Domestic Fuel

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, pictured here squeezing into an ethanol-powered funny car, is calling for a study into distributing ethanol by pipeline.

Harkin and Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN) introduced legislation on Friday to direct the U.S. Department of Energy to study “the feasibility of transporting ethanol by pipeline from the Midwest to the East and West coasts, where demand is growing.”

According to a Harkin press release, given the increasing ethanol demand, there may be economic benefits to transporting ethanol through dedicated pipelines. However, such a dedicated system could take a decade or more to build.

“With the ethanol production and demand both on the rise, we need an accurate and fair analysis of the potential to distribute ethanol around the country by pipeline,” said Harkin. “We continue to hear comments that it can’t but done efficiently, but it is happening right now in Brazil. The goal of this bill is to examine the issue and get all the facts on the table.”