SD Corn

Anybody else tired of volatile oil prices and the effect they have on prices at the gas pump, grocery store and other transported goods? The price of a barrel of crude oil was back over $100 this week which means the cost of gas, food and many other goods will continue to climb as we approach the holiday season.

But what if there was a way to fight back against oil prices? Well there is, by choosing ethanol and other renewable fuels, consumers can not only save money, but lessen our countries dangerous dependence on foreign oil from countries that literally hate American freedoms. Think about it, no wars have been fought over ethanol! By choosing domestic biofuels, more young men and women will have the opportunity to work in green energy and less will be put in harm’s way overseas.

After swiping your card at the gas station, have you ever wondered where that money goes? Well about 50% of it leaves the country as America imports around half of its oil consumption. By choosing ethanol, your dollars stay right here in the USA stimulating green job growth and agriculture. In just five short years, ethanol has already helped our country reduce its percentage of imported fuel by 10%. American ethanol reduced our dependence on foreign oil by 445 million barrels in 2010 alone.

So how can we use more ethanol? First off, E10 has been approved for all cars and trucks. Next, the new blend E15 has been approved by the EPA for cars and light trucks 2001 and newer. Another way we can increase ethanol usage is to make sure you know whether or not your vehicle is flex fuel. If so, you can use ethanol blends like E30, E40 and all the way up to E85.

(For the flex fuel owners, click here for a complete map of ethanol blender pump stations)

So when fueling your ride, be sure to consider where your money is going. Is your hard earned dollar going to foreign lands or staying in the rural U.S.? Buy American, choose ethanol.

What is more American than ethanol? It’s grown, manufactured and consumed in this great nation creating jobs, tax revenues, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lessening our dependence on foreign oil. Its co-product feeds our cattle, hogs, poultry and aquaculture. But some people just don’t get it and one of those people include Sen. John McCain.

This week, United States Senator, John McCain (R-AZ) introduced an amendment to stop USDA programs from funding ethanol blender pumps. This is not Sen. McCain’s first attempt at this measure and certainly not his only his anti-ethanol effort. The amendment was later pulled Wednesday night.

The McCain camp says it’s time for ethanol to stand on its own, but the very same could be said for the oil industry who is still subsidized more than ten times that of ethanol. Some groups including the Renewable Fuels Association called this amendment a “jobs bill” for OPEC and it’s hard to disagree with that. To top it off, McCain has received some very handsome contributions from BIG OIL as well.

The investment and installation of blender pumps in the United States will continue to offer more and more consumers a choice when it comes to fueling their vehicles, a choice between dirty foreign oil and clean, American-made ethanol. Our country has created a 90% gasoline mandate which heavily relies on foreign oil. That dangerous addition to foreign energy cost’s our country more than $300 billion each year and comes from countries which despise American freedoms and values.

If our country is ever going to shake that addition, we will need more blender pumps, more flex fuel vehicles and an open fuel market creating equal opportunity for all energy options. Free markets are the American way and will allow for next generation biofuels to become a reality.

Biofuels like ethanol have come a long ways in the past ten years by creating infrastructure and jobs, but this attempt by McCain would have blocked the additional sale and distribution of our countries only readily available alternative to gasoline  halting that progress, which is simply un-American.

An ethanol deal has been reached between a bipartisan group of United States Senators in which they have agreed to end the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit as of July 31, 2011. The compromise will shift the funds saved from ending the tax credit towards federal deficit reduction, blender pump infrastructure and advanced biofuel tax credits.

The deal stems from Senators John Thune and Amy Klobuchar’s Ethanol Reform and Deficit Reduction Act and will put $1.3 billion towards the federal deficit and $668 million towards ethanol blender pump infrastructure.

 “After productive discussions with industry stakeholders over the past several weeks, we have reached a bipartisan solution that reduces the federal deficit and modifies current biofuels policy without pulling the rug out from under American renewable energy producers,” said Thune. “Domestic biofuels production in South Dakota and throughout the country continues to play an important role in reducing our nation’s dependence on foreign oil and creating American jobs. I look forward to moving our bipartisan plan through both the Senate and the House of Representatives.”

 Senator Thune has been a longtime supporter of ethanol and his efforts do not go unnoticed with his work in shaping the industry’s future.

 “I thank Senator Thune for his work in crafting a bipartisan path forward for the ethanol industry,” said Lisa Richardson, Executive Director of South Dakota Corn Growers Association. “Senator Thune continues to fight for rural America. With the significant budgetary challenges facing our country, it is important that the ethanol industry in South Dakota has common-sense policies in place to keep the biofuels industry moving forward. The enhanced blender pump tax credit will help give access to the market place, and the extended small producer tax credit will help our farmer-owned plants compete against foreign oil imports. We appreciate the work of Senator Thune and thank him for his continued support of agriculture producers in South Dakota.”

