New York lawmakers have introduced bills in Congress to provide tax credits for ethanol plants in four states which consume more than 2 percent of gasoline but make less than 2 percent of ethanol. The four states are New York, California, Florida and Texas. Small producers in these states would receive a credit of 20 cents per gallon of ethanol produced, up to 50 million gallons a year, as long as total annual production does not exceed 150 million gallons.

Congressman Brian Higgins of Buffalo, NY introduced Senator Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) Ethanol Stimulus Act of 2006 in the House this week. Logically, Higgins’ district in western New York would stand to benefit from the bill. RiverWright Energy LLC, a Buffalo-based alternative fuel company, is planning to build an $80 million ethanol plant along the Buffalo River with a 110 million gallon per year capacity.