Ethanol poured more than $2.2 billion in revenues into local, state, and federal tax coffers in 2006… and is expected to go over $3 billion this year.
In this press release from the Nebraska Ethanol Board, The Economic Impacts of Ethanol Production produced by the group Ethanol Across America purports that ethanol plants are also producing hundreds of million of dollars in direct and indirect economic for local communities:
“These are substantial sums that result directly from these facilities,” said U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE), Co-Chairman of the Ethanol Across America campaign. “When indirect and induced jobs are considered, along with capital spending and investment, the ethanol industry is adding more than $40 billion of gross output to the U.S. economy. These are monies that are being returned to our local communities and providing improved public services,” said Senator Nelson.
The report looks at the ripple effect of these facilities and ethanol’s role in reducing gasoline prices. By displacing oil imports, ethanol can reduce the U.S. trade deficit by $13 billion annually. The USDA estimates that ethanol production will reduce federal farm subsidies by nearly $1 billion over the next seven years.
”We are keeping U.S. dollars at home—plain and simple,” said U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), another member of the Ethanol Across American Advisory Board. “We are increasing net farm receipts, reducing federal farm subsidies, and lowering gasoline prices by expanding the overall fuel supply. And we are doing this with little if any impact on food prices.”
You can read the full report by clicking here.