Ethanol. Right. Now.

Sound science and a fair playing field

The American Coalition for Ethanol recently submitted official comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the proposed rule for the Renewable Fuels Standard.  This "RFS2" has been a point of concern, specifically the EPA's inclusion of the controversial "international land use change" (ILUC) theory in the proposed rule.  It's also concerning that EPA appointed Tim Searchinger, the lawyer who is the very architect of the ILUC theory, a seat on the peer-review panel.  These so-called "indirect effects" are new, untested, unreliable, and controversial computer-generated predictions that are, at this time, being selectively applied only to corn ethanol. 

In our comments, ACE asked that EPA insist on greater scientific consensus and real-world data before moving forward to apply these penalties to biofuels in the final rule.  And if EPA insists on applying indirect effects, these effects should be applied to all fuels – not just ethanol.  This includes undertaking a complete lifecycle assessment of the indirect emissions association with petroleum.  Sound science and fair playing field is all we’re asking. 

Brazil's sugarcane industry rep speaks at ACE ethanol conference

Joel Velasco, Chief Representative in North America for Brazil's sugarcane industry association (UNICA), told ACE conference attendees that the U.S. and Brazil agree on 99 percent of things.  "We believe in the power of farmers and agriculture to solve many of these problems," Velasco said. 

Forty-six percent of Brazil's total energy use is considered renewable, he noted, and sugarcane makes up about 16 percent of the country's entire energy matrix.  Thanks to co-generation at the mills from burning the bagasse, sugarcane makes 3 percent of the country's electricity demand - and that may climb to 10 percent in the near future.  They don't have distillers grain to sell, but they have electricity to make, Velasco said.

Half a billion tons of cane were grown last harvest, making 7 billion gallons of ethanol.  This equals 31 billion metric tons of sugar.  Brazil's sugar output for food is up by 20 percent, responding mainly to India's shortfall in sugar production.  Velasco noted that India has shunned biofuels and now is short on sugar for food.

"There is no correlation between deforestation - it exists in Brazil, and it's a tragedy - but it has nothing to do with growing cane in Brazil or growing corn here in the U.S.," Velasco said.

In Brazil, the "gasoline" is actually E25.  Ethanol competes with gasoline and keeps gas prices in check.  "Gasoline in Brazil is now the alternative fuel," he said.

"The flex-fuel car has been very, very successful in Brazil," Velasco said, noting that General Motors does not offer a single car in Brazil that's not flex fuel today.  The Honda Civic can run on pure ethanol and meet all emissions standards in Brazil, the U.S., and in Europe.

Velasco says that Brazil supports the move to E15 in the U.S.  In UNICA's official comments to the U.S. EPA, they noted that throughout all of Brazil's many fuel changes over the years with different blends of ethanol, there were very, very few incidents with engines.  "We believe the technology is all there," he said, noting that if they could do it with 1970s automotive technology, it's probably ok today. 

U.S. House agreement on climate bill: no international land use charges to biofuels until independent study

U.S. House of Representatives leaders have brokered a deal ensuring that biofuels will not be charged with international indirect land use change emissions until there is widespread scientific agreement.  This new agreement ensures that science, not politics, will determine whether EPA can go forward with the highly controversial theory.

While both U.S. EPA and the California Air Resources Board have tried to impose such penalties on biofuels, ACE has consistently pointed out that these agencies have failed to demonstrate a link between biofuels production and tropical deforestation.  Singling out biofuels for selective enforcement of these "indirect effects" while holding petroleum harmless is scientifically indefensible and bad public policy.

ACE's press statement can be read here.  Executive VP Brian Jennings was interviewed on the national radio program AgriTalk; the program can be downloaded here and then advance to Brian's interview which begins at 11:00 and ends at 15:30.

Americans back to spending $1 billion a day on gasoline

One billion dollars a day is an astronomical figure -- and it's the amount Americans are spending every single day to gas up their vehicles.  Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, told the New York Times recently ("High Gas Prices Could Slow Recovery") that in January, consumers were spending about $600 million per day on fuel for their vehicles, but now that figure is back up to around $1 billion per day.  The article says, "The national jump in prices, far larger than the normal seasonal increase, is pulling billions of dollars from the pockets of drivers. It threatens to curtail a modest recovery in consumer spending on items like apparel and electronics."

Oil and gasoline prices are on the way back up, and this underscores the importance of having a cost-effective alternative like ethanol.  For example, the Nebraska Ethanol Board recently did an analysis that showed Nebraska drivers have already saved more than $4.5 million this year by choosing E10 at the pump.  And, they say, if all the fuel sold in the state in the past five years was E85, Nebraskans would have saved $2.6 billion. 

Let's not spend $1 billion a day on a non-renewable, often imported fuel.  Ethanol is a cost-effective, homegrown alternative that can keep money circulating in our nation's economy and give it the boost that it needs.  The EPA allowing up to 15 percent ethanol per gallon would be a good start.

EPA needs to schedule some time in the Heartland

A recent Congressional hearing shed some light on the many unknowns surrounding how the Environmental Protection Agency's biofuels regulations will affect American farmers and ethanol producers. 

A May 21st hearing held by the House Small Business Committee, "The Impacts of Outstanding Regulatory Policy on Small Biofuels Producers and Family Farmers," included testimony by Margo Oge, the Director of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality. Ms. Oge was asked by Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) how much time during her 29-year career with EPA she'd spent on farms in the United States seeing first-hand the impact of the agency's rule-making.  Her answer: "I have not spent any time on farms in the United States."  View a video clip here.

Since the hearing, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has invited EPA employees including Ms. Oge to visit his family's farm in Iowa to see first-hand the impressive things farmers are doing to produce food, feed, and fuel.  The American Coalition for Ethanol seconds this request and urges EPA officials to schedule a visit soon to some of America's family farmers and ethanol plants.