| News Briefs |
Enlarge L.G. Patterson/AP
The ethanol industry lost it's federal subsidy in the 2011's deficit talks. The grain bins of Missouri's first ethanol plant are seen in this file photo.
L.G. Patterson/AP
The federal government pays oil companies about $6 billion a year to blend ethanol into your gasoline; it's been subsidizing ethanol for 33 years now. But any agreement in Washington, D.C., to raise the debt ceiling will most likely include a plan to cut off that subsidy. And after all these years, many in the ethanol industry say they don't really care.
The end of the subsidy — and the mixed reaction to that idea — reveals how the world of corn ethanol has changed dramatically.
Blending Ethanol With Gas
The fuel that's in your car or truck right now didn't get to the gas station straight from the refinery. It very likely stopped at a place like the Magellan fuel terminal in Kansas City, Kan., where gasoline from a pipeline is blended with ethanol.
"The ethanol all comes in here by truck," says Jeff Myers, who runs the sprawling complex of enormous white fuel tanks.
Pointing at a line of trucks nearby, he says, "They're full of ethanol. So, they're waiting to pull in under this bay, where they will unload the ethanol. The other trucks in line, over here, they're waiting to load fuel."
Myers says ethanol and gas are mixed in the trucks' cargo tanks, earning whoever owns the fuel a "blending credit" worth 45 cents for every gallon of ethanol.
A New Position On Losing Subsidy
Until recently, the ethanol industry said it would wither without this subsidy. Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, made this argument in an interview with the Domestic Fuel podcast less than a year and a half ago.
"If you do not extend the tax incentive, we're going to lose 112,000 jobs across all sectors of the economy," he said back then.
When asked if the industry needs that same tax credit now, Dinneen said, "No, you don't. In today's environment, no, you don't need it."
But people like Tom Buis, with Growth Energy, the other main ethanol group, say the tax credit has been vital to helping ethanol get off the ground.
"The industry wouldn't have happened without it," Buis says, "but we're in a different position today."
There are at least three reasons behind the change. The first is regulatory: The government forces oil companies to use ethanol. And that mandate is growing. Next year, it will call for more ethanol than the industry produced this year.
That government mandate renders the tax credit irrelevant, says Bruce Babcock of Iowa State University.
"You can see that that growing mandate really is the thing that's going to drive ethanol demand," he says, "and the $6 billion that we are spending really isn't going to accomplish anything."
High oil prices are another reason ethanol producers are sanguine about the tax credit ending. Corn ethanol is currently cheaper to produce than gasoline. It's also quite a bit cheaper than imported ethanol, most of it made from sugar cane.
The third reason Babcock cites is something some folks might call sour grapes.
"They've never been so politically vulnerable as they are right now," he says. "They're used to winning these battles for subsidy. And they put a great deal of political weight and effort into maintaining this tax credit, and they lost."
Momentum To Cut Subsidy
In June, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to end the $6 billion ethanol subsidy.
The move was "definitely long overdue," says Sheila Karpf of the Environmental Working Group.
"We think of it as a college kid that needs to move out of their parents' basement, or even a 50-year-old that needs to move out of their parents' basement," she says.
A tariff on imported ethanol will die with the subsidy. But that's not likely to stop ethanol production from using about 40 percent of all the corn grown in the United States. And the next battleground, Karpf says, will be over cutting the mandate to use ethanol.
"There are talks right now about trying to reduce the corn ethanol mandate," she says, "since it is pushing up the price of feed and food."
But the ethanol mandate has a lot more friends than the subsidy did — and it's not likely to change anytime soon.
The ethanol industry's more immediate problem is finding some way to sell all of the fuel it can produce. That would mean going above the 10 percent now found in most gasoline.
Gas stations, like one in Lee's Summit, Mo., could be part of the solution. Here, customers can buy a range of fuel blends — 85 percent ethanol is a popular one. Thanks largely to the tax credit, it's much cheaper than normal gas. But patrons also say they appreciate that it helps farmers and is not made with imported oil.
Michael Riely pulls up in a Japanese sports car with a big hood scoop and starts filling up at the pump.
"For me, it's either this gas, or I have to run race fuel. And race fuel runs at least 8 bucks a gallon," Riely says. "So, I'm paying $2.99 for this, versus the same quality fuel, I have to pay $8 if I want regular gasoline for this car."
