Biomass Syngas?

From Big Picture Agriculture:

Since the golden years of refining margins seem to have disappeared, Licata expects that to meet new mandates to produce cleaner-burning fuels, refiners will be forced to add biogas “in a big way” to sustain revenue growth. Valero Energy Corp., the world’s largest independent oil refiner, has become a major ethanol player. Valero invested $60 million in Enerkem Inc. last year, a company that converts waste into ethanol.
The Northeast’s refinery sales and closures because of favored margins in the West Coast and MidAtlantic regions has led to a lack of distillate and gasoline production in this region. Licata thinks that opportunities for biogas development in the eastern U.S. are growing. Refiners would distill garbage, plastics and biomass such as wood chips, corn husks, wood residues, straw and switch grass into syngas which is rich with complex hydrocarbons.
Licata concludes:

While cellulosic ethanol is a promising fuel alternative, there are issues we must call attention to, namely high production costs and the potential environmental damage. The U.S. produces about 1.3 billion tons of biomass a year. Therefore, fuel derived from biomass could potentially offset 30% of our present crude oil needs. Progress in this area should be seen sooner than later, and more refiners will likely look to follow Valero’s lead to boost exposure to biogas without harming food crops or timber.

I'll believe it when I see it.  Biomass syngas isn't as easy as fracking, and that's saying something.