The U.S. ethanol industry has already met – and beat – the requirement for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) set for 2006 this year, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. RFA quotes the September report from the Energy Information Administration that puts ethanol production in September at an average 261,000 barrels per day (b/d), which is almost 11 million gallons. Multiply that by 365 and they come up with an annualized figure of over 4 billion gallons – the goal for the first year of the RFS, which is next year.
“Some people questioned whether the ethanol industry would be able to meet the RFS requirement of 4 billion gallons in 2006,” said RFA President Bob Dinneen. “Well, this announcement by EIA answered those skeptics. On an annualized basis, we’re producing that much ethanol today! With more than a billion gallons of production capacity currently in construction, the U.S. ethanol industry will very soon become the world’s leading producer of renewable fuels.”

So there!