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In a press conference on Wednesday, President Bush noted the amazing growth in ethanol this year.

“I’m pleased with the fact that we’ve gone from about a billion gallons of ethanol to over five billion gallons of ethanol in a very short period of time,” Bush said.

According to the Renewable Fuels Association, by the time the year comes to a close, the U.S. will have used more than 5 billion gallons of ethanol. That’s 25 percent more than called for in the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) that went into effect at the beginning of the year.

The new Undersecretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Trade mentioned ethanol in his first meeting with reporters on Wednesday. Mark Keenum noted that there are now 110 ethanol refineries on line.

“And we’ve got about 50 or so refineries that are in the process of being constructed,” said Keenum. “When they come on line we’re going to be right at nine billion gallons.”

USDA chief economist Keith Collins said Wednesday that a record two billion bushels of corn was made into ethanol this year. “Many people in the industry are expecting that corn going to ethanol will increase by in the order of a billion bushels in 2007.”

2006 will be remembered as the year ethanol came of age.

The Renewable Fuels Association put together a list of important events for ethanol in 2006:

January 1 – The Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) takes effect. The program is implemented under the default guidelines as the full program is developed.

January 31 – During the State of the Union Address, President Bush declares, “America is addicted to oil.”

February 20-22 – National Ethanol Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

April 25 – President Bush addresses the Renewable Fuels Association and others in the renewable fuels industry at the Renewable Fuels Summit 2006.

May 5 – Gasoline refiners complete voluntary elimination of MTBE from the market.

May 25 – The nation’s 100th ethanol biorefinery opens in Iowa.

May 27 – The Indianapolis 500 runs on a 10 percent ethanol blend, representing the first change in fuel in more than 30 years. In 2007, the entire Indy Racing League, including the Indy 500, will run on 100 percent ethanol.

May 29 – The Renewable Fuels Association rings the opening bell on the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York City.

August 8 – The Renewable Fuels Standard celebrates its one-year anniversary with no fewer than 29 new ethanol biorefineries under construction since the bill was passed.

September 9 – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) releases its proposed rule to fully implement the Renewable Fuels Standard.

October 10-12 – For the first time, three cabinet members and the President of the United States speak from the same stage about the importance of renewable fuels in America’s energy future.

November 14 – Big 3 automakers, General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler meet with President Bush and pledge to make half of new vehicles manufactured FFVs by the end of the decade.

December 9 – Mark “The Flying Farmer” Thomas is awarded his sixth IHRA Alcohol Funny Car World Championship running on 100 percent ethanol.

December 10 – Congress extends the tax credit offset on imported ethanol to January 1, 2009.

Expect more in 2007.

Despite increased demand for ethanol in the U.S., imports declined in both September and October of this year, according to preliminary data supplied by the federal Energy Information Administration.

October imports of the plant-derived gasoline additive stood at 1.505 million barrels, down from 2.194 million barrels in September, and down from the record-high 3.203 million barrels in August. The October level is also below June and July import levels.

Brazil provided 824,000 barrels, down from 1.318 million barrels in September. Most of the Brazilian barrels were bound for the East Coast of the remainder, 105,000 barrels went to Houston and 101,000 barrels went to the West Coast.

Other suppliers of ethanol for the U.S. include China, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Canada and Trinidad.

Read Dow Jones report.

The Chicago Board of Trade has successfully launched clearing services for two new over-the-counter Ethanol Calendar Swap contracts with the clearing of 60 contracts last week.

The new products, forward and previous month calendar swaps, are based on the price of CBOT Ethanol futures contracts and are the first exchange-cleared OTC products to be specifically tailored for use in the ethanol industry.

CBOT Senior Vice President of Business Development, Robert D. Ray said, “As the ethanol market continues to grow and mature, the CBOT, in close collaboration with our clients will continue to create new and innovative opportunities and services for the ethanol industry. The CBOT Ethanol Calendar Swap contracts are a perfect example of this collaborative process, providing a standard, transparent reference price to the OTC market, while reducing counterparty risk.”

Read more from the CBOT.

From the Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

One company foresees nearly limitless demand for alternative fuel as gas prices continue to rise.

Their outlooks on the industry differ, but Indiana Bio-Energy LLC and Broin Cos. each plan to invest more than $100 million to build ethanol plants in Wells County. Only three miles would separate the two plants southwest of downtown Bluffton. With the competition so close, each company recognizes it will need to be as efficient as possible to succeed in an industry projected to be increasingly cutthroat.

Read full story.

From the Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana)

“Ethanol could be the salvation of Louisiana agriculture,” says Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Bob Odom. He and others are hoping the future begins here.

The $56 million mill, built with state taxpayer money, is now owned by a partnership of area farmers and Andino Sugar Development, LLC, a company with headquarters in Colombia. They say they plan to put a plant to make ethanol from sugar syrup produced on the site by 2008.

Read the whole story.