Ethanol Industry Sets Record in 2005

RenewableEnergyAccess.com ^ | March 6, 2006 | staff

[kellynla]

Washington, DC [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) announced that the U.S. ethanol industry set annual production records in 2005, producing just less than 4 billion gallons (3.904 billion gallons) and averaging nearly 255,000 barrels of ethanol production daily, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

"These figures represent not only the tremendous growth our industry is experiencing, but also the future growth that will occur," said RFA President Bob Dinneen.

"Demand for ethanol will only continue to grow as refiners remove MTBE from the marketplace and more Americans switch to this clean burning, renewable fuel," said Dinneen. "The U.S. ethanol industry, with 2.1 billion gallons of capacity currently under construction, will continue to expand to meet this soaring demand."

Currently, 95 ethanol plants have a combined production capacity of more than 4.3 billion gallons a year.

[Mr. Lucky]

naysayers like you

Has anyone ever told you you don't play well with others?

[No.6]

"...."Right ... and that's sugar that flavors your Coke