So, 33 years of federal subsidies have helped to build a large U.S. corn ethanol industry. And mandates aside, most people who run it say it's ready to stand on its own.
Ethanol Report on Oil Spill Response
Posted by Cindy Zimmerman – May 5th, 2010
 Addressing the tragedy hitting the Gulf of Mexico and coastal areas requires both an aggressive short term response and an equally aggressive long term energy and environmental strategy. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen is asking the Obama administration to take action to help increase the use of ethanol, starting with immediately allowing up to 12 percent ethanol in gasoline. This edition of “The Ethanol Report” features Dinneen’s comments on actions to promote increased ethanol production and use that could be taken in response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
In this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” Renewable Fuels Association Vice President for Research Geoff Cooper talks about the current price differential between gasoline and ethanol and how much could be saved if the blend level were higher than the current ten percent.
You can subscribe to this twice monthly podcast by following this link.
Listen to or download the podcast here:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.9MB)
Pacific Ethanol Announces Agreements Designed to Satisfy $34.7 Million of Outstanding DebtENTO, Calif., Mar 8, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- Pacific Ethanol, Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!peix/quotes/nls/peix (PEIX 1.84, +0.03, +1.66%) (the "Company") announced today agreements designed to satisfy $34.7 million of the Company's outstanding debt, and to cure existing defaults on the debt. Socius CG II, Ltd. ("Socius") has entered into agreements with the holders of this debt pursuant to which Socius purchased $5.0 million of the aggregate amount of the debt, and then settled the resulting $5.0 million owed in exchange for free-trading shares of the Company's common stock. Socius intends to acquire the balance of the debt and engage in further exchanges until the total debt is completely retired......more
By Laurie Welch - Times-News writer | Posted: Saturday,
LAURIE WELCH/Times-News Pacific Ethanol Inc. officials hope to get approval from lenders and a bankruptcy court to fire up the 60 million gallon-per-year Burley plant in January 2010.
BURLEY — Pacific Ethanol officials hope to restart their Burley ethanol plant in January. Company officials at Pacific Ethanol Inc. say they are seeking permission from their lenders to restart the Burley ethanol plant — a plan that still has to be approved by a bankruptcy court.
“We’re expecting some good news,” said Pacific Ethanol Inc. Vice President Paul Koehler on Friday.
Last January, the company laid off 24 employees and in February suspended production at the plant. The company’s subsidiaries — which own four ethanol plants, three of which suspended production — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May.
Koehler said an upturn in the ethanol market prompted the decision to reopen the Burley plant, which will be the company’s only plant to reopen at this point.
The bankruptcy court will review plans to restart the plant at a Dec. 14 hearing and the company expects the lenders, who provide debtor-in-possession financing for the Burley plant, to support the plan.
Koehler said the plant will hire 35 to 40 employees, which would put it at full staff.
“We pretty much need that many people for the plant to be in operation,” Koehler said.
The plant’s management was kept intact but the company will hire plant operators, a maintenance crew, commodity managers and lab technicians, along with other positions.
“It is good news for the city of Burley,” said Burley Economic Development Director Doug Manning. “It means more people back to work and will bring a good, positive feeling for the new year and some positive attention to the area.”
Manning said Pacific has been calling former employees to try to rehire them, which would save on the cost to train new employees.
“Everybody at the city is looking forward to working with Pacific Ethanol again,” Manning said.
Koehler said when plants resume operation after shutting down there is always a bit of a ramp-up period. But he expects the plant to come up to capacity quickly.
“The people who took care of it during the shutdown did a really good job,” Koehler said. “The plant is ship-shape and ready to start.”
Koehler said the plant can produce 60 million gallons of ethanol per year when running at full capacity. Court gives green light to Pacific Ethanol in Idaho
BURLEY, Idaho - A Delaware bankruptcy court has given Pacific Ethanol the green light to reopen its Burley ethanol plant.
Paul Koehler, Pacific Ethanol Inc. vice president, told the Twin Falls Times-News the court approved a plan to restart the 60-million-gallon-per-year plant early next year.
The company obtained its lenders' approval in November to proceed with the plan. Approval from the bankruptcy court was the final step.
Koehler said Pacific Ethanol has rehired many of the two dozen workers who were laid off after the first of the year. The company plans to hire 35-40 workers altogether.
