What's going on in California?

If we’re talking ethanol, a lot.  California is the largest state market for ethanol, and decisions being made there are creating one of those “I’ve got good news and bad news” scenarios.  Which do you want first?

The good news is very good.  After years of using only a 5.7 percent ethanol blend (and still being the largest ethanol market), California now allows 10 percent ethanol per gallon of gasoline, and the state is in full switch-over mode to E10.  Drivers there probably didn’t even notice the difference, but they now are the benefiting from having almost twice as much clean burning, renewable ethanol in their tanks.  This is good news for those motorists, for the state’s air quality, and for America’s ethanol producers who have a newly expanded market.

However.  There is this matter of the LCFS – low carbon fuel standard.  The bad news is that the California Air Resources Board is insisting on charging biofuels with “indirect effects” while charging all other fuels with only “direct effects.”  Hardly seems fair.  If the LCFS moves forward as written, corn-based ethanol may not qualify as a low-carbon fuel for use in California.  This article in the Aberdeen, SD American News goes into more detail about the potential implications.

Ethanol Today magazine is featuring this issue in its March/April edition.  Read more in "Ethanol in California: Past Success, Future Questions" now available online.

Posted by: Kristin Brekke