr. Patrick said at a news conference. “We have an opportunity to create jobs and drive energy costs down.” He said adding biofuel to home heating oil would help lower costs. Brooke Coleman of the Northeast Biofuels Collaborative said the savings would be modest.

“The biodiesel mandate will only have a small positive effect on fuel prices,” Mr. Coleman said. “On the biodiesel side, the short-term price impact is going to be small. But the overarching goal here is to provide a foothold for biodiesel providers in the state, which will stabilize oil and diesel prices.”

Three companies plan to build biofuel plants in Massachusetts, Mr. Patrick said. He estimated that the plants, additional research and development companies, and the use of local farms would generate 3,000 jobs and $320 million in economic activity by 2016. Mr. Patrick will convene a panel to research offering economic incentives, including tax breaks, to biofuel companies. A number of states, including Florida, Iowa, Maine and Minnesota, provide tax incentives to biodiesel companies. New York announced plans last year for a $20 million cellulosic ethanol plant in Rochester.

(By Katie Zezima, Los Angeles Times, 06/11/2007)