Prices for ethanol are down right now compared to gasoline, which means drivers are saving money at the pump when they fill up with ethanol blends. But we could be saving even more if blenders could add up to 15 percent ethanol in regular gasoline. In this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” Renewable Fuels Association Vice President for Research Geoff …
Higher Ethanol Blends Could Mean Savings at the Pump
According to the Renewable Fuels Association, American drivers could be saving 12-19 cents per gallon if more ethanol were allowed in gasoline. Based on current wholesale prices, ethanol is selling for $0.70-$0.80 less than gasoline before the federal tax incentive for blenders is taken into account. This means gasoline blended with the statutory limit of 10% ethanol (E10) should cost …
Economist Defends Ethanol Jobs Numbers
In a commentary on the Natural Resources Defense Council blog, the organization’s Director of Renewable Energy Policy Nathanael Greene criticizes the ethanol industry for what he calls a “highly inflated jobs study” released earlier this week. Greene claims the industry’s jobs numbers are “way off” because they use both inflated jobs multipliers and inflated economic impact, creating what he calls …
Ethanol Starts 2010 With Record Production
U.S. ethanol production began 2010 on a record pace. The latest report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) puts January 2010 ethanol production at an average of more than 818,000 barrels per day, compared to 188,000 in January 2009. EIA also reports fuel ethanol imports of 1.4 million gallons in January. Ethanol demand, as calculated by the Renewable Fuels Association …
Loss of Ethanol Incentives Could Cost Jobs in Half the Nation
New research indicates that allowing the ethanol tax incentives to expire at the end of this year would mean job losses in 25 states, not just the Midwest. According to additional research conducted by economist John Urbanchuk, non-traditional ethanol producing states like California, Texas, Georgia, Colorado, and Tennessee would be hit by job losses due to the expiration of the …
Brazil Eliminates Tariff on Ethanol Imports
In a bid to get the United States to eliminate tariffs on imported ethanol, the Brazilian government has announced it will reduce their tax on ethanol imports to zero from the current 20 percent through the end of next year. The Brazilian Chamber of Foreign Trade (CAMEX) announced the temporary reduction Monday and it is expected to go into effect …
More Corn Acres for Food and Fuel
More corn acreage is in the forecast for this year, according to the USDA Prospective Plantings report out today, and there is still plenty more in storage. According to the forecast, farmers intend to plant 88.8 million acres of corn in 2010, three percent more than both last year and 2008. Meanwhile, the Grain Stocks report shows corn stocks as …
Free RFS2 Workshop Announced
For those who are interested in learning more about how RFS2 will be affecting your biofuels business, there is an RFS2 Workshop being held in Des Moines, Iowa at the Sheraton West Des Moines Hotel on April 6th. The workshop is being hosted by the Renewable Fuels Association, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the National Biodiesel Board. …
Ethanol Bob Tweeting President’s Energy Speech
Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen is on location at the site of President Obama’s speech this morning on energy initiatives for the United States. The event is being held in a hanger at Andrews Air Force Base with the backdrop of a Navy Green Hornet jet that will fly on biofuels on Earth Day. The president is …
Green Activists Continue Ethanol Smear Campaign
Another anti-biofuels report has been released, this time from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) who is arguing that an immediate benefit would ensue if current biofuels policies were repealed and replaced with policies that would take the world’s most productive cropland out of production. Maybe more alarming is that while the report attempts to discredit the most promising biofuels technologies, …