Plant managers were retained when the plant closed last February.
The plant will produce enough ethanol to match consumer demand, Koehler said, adding that he expected the plant to reach full production within six weeks.
The company's subsidiaries, which own four ethanol plants, suspended production in three plants and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. Koehler said the Burley plant is the only one to reopen at this time. The Boardman plant continued operating while the others closed.
- Dean Brickey 
Researchers from Michigan State and Michigan Technological universities are seeking to ensure a steady and sustainable supply of material for the state’s first wood-based ethanol plant.
Funding comes from a $2 million grant the Michigan Economic Development Corp. made in 2008 to Lebanon, N.H.-based Mascoma Corp.
Frontier Renewable Resources, a company formed through Mascoma Corporation in New Hampshire, and J.M. Longyear, a 120-year-old Marquette-based natural resources company, is working to build a cellulosic ethanol plant on a 355-acre site in Kinross Township.
The facility, which will produce 20 million gallons of ethanol annually in its first phase, will use wood instead of food (as in corn ethanol) to make its fuel.
Tonight, November 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Bayliss Public Library, the Three Lakes Group Sierra Club will be hosting an informational forum on a project with huge implications for the Eastern Upper Peninsula.
This meeting is open to the public. It will consist of project participants explaining the size, scope and timing of the project.
The plant is scheduled to break ground later in 2010 and to be operational in late 2012 or early 2013.
US House committee OKs $20 billion in energy incentives, credits: pump conversion, investment tax credit increases, extensions ....more
Renewables pushed as partial solution to global warming
....more
|
Ethanol Tax Credit – An Unequivocal Economic Success, Says New Analysis
.....below
November 17, 2008 – Wayne, PA – The federal investment in ethanol over the past three decades has yielded billions of dollars of economic gain, according to a report released from economic consulting firm LECG, LLC. The report concluded that each dollar invested in America’s ethanol industry in the form of the federal excise tax credit returned nearly $5 to federal, state and local government and the economy as a whole. According to the analysis, the tax provision has not only increased federal tax revenues, but also reduced imported oil expenditures and put more money into consumer pockets.
The analysis, conducted by LECG Director John Urbanchuk on behalf of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), found that America’s ethanol industry has:
”...generated an estimated $33.4 billion (2008$) in tax revenue for the Federal government and nearly $17 billion (2008$) of additional tax revenue for State and Local governments since 1978, reduced America’s tab for imported oil by $97.5 billion, helped reduce farm program payments by more than $3 billion annually since 2006, and put some $66 billion more into the pockets of Americans in the form of increased household income since its inception in 1978.”
“The federal investment in America’s ethanol industry has been and will continue paying dividends for the American economy,” said Urbanchuk. “The federal tax incentive has spurred the kind of investment in rural America that has not been seen perhaps since the New Deal. The resulting benefits of this investment have yielded billions of dollars in new tax revenue, created hundreds of thousands of jobs, reduced America’s oil dependence by billions of barrels, and helped keep nearly $100 billion here at home rather than being spent for oil overseas. Economically, this incentive has been an unequivocal success.”
Key findings of the analysis include the following benefits of the federal tax incentive for ethanol blending and the resulting growth of the American ethanol industry since 1978:
- More than 53 billion gallons of ethanol have been produced, or about 1.2 percent of all the motor gasoline sold over this period. (In 2008, ethanol represents 7% of the nation’s gasoline supply.)
- A displacement of nearly 1.9 billion barrels of imported crude oil (the amount of crude required to produce the ethanol equivalent of 34.9 billion gallons of gasoline) valued at $97.5 billion (2008$).
- An addition of $228 billion to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2008.
- The creation of more than 210,000 jobs in all sectors of the economy. (Note: After 2006, this calculation includes only those gallons produced above the mandated levels as established first in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and revised in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. By comparison, the ethanol industry helped create 238,000 new jobs in 2007 as a result of the 6.5 billion gallons produced.)
- Increased household incomes by $66.2 billion (2008$).
- The ethanol industry has paid for itself since the inception of the excise tax credit. An estimated $33.4 billion (2008$) in tax revenue for the Federal government and nearly $17 billion (2008$) of additional tax revenue for State and Local governments has been generated since 1978. The estimated cost of the ethanol tax credit over this same period was $30.4 billion (2008$). Consequently, the ethanol industry generated a surplus of about $3 billion for the Federal treasury alone over the past three decades.
