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| A 10 percent ethanol requirement in Idaho would create a
60-million-gallon-per-year market. |
Proposal Calls for 10 Percent Ethanol in Idaho Gasoline (12-06-04)
A recent proposal by the Idaho Farm Bureau (IFB) would require
every gallon of gasoline sold in the state to contain at least
10 percent ethanol by 2010. If the plan is adopted, Idaho would
join Minnesota and Hawaii as the only states with statewide ethanol
requirements.
The National Corn Growers
Association (NCGA) supports efforts such as the IFB proposal
to expand and strengthen the ethanol market.
In introducing the proposal, Farm Bureau lobbyist Russ Hendricks
said the proposal is “a non-intrusive way to have everybody,
every consumer, contribute to the quality of the air.”
Aside from the clean air benefits, increased ethanol usage means
economic growth for rural America and less dependence on foreign
sources of energy, according to NCGA First Vice President Gerald
Tumbleson.
“Ethanol has not only reduced greenhouse gas emissions and
contributed to cleaner air, but it also has served as a significant
economic engine for rural communities across the country,” he
said. “And every gallon of ethanol that’s introduced
to the U.S. fuel supply helps decrease our reliance on foreign
oil.”
Idaho has just one ethanol
plant currently in operation, a 4-million-gallon-per-year facility
that uses potato waste as its main feedstock. But because
the ethanol requirement wouldn’t take effect until 2010,
producers, retailers and distributors would have time to establish
a sound logistical plan to provide the state’s drivers with
clean-burning E-10, Hendricks said. A 10 percent ethanol requirement
in Idaho would create a market for more than 60 million gallons
of ethanol per year, based on gasoline consumption data from 2003.
Tumbleson pointed to
the success of the E-10 program in Minnesota. The state now produces
nearly 500 million gallons of ethanol per
year, giving Minnesota farmers a reliable market for their corn
and creating thousands of jobs for the state’s workforce.
And according to statistics from the Energy Information Administration,
the cost of a gallon of gasoline in Minnesota is consistently 7-10
cents below the national average.
The average price of regular gasoline in Idaho last week was $2.03
per gallon, while Minnesotan drivers paid $1.87 per gallon, according
to the American Automobile Association.
“I’ve seen firsthand what ethanol has done for Minnesota,
and I don’t see any reason why other states can’t enjoy
those same benefits,” he said.