Ethanol Economic Impacts Issue Brief Released
The Ethanol Across America education campaign has released the Economic Impacts of Ethanol Production Issue Brief this week. The purpose of the report is to illustrate the significant benefits of ethanol production to the U.S. economy. The latest Brief in the series examines the impacts of several fuel ethanol facilities in the states including South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Indiana and shows how they are positively helping the economy.
“We have long been aware of the benefits of ethanol production at the local level, and the case studies we provide clearly quantify that. This brief also makes it clear that jobs resulting from the ethanol industry, both direct and indirect, fuel the economy at all levels,” said Douglas A. Durante, the director of the Ethanol Across America Campaign.
According to the Brief, and citing a third party study, the ethanol industry added $2.9 billion of gross output to the U.S. economy in just 2009. It also highlights the reduction in Federal outlays for farm programs as well as the substantial energy costs savings. The Brief states that increasing the motor fuel pool with ethanol lowers the cost of gasoline to consumers and the potential for reducing oil imports could lower the U.S. oil bill by more than $60 billion dollars per year.
The report also calculates that full implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2), which will largely be met with ethanol, could increase net farm receipts across the country by $13 billion per year. One case study illustrates that a 50 million gallon per year biomass ethanol plant in the Northeast would generate $170 – $200 million in income and create between 4,000 and 6,000 jobs during construction. Ethanol production from wood, agriculture residues, waste paper, and other cellulosic sources is being looked at in every state.
“Displacing imported oil, reducing health costs, creating jobs, reducing federal outlays– the list goes on,” said Durante. “With Congress and the Administration calling for a renewed commitment to producing domestic, clean energy, biofuels like ethanol make more sense than ever. With so many new members of Congress eager to look at these issues, we wanted to make this information available to them as they begin this new session.”
5 Comments »
Todd
Education campaign? You mean propaganda campaign! Gas mileage decreases 10% – 15% with E10, how does that save energy? Ethanol barely if at all, results in any kind of net energy increase. It may indeed reduce crop support $$ from the government but with all the subsidies given to the ethanol industry it’s not really “saving” any tax dollars – it’s costing more. As for jobs in the corn belt, those numbers only indicate jobs during construction – which is fleeting. Sustained jobs are what are needed, and at 30 or 40 people per plant, that doesn’t amount to a hill of beans. Figuring land use changes into it shows a 97% higher carbon footprint for E10 than for conventional gas, so it’s not good for the environment either.
But the worst part is what is does to food prices in third world countries. We can afford it in the US, but they can’t afford it in Mexico, Madagascar, or Tunisia. The govt just fell in Tunisia, and food prices had a lot to do with it. When 40% or more of what you make has to be spent on food, then when the price of food doubles, (which it has for them) people start to starve. To ignore that because we live in the US and can afford increases in the price of food is just simply wrong.
Ethanol is a scam, it makes millionaires out of the people who facilitate the conversion of tax dollars into campaign contributions, and the consumer gets nailed for it twice, first by having to pay to support it via tax dollars, and then by being forced to buy an inferior product at the pump. You should be ashamed!!
Dean
“According to the Brief, and citing a third party study, the ethanol industry added $2.9 billion of gross output to the U.S. economy in just 2009.” In 2009 taxpayers forked over about $5 billion to the oil companies in tax credits to blend the ethanol that they were required to blend by law. We could have saved money just by giving the $2.9 billion to ethanol companies not to make the product and saved money. Does this remind you of any other agriculture corporate welfare programs?
