Posted: 07.14.2010

Wisconsin ethanol supporters say now is the time for a comprehensive energy bill and Congress needs to include ethanol as a part of America’s cleaner, greener energy future. 

Tuesday a group of ethanol supporters were in front of Badger State Ethanol in Monroe.  the group included members of Growth Energy, the coalition of U.S. ethanol supporters, along with representatives of the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association and Wisconsin Bio Industry Alliance.  The group told reporters that ethanol is the only viable alternative to oil available today and the best bet to prevent another environmental catastrophe like that in the Gulf of Mexico.  

“Every oil sodden animal and oil coated beach we see on the nightly news is another painful reminder of the true costs of our addiction to oil,” said Gary Kramer, president of Badger State Ethanol.  “We as a nation owe it to ourselves, our children and our planet to find a better way.  We need a future that depends less on oil and more on American-made biofuels, like ethanol.” 

Ethanol has 60 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline, provides thousands of good paying jobs in rural areas, including tens of thousands in Wisconsin, and provides a clean, homegrown alternative to oil, said Kramer. 

 “We know ethanol is viable and valuable as an alternative fuel. Yet the federal government has capped the amount of ethanol that can be blended in our tanks to just 10 percent. We need to lift that cap and give consumers a choice at the pump,” said Kramer. 

Right now the Environmental Protection Agency is considering a request to raise the limit of ethanol blended in conventional gasoline to 15 percent (E15). The agency was supposed to make a decision on the matter in last December, but recently delayed, for a second time, any such action until early fall. 

Raising the cap could produce as many as 136,000 new jobs in America. 

In addition to approving E15, the ethanol supporters are asking Congress to: 

• Create an infrastructure in which American motorists can easily choose alternative fuel by requiring all cars sold in America to be “flex-fuel” vehicles that can use virtually any blend of ethanol and gasoline. 
• Support significantly wider usage of “blender pumps” at gas stations so that motorists can choose for themselves the most suitable fuel at the best value. 
• Ensure the construction of dedicated ethanol pipelines to move the fuel quickly and cost-effectively around the country. 
• Move quickly to renew the import tariff and blenders’ tax credit which enable our industry to grow without interference from subsidized foreign ethanol.  

“Ethanol and biofuels in general reduce greenhouse gas emissions, are a reliable and renewable source of energy and provide economic benefits to all American families—either through growing America’s fuel directly or through purchasing it at the pump,” said Bob Oleson, executive director of the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association. “No job has ever been sent overseas because of ethanol, no war has ever been fought to protect it and no ecosystem has ever been destroyed because of it,” added Oleson echoing a recent advertising campaign by Growth Energy and the Wisconsin Corn Growers.   

A recent study from the USDA’s Office of Energy Policy showed a substantial net energy gain in ethanol production in just the last six years, clearly demonstrating the technological advancements happening in ethanol production. 

“The findings prove that ethanol production is becoming cleaner and more efficient at a time when oil production continues to become dirtier and more difficult to extract,” said Jason Rae, Associate Director of the Wisconsin Bio Industry Alliance.

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