*The excise tax credit also has saved taxpayers money by reducing farm program outlays through higher prices for corn. Recent research published at Iowa State University estimated that the Federal government saved $3.45 billion in 2007 alone because it was not making loan deficiency payments, as it was in 2005 and 2006.
E85 Stations Exceed 1,800
|
|
 Jefferson City, MO - The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC), the nation’s primary advocate of the use of E85 and high level blends of ethanol in flexible fuel vehicles, is pleased to announce that the number of E85 stations has now exceeded 1,800. There are currently 1,802 private and public refueling stations across the U.S. The number of facilities have grown 28 percent since October 2007.
“It’s exciting to see E85 stations grow so rapidly within the past year,” noted Executive Director of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, Phil Lampert. “From providing technical support on-site, through our internet materials, or over the phone, the NEVC has in one way or another been involved with the establishment of every one of these facilities! From the humble total of 50 E85 stations in 2001, we believe that E85 represents the ‘only’ significant growth opportunity in the field of liquid fuels.”
Currently, the states with the highest number of E85 sites are: Minnesota with 357, Illinois with 188 and Missouri with 112. Unfortunately, seven states do not offer E85 including: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Alaska and Hawaii.
Lampert added, “Fuel retailers have many incentives to add this clean, renewable product to their facilities. The spike in E85 fueling facilities is a direct reflection of the Federal income tax credit that the NEVC and our partners worked hard to implement in 2005. Additionally, the provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 that allowed franchise operators to install E85 fueling sites are two of the most significant Federal actions that have been implemented to address the growth of E85 fueling nationally. We are hopeful that future federal actions will appropriate at least a part of the $200 million that was authorized in EISA to assist with continuing to expand the E85 fueling infrastructure.”
The public can fuel at 1,693 of the 1,802 stations nationwide. The nation’s most comprehensive and complete listing of E85 sites can be found at http://www.E85Refueling.com. A growth chart of E85 refueling locations from 2001 to the present (Click to enlarge)
|
| |
By BOB STALLMAN
The popular misconception that increased usage of corn for ethanol production is the only factor driving higher food prices is just that — a misconception.
Ethanol production has added and will continue to add to corn demand, but other factors also are playing major roles in higher food prices.
Global demand for U.S. agricultural products has increased significantly over the past several years. China and India are but two examples where growing affluence is leading to changes in diet and overall food demand. Helping add to export demand is the devaluation of the dollar. This makes corn, soybeans, wheat and other commodities produced in the U.S. particularly attractive to overseas buyers.
Even though corn prices for the current marketing year are up $1 per bushel from last, corn exports are projected to increase by 200 million bushels. Rising exports in the face of rising prices is an indicator of very strong demand.
This is not limited to corn. It can be seen in dairy and other commodities. Domestic demand, beyond ethanol, is also strong, with corn used for livestock feed running at the same pace as last year.
Above the farmer in the food chain are processors, distribution systems and grocery stores. We are all familiar with how energy prices are affecting the retail costs of goods.
Food products are no different. And because of the refrigerated nature of much of the food system, those delivery costs can be even higher. Labor costs are also a factor, as is the fact that as consumers, we are constantly demanding more convenience in our food products. Finally, food suppliers are raising food prices simply because they can. And yes, there is ethanol.
Agriculture has been asked to help provide some of the nation's energy supply, but to supply it in a way that conforms to existing infrastructure. From the pumps to the engines, from the tanks in the ground to the carburetors in old vehicles, the energy supply that agriculture has been asked to provide comes with a lot of constraints.
Ethanol helps provide that answer. It will not replace gasoline, nor will it, by itself, make the U.S. energy-independent. It will take a great deal of effort and research to make large-scale cellulosic ethanol production feasible in a way that allows us to substantially reduce our oil import needs.
But corn-based ethanol already is providing half a million gallons of motor fuel a day and will approach a million barrels a day when the renewable fuels standard for corn-based ethanol is fully implemented. Francisco Blanch of Merrill Lynch has been reported in The Wall Street Journal as saying biofuels are lowering the price of oil and gasoline by 15 percent.
