 Since its founding in 1978, the Nebraska Corn Board has worked closely with farmers, industry and the government to lay the foundation for today’s ethanol industry. Stone-by-stone and step-by-step, these tireless efforts add up to a bona fide success story: Clean burning fuel ethanol provides an important market for home grown corn and has jump-started many rural communities.
One Nebraska plant in 1985 has grown to 21 ethanol plants in early 2008 – and more plants are currently under construction and planned. Spread throughout much of the state, these plants have a capacity of more than 1.3 billion gallons. Combined, they consume about 500 million bushels of corn per year. By 2010, the amount of Nebraska corn going into Nebraska-based ethanol plants could reach nearly 700 million bushels.
There is little doubt that the growth of the ethanol industry has significantly changed rural Nebraska – providing good paying jobs, a good market for locally grown corn and a beneficial feed ingredient known as distillers grains that is of value for the local livestock industry. In fact, a typical 100 million gallon ethanol plant adds on average 50 jobs in the community where it is located, purchases about 37 million bushels of corn from local growers and produces about 320,000 tons of distillers grains (dried equivalent). It also generates nearly $4.5 million in tax revenue.
On the national level, fuel ethanol production capacity has passed 8.1 billion gallons at more than 140 production facilities. Supportive renewable fuel legislation, high oil prices and consumers have pushed the growth rapidly – from 1.1 billion gallons in 1996. More than 50 additional facilities are under construction or planned and if completed, they will add another 5 billion in ethanol production capacity. For the latest national figures, visit the Renewable Fuels Association.
Although ethanol has been the choice of most drivers in Nebraska – with market share reaching 70 percent or more in 2007, the success of the industry and corresponding rise in grain prices has encouraged some to question the numerous benefits of ethanol. Many of these issues are addressed by the National Corn Growers Association.
Although E10 (10 percent ethanol blend) is common throughout Nebraska – and growing more prevalent across the country – the use of E85 (a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent regular unleaded gasoline) is also growing thanks to continued sales of Flex Fuel vehicles. Flex Fuel vehicles can use regular unleaded, E10, E85 or any combination of all three. To find a list of E85 stations in Nebraska, click here. To find a list of Flex Fuel vehicles, check out the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition’s website.
There has also been some early research demonstrating that regular vehicles could utilize E20 or higher blends of ethanol without any problems or loss in fuel economy. For information on this study, as well as information on ethanol in general, visit the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE).
ACE also has information for fuel retailers, as does the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC), which you can visit by clicking here.
EPIC also has an abundance of information on the benefits of ethanol, including the fact that ethanol is the fuel of choice for several professional racing series. Yes…clean-burning ethanol powers the IndyCar and other racing series!
|