“The Brief states that increasing the motor fuel pool with ethanol lowers the cost of gasoline to consumers and the potential for reducing oil imports could lower the U.S. oil bill by more than $60 billion dollars per year.” Ethanol now costs more to make than gasoline so it is actually increasing the cost of gasoline to the consumer. Coupled with lower mileage and property damage caused by ethanol blended gasoline, the consumer is getting totally screwed. Oil imports have increased every year that EISA 2007 has been in effect. I defy you to provide a link to one large scale, independent, statistically significant study that shows the ethanol program has reduced our dependence on foreign oil.
flaboater1
Poor Todd…Believing the previous propaganda! Todd, who do you think drives all the negativity of ethanol in the marketplace? Big Oil and Big Auto…They have been together since the 1920′s when Ford’s push to utilize ethanol was quashed by Standard Oil, GM and Chrysler…Do you really think prohibition was about drinking? LOL!
FYI there are over 5 times more incentives given to Big Oil than to ethanol, only you don’t here about them, or they are so ingrained into society that no one notices…Did you know that the recent “incentives” for blending of ethanol into fuel goes to BIG OIL? Think about who is really scamming the public…
BIG OIL has their hands in most facets of your everyday life…Plastics, transportation, food, technology, Pharma…Think about their reach…do you want to have all of your life dependent on BIG OIL? Do you really want this in the hands of foreign governments? With China, India and others growing, who do you think are going to buy up more and more oil?
Car engines can be designed to utilize ethanol as economically as gasoline, if Big Auto embraced the potential. While ethanol has less “energy” than gasoline, gasoline converts more energy into “heat” than does ethanol…Have you ever felt a hot gas engine, compared on a cooler running biofuel powered engine. Think about how much more you have to “cool” a car engine because it runs so hot…Why do you think there is a big push to use CFL or LED lights? regular bulbs waste energy into HEAT, as does gasoline engines…
Corn ethanol does utilize “food stuff” to a degree, but corn based ethanol is transitioning to more productive, non food based sources to produce ethanol. Many third world countries have abundant sources of biofuel at their disposal, without taking up food crops…What is a reasonable short term solution to bring up the standards of the third world for fuel and electricity…Nuclear, Solar, wind? all these are expensive…
Do some research on your own. Don’t be lazy and rehash someone elses propaganda
Francis Patrick
“Education campaign? You mean propaganda campaign!”
the propaganda campaign is the anti-ethanol tirades by the international oil industry.
” Gas mileage decreases 10% – 15% with E10, how does that save energy?”
That’s because the engine is designed for gasoline. An ethanol designed engine would get the same or better mileage because ethanol has a much higher octane than gas allowing for higher compression engines like diesel.
” It may indeed reduce crop support $$ from the government but with all the subsidies given to the ethanol industry it’s not really “saving” any tax dollars – it’s costing more.”
No it’s not. The government gets $2 billion more than they pay in subsidies.
“As for jobs in the corn belt, those numbers only indicate jobs during construction – which is fleeting. Sustained jobs are what are needed, and at 30 or 40 people per plant, that doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.”
Don’t forget to include the transportation jobs to and from the
plant.
” Figuring land use changes into it shows a 97% higher carbon footprint for E10 than for conventional gas, so it’s not good for the environment either”
What land use changes are you talking about? We don’t use anymore acres for corn than we did in 1944..
“But the worst part is what is does to food prices in third world countries. We can afford it in the US, but they can’t afford it in Mexico, Madagascar, or Tunisia. The govt just fell in Tunisia, and food prices had a lot to do with it. When 40% or more of what you make has to be spent on food, then when the price of food doubles, (which it has for them) people start to starve. To ignore that because we live in the US and can afford increases in the price of food is just simply wrong.”
You’re not going to relieve starvation with corn starch which is what is used in distillation of corn into ethanol. The nutrients of the grain remain in the distillers grain.
“Ethanol is a scam, it makes millionaires out of the people who facilitate the conversion of tax dollars into campaign contributions, and the consumer gets nailed for it twice, first by having to pay to support it via tax dollars, and then by being forced to buy an inferior product at the pump. You should be ashamed!!”
Oil is a scam. We get nailed every time they decide to raise the price at the gas pump. You should be ashamed.
Energy Security Issue Brief Released - Domestic Fuel
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