Contrary to some press reports, numerous studies clearly demonstrate that corn-derived ethanol has a positive energy balance — that we get more energy out of the product than we put into the entire process, going all the way back to the energy used to build the tractors and combines.
So, while U.S. agriculture is going through an adjustment phase, as would any sector of the economy trying to handle the number of hurdles that have been tossed our way, I encourage you to look at all of the contributors playing a role in rising food costs.
Making ethanol the scapegoat oversimplifies the issue and it derails a product that is good for our economy, our environment and helps to lessen our demand for foreign oil.
Bob Stallman, a rice and cattle producer from Columbus, Texas, and president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. This was distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Company claims its ethanol could sell for $1.50 a gallon
4-14-2008 - Source - Motor Trend
With gas headed for $3.60 a gallon and politicians worried about America's dependence on foreign oil, many are looking to ethanol as the fuel of the future. The only thing is, currently even with federal subsidies the cost of making fuel from corn isn't very competitive, especially since E85 fuel gets you fewer miles per gallon than traditional gasoline. Many companies are working on the cost issue, and GM has even invested in Coskata Inc., a Chicago firm researching cellulosic ethanol. However now a new energy startup called ZeaChem claims to have solved the problem, and that they can now make ethanol at a competitive price.
At its laboratory in Menlo Park, CA, ZeaChem says they have created a new means of developing ethanol from wood chips, switch grass, and several other sources that is more efficient than competing methods. Developed by experts from the Coors brewery, crude oil refining, and other chemical industries, the process involves joining biomass in a fermenter with a naturally occurring microorganism (found in sources such as termites or horse manure) that unlike other methods uses all fractions of the plant, meaning the energy of all fractions of the biomass end up in the product.
According to the company, their process will theoretically produce a maximum 160 gallons of ethanol for every ton of biomass, and a biomass farm with an eight-mile radius could support a refinery producing approximately 300 million gallons of the fuel per year. In addition, ZeaChem says their method is more efficient than others, citing a "net energy ratio" of between 10 and 12, meaning that for every unit of fossil energy used, 10 - 12 units of renewable energy are produced. In contrast, the company claims corn-based ethanol has an approximate net energy ratio of only 1.6.
So what exactly does all this mean for drivers? Well, according to ZeaChem CEO James Imber, the company will be able to produce ethanol at 80 cents per gallon at the plant, which he estimates would equal a price of about $1.50 at the pump. Of course if you were buying E85, the 15 percent gasoline would add additional cost, plus the lower fuel economy would still be a factor. But that price could certainly go a long way toward turning ethanol into a truly viable alternative fuel.
Source: ZDNet and ZeaChem
|
3-5-2008: Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty issued a press statement outlining the results of testing which has been conducted on vehicles operating on a blend of 20% ethanol. A copy of the press statement may be found at: More ...
October 16th Idaho Ethanol, LLC & Fuel Flex International, was a guest in conjunction with the Treasure Valley Clean Cities of Idaho Ethanol Producers, LLC at their plant in Caldwell Idaho.
 Gary Ackaret, CFO for Fuel Flex International, LLC, one of the largest distributors of flex fuel conversion systems, holds a cup of the syrup made from potato scraps at the Idaho Ethanol Processing LLC plant, and discusses the process with onlookers. The plant is currently producing about 4,000 gallons of Ethanol a day from the potatoes.
The company has spent the past year renovating the plant, now called Idaho Ethanol Processing, LLC, and redesigning it to use other products, such as corn, to make ethanol.
Ethanol, a 200-proof alcohol frequently made from corn or potatoes, burns more cleanly than gasoline for better air quality and reduces dependency on petroleum. All gasoline cars can take a blend of fuel and up to 10 percent ethanol, and some newer automobiles, called flexible fuel vehicles, are able to run on E85, a blend made up of 85 percent ethanol.
|
| |
|
In September, the plant became fully operational again, though for now, production is low. The plant is currently producing between 3,000 and 4,000 gallons of ethanol a day. In November, when it begins using Midwest and local corn along with potato waste and byproducts from Simplot, production will likely increase to 10,000 gallons a day. The plant will produce about |
| |
|
five million gallons of ethanol a year initially, but plant manager Stan Siewert said the company is applying for a permit to produce up to 15 million gallons a year. Greg Kreller / Idaho PressTribune
September 1st Alex Conger of Idaho Ethanol, LLC of Meridian Idaho, was interviewed by Radio Station KATY FM in Los Angeles about Ethanol and Conversion Systems
Bob
Madden
of KATY
FM
contacted
us
recently
to
assist
him with
a
project
he was
doing at
his
radio
station.
