Posted on 01/03/2014 5:30:46 AM PST by thackney
Ethanol producers are panicking amid speculation that the ethanol mandate could be drastically reduced or scrapped entirely this year as the biofuel loses its allure and bipartisan allies and former friends team up against it.
December saw California Democrat Dianne Feinstein—a renewable fuel champion--coordinate efforts with Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn to come up with a Senate bill to get rid of ethanol from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), citing fears that corn-based fuel production mandates will harm livestock producers.
In November, Washington proposed cutting the biofuels mandate for 2014 by 16% to 15.21 billion gallons. This would be the first cut in biofuels requirements, which were ideally set to grow each year with incremental increases in renewable fuel targets laid out in a 2007 law.
For renewable fuel targets, this represents a major setback because not only is 15.21 billion gallons for 2014 much less than the originally intended 18.15 billion gallons, it is also less than this year’s mandate of 16.55 billion gallons.
Two years ago the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the E15 blend, which contains 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline, for vehicles manufactured in 2001 or later. There has been little progress towards widespread use of E15 though, and today’s blend is commonly E10.
The problem is that the RFS set its parameters too far ahead and predictions are a tricky thing....
(Excerpt) Read more at oilprice.com ...
I completely believe that.
Yep. I suppose it is OK for engines that have a max build life somewhere around 750 miles at best. Actually, the engine shop can tell the team almost to within 10 miles how long it will last before it hand-grenades.
I suppose Austin also had forgotten about all of the engines that erupted for a while at the beginning of last year when NASCAR mandated the E85 blend for the spec fuel. But then again, he is a driver and could care less what it takes to get him from a green flag to the checker. Just as long as his motor coach is parked in the right place.
They also started to talk about how the fuel load distance was reduced by as much as 5 laps at Daytona and more in other cases just because of the change, but that didn’t bother NASCAR because it made it mandatory for more pit stops along the way to make the races more interesting. But that was quickly squelched.
I hope that everyone that was involved in the ethanol scam loses everything.
Everybody was happy when corn was less than $2 a bushel, except for the farmers going broke.
The use of ethanol for fuel instead of food is insane. To discontinue its mandated production may result in significantly lower food prices, which benefits our nation far more than producing ethanol to reduce are already low fuel imports.
What would also drive fuel costs lower is to offer incentives for oil refineries to build more plants. So many have shut down that the price of fuel is artificially high, and always borderline to shortage.
Remove ethanol from our gas and:
1. better running engines with improved mileage
2. gas prices will improve
3. food prices will improve
so, what’s the problem?? Get ethanol off our back!!
quick.....more bribes!!!!
There is nothing wrong with producing ethanol but corn is one of the least efficient bases to use. An acre of Sorghum will produce something like 1500 gallons of ethanol and an acre of corn I think less than half that.
I am not happy with the effects of ethanol on our car.
WILL harm livestock producers?
It already has done so.
Why do you think the price of beef is so high?
We already refine more product the we use in the US. No subsidies/incentives. The oil/gas companies will economically meet the demand without government intervention. They just need to be treated like any other business.
The thing about burning food for fuel is more of a myth than reality from my standpoint. We eat about 2% of the corn we raise and use another 8-10% for syrup, etc. used in manufacturing food products. Ethanol uses mostly #1 Dent [field corn] and the residual cake is used for livestock feed. The planted acres of corn in the country have remained roughly the same since the 90’s but production per acre has soared with the new hybrids and better use of technology, including irrigation. The land around our farm has produced 30% more corn since 2001.
I hate ethanol in fuel for what it does to older engines and small, especially 2 cycle engines, but it sure isn’t causing anyone to starve.
Adding alcohol to gasoline dilutes the fuel, and lowers the heat energy.
One US gallon of Gasoline (regular unleaded) = 114,100 BTU/gal
One US gallon of Ethanol (E100) = 76,100 BTU/gal [67% of gasoline BTU]
One US gallon of 10% Ethanol/Gasoline Blend (E10) = 110,300 BTU/gal [97% of gasoline BTU]
Math Check: [(114,100 X .9) + (76,100 X .1) = 110,300] [110,300/114,100 = .966]
Adding 10% ethanol to gasoline requires burning 3% more fuel to accomplish the same task.
Why do state and federal governments really like ethanol blended fuels?
Ethanol blended gasoline requires buying 3% more gallons of fuel in order to travel the same distance.
Highway fuels are taxed “by the gallon”, so governments collect more taxes with blended fuels.
Mandating the use of ethanol blended fuel was a disguise for a 3% hike in gasoline taxes.
U.S. CORN ACREAGE UP FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT YEAR
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Newsroom/2013/06_28_2013.asp
June 28, 2013
U.S. farmers successfully overcame a cold and wet early spring this year, planting 97.4 million acres of corn, up slightly from 2012, according to the Acreage report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). This is the highest acreage planted to corn since 1936 and marks a fifth year in a row of corn acreage increases in the United States.
This is from a Business Week article in 2006.
Ed Wallace has had his thumb on the pulse since day one.
Pretty much gives history, winners and us losers side of Ethanol.
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