In his State of State Address on Tuesday, January 11, newly elected South Dakota Governor, Dennis Daugaard, discussed his future plans for the states’ ethanol industry moving forward in regards to helping lessen the state’s budget deficit.

The plan featured $3.5 million dollars that will be used in the expansion of the state’s blender pump infrastructure. Additional blender pumps will make ethanol more accessible in the market place giving more consumers the choice of using higher blends when filling up. Additional ethanol sales will likely stimulate much of the state’s economy benefitting ethanol plants, farmers, small businesses and consumers.

The state of South Dakota has long been a supporter of ethanol and blender pump infrastructure. Just last year, Representative Mitch Fargen sponsored a bill that helped gas station owners pay for the installation of blender pumps using funds that were allocated to South Dakota through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Daugaard also noted that the state’s ethanol plant incentives will be spread out over an two additional years, redeploying short-term incentives to build long-term infrastructure and industry. The dollars saved by the redistribution totaling $10 million will be used in the REDI fund, which is designed to promote job grow through low-interest loans to start-up firms.

Late last week, Council Members of the Southern California Association of Governments turned down $11 million worth of stimulus money that would have built 55 fueling stations in Southern California providing higher blends of ethanol.

Eileen Tutt, executive director of the California Electric Transportation Coalition, on Friday called the panel’s action “unfortunate.”

The money was turned down because of the group’s policy concerns about ethanol.

“Ethanol is a key fuel in our move away from petroleum dependence,” said Tutt, the former No. 2 in the California Environmental Protection Agency.  ”If we put the infrastructure in today, then we are closer to being prepared for when cellulosic ethanol is available.”

By accepting the grant money, around 221 jobs would have been generated, greenhouse gases would have been reduced by 27,000 tons and ethanol would have replaced 700 million gallons of petroleum.

Mike Lewis, chief of Pearson Fuels, said, “Dependence on foreign oil is the result of 1,000 little decisions and a few big decisions,” he said. “This was a big decision.”

The United States Environmental Protection Agency released their Renewable Fuels Standard 2 last Wednesday, showing that ethanol burns 21% cleaner than conventional gas (which includes the international indirect land-use change factor). Without the land use factor, ethanol actually burns 52% cleaner than gas.

Paul Wuebben, a clean fuels officer for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, urged the council to accept the dollars. “Ethanol is not perfect, he said, but its wider use would reduce dependence on gasoline and remove pollutants from the air.”

California has over 500,000 flex fuel vehicles.

“The infrastructure created by the ethanol stations could evolve over time to accommodate fuels made from other stocks. Stations could also be adapted for electric/flexible-fuels hybrid vehicles that are expected to become more popular on the market,” Wuebben said.

Last year there were a total of 1,950 gas stations offering higher blends of ethanol in the United States…a total of six are located in the Southern California Region.

You would think California (who has a projected 2010 state budget deficit of $25 billion) would be interested in $11 million that would generate jobs, create a cleaner environment and take a stride towards energy independence…but I guess that’s against their policy.

Ricardo Inc. made the ethanol community proud yesterday when it released its new Ethanol Direct Boost Injection engine at the Washington Auto Show. The engine is the first of its kind, using technology designed for diesel engines but taking advantage of the ethanol fuel properties.

 Ricardo put their engine in a one ton GMC pick-up as a test model for the auto show. The 3.2 V6 will be able to substitute any gas or diesel motor without losing performance or power.

“We think this could replace conventional engines, and could even replace diesels,” says Kent Niederhofer, president of Ricardo.

The optimum blend for the EDBI is between 30-50% ethanol, but can run on any blend of ethanol or regular gas. That fuel blend is becoming easier to find with the increase in ethanol blender pumps across the country.

The smaller 3.2 V6 EDBI engine will have an estimated cost of $4,500 more than that of the conventional gas, but will gain in efficiency. The one ton pick-up with a its normal engine averaged 12.7 miles per gallon with regular gas and 12.1 miles per gallon with ethanol. But when replaced with the EDBI engine, the vehicle got 15 miles per gallon on ethanol.

“People are likely to be amazed with the performance and fuel economy that can be delivered from a comparatively small displacement engine running on a renewable fuel such as ethanol,” said Rod Beazley, director of the Ricardo Inc.

Diesel Trucks usually cost around $8,000 more than conventional gas and the EDBI will weigh around 400-500 pounds less while maintaining the same torque and towing capabilities.

Advancements like the EDBI are solutions toward America lessening its dependence from foreign oil and strengthening its economy.