He
called
it "Alternate
Energy
Week".
They
would be
talking
about a
different
type of
Alternate
energy
Fuels
each
day.
He
stated
he would
like to
talk to
us about
ethanol,
and we
thought,
"what a
great
idea,
but
California
only has
only one
E85 pump
to
service
the
whole
state!".
We
decided
this was
great
opportunity
to get
information
out
about
the use
of
ethanol
and put
a little
pressure
on the
local
politicians
through
basic
education.
 Over
the next
4 days
we had
several
discussions
with Bob
about
the
advantages
of using
clean
burning
American
made
ethanol
and gave
him a
good
understanding
of just
why
people
should
use it.
We have
included
the
audio
clip for
your
listening
enjoyment.
As
always
if you
have any
questions
please
call us
at
866-568-3617.
FFI
Marketing
Team.
Listen
to the
Audio
Clip
Here
Congress Proceeding With Energy Bills 'Walk Through'
Congress is continuing its energy "walk through" this week for staffers to familiarize themselves with all elements of the House and Senate energy bills. The meetings plan to wrap up by Friday, however there's still no official word on when an actual energy conference would take place.
"Democratic and Republican committee staffs are continuing a bipartisan and bicameral exploration of the House (H.R. 3221) and Senate (H.R. 6) energy bills," according to an e-mail from Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Democratic Committee spokesman Bill Wicker. "The discussions are not to decide the destiny of any provisions, but rather to allow staffs to be educated as to the contents and back-stories of the various titles and sections in the two bills," he added.
"The meetings are alternating between House and Senate....[T]he provisions being examined this week are renewable fuels; carbon neutral government; green buildings; House provisions from the committees on Natural Resources, Education & Labor, Foreign Affairs, Small Business, Agriculture and Transportation & Infrastructure; CAFE [corporate average fuel economy]; price- gouging; climate R&D; loan guarantees; and miscellaneous," Wicker noted. Last week, topics included title IV of H.R. 3221, which includes biofuel studies and other fuel research and title IX, which contains energy efficiency language, but also renewable fuel infrastructure studies.
It appears the initial reticence Republican leadership had in having staffers attend the "walk through" is over. Last week, a spokesman for Senate ENR Ranking Member Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) said GOP staffers were not comfortable participating in any talks on the energy bills until there are assurances regarding how an energy conference will proceed.
While Wicker said no decisions on the energy conference have been made, GOP staffers are now attending the informal talks. "It just means that staff has started talking with each other about the two bills. (That's always the first step.)," he added.
Still, there continues to be silence from Democratic leadership on when an energy conference between the two bills would occur. However, one energy source said he has received indications that House leadership would like to complete an energy conference by Nov. 18, the end of the first continuing resolution to keep the government operating in the next fiscal year.
In a
recent
Business Week
article,
much
light
is
shed
on
the
growing
tension
between
Big
Oil
and
its
critics.
You
may
recall
in
an
NEVC
member
memo
last
month,
the
Consumer
Federation
of
America
published
a
report
called
"Big
Oil's
War
on
Ethanol,"
wherein
author
Mark
Cooper
suggested
big
oil
"perceives
the
growth
of
biofuels
as
an
independent,
competitive
threat
to
its
market
power."
This
perception
is
unlikely
to
fade
anytime
soon
and,
at
the
same
time,
the
Big
Oil
industry
continues
to
be
rewarded
for
its
minimal
involvement
with
ethanol.
Through
subsidies
created
by
Congress
to
encourage
a
larger
ethanol
market,
Big
Oil
collects
$.51
for
every
gallon
of
ethanol
it
mixes
with
gasoline
and
sells
as
E10.
This
injustice
infuriates
the
pro-ethanol
groups
who
worked
so
hard
to
secure
the
subsidies,
including
the
NEVC
and
the
auto
industry,
which
has
proudly
put
more
than
5
million
flex-fuel
vehicles
on
the
road
and
pledged
that
half
of
its
new-vehicle
sales
will
be
flex
fuel
by
2012.
However,
GM,
Ford
and
Chrysler
must
await
bigger
commitments
of
E85
pumps
before
doing
so.
Without
surprise,
Big
Oil
has
even
gone
so
far
as
to
utilize
their
abundant
ethanol
subsidies
for
implementing
campaigns
against
ethanol.
A
study
released
in
June
by
the
American
Petroleum
Institute
falsely
concluded
that
"consumers
will
be
'losers'
in
the
run
up
to
Congress'
target
of
35
billion
gallons
of
biofuel
by
2017
because
they
will
have
to
pay
so
much
more
for
food
as
corn
prices
rise
to
meet
ethanol
demand."
The
study
contains
flaws,
much
like
the
often
referenced
2005
paper
by
Cornell
University
falsely
concluding
ethanol
takes
29
percent
more
energy
to
produce
than
it
supplies,
which
uses
old
data
and
overestimates
corn
farm
energy
use
by
34
percent.
Clearly,
most
oil
companies
see
ethanol
as
being
too
inconvenient
for
them
to
integrate
in
their
operations,
since
it
does
require
separate
pumps,
trucks
and
storage
tanks.
Their
opposition
to
installing
E85
pumps
goes
so
far
in
some
cases
to
barring
even
their
branded
independents
from
buying
fuel
from
anyone
except
them.
Some
aren't
forbidden
from
buying
fuel
through
outside
sources
and
carrying
E85,
but
the
costs
they
must
incur
to
meet
the
gas
suppliers'
restrictions
are
so
high
they
might
have
to
spend
as
much
as
$200,000
to
install
a
separate
E85
pump.
This
helps
explain
why,
of
the
179,000
pumps
at
U.S.
fuel
stations,
less
than
1
percent
(about
1,300
stations)
are
able
to
affordably
carry
E85.
To
view
this
article
in
its
entirety,
Click
Here:
Gas
Prices
Headed
Back
Up
Again,
And
It's
Not
The
Top!
Every spring & winter, Americans enjoy soaring gasoline prices.
 The average price of all grades of gasoline will again leapt above $3 a gallon, the Energy Department said, already near the record highs of the past two summers.
With driving season fast approaching, energy experts are warning that gas prices have yet to find their peak. When they do, they will stubbornly hold that painful level throughout the summer. Supply will remain tight just as millions hit the road.
That assumes no big hurricanes or other major supply disruptions.
Running
On
Empty
U.S.
gasoline
stockpiles,
at
193.1
million
barrels,
have
never
been
this
low
at
this
time
of
year.
Stocks
have
plunged
from
an
excess
of
the
five-year
average
to
13
million
barrels
below
it.
They've
fallen
34.1
million
barrels
in
the
past
12
weeks,
according
to
DOE
data.
Commentary:
Not
once
in
this
story
was
mention
made
of
the
fact
that
Ethanol
&
Bio
Diesel
production
is
at
is
all
time
high
and
the
majority
of
the
middle
states
in
the
US
that
are
producing
large
amounts
of
ethanol
an
are
actually
assisting
the
fans
of
Bio
fuels.
At
the
corporate
offices
of
Idaho
Ethanol
and
Fuel
Flex
International
in
Boise
Idaho
we
have
been
getting
many
calls
from
people
all
over
the
west
and
asking
how
come
is
E85
the
same
price
as
Unleaded
regular
gas
or
higher
when
in
some
of
our
neighboring
states
it
is
20,
30,
40
cents
and
in
some
cases
as
much
as a
dollar
cheaper
than
gas.
We
have
tried
to
find
an
answer
for
you
in
Idaho,
but
keep
getting
"Its
nice
to
not
loose
money
for
a
change",
Hum,
well
I
say
that
this
is
not
acceptable
and
we
Americans
do
deserver
a
little
break.
The
guy
selling
or
blending
E85
does
get
a
handsome
break
(Tax
credit)
and
we
believe
it
is
time
to
share
this
with
the
consumer.
In
Idaho
call:
208-342-2512
and
ask
why!
|
Take a tour of the Caldwell Ethanol Plant from KTVB News
gasoline. E85 and blends
with even higher
concentrations of ethanol,
E95, for example, qualify as
alternative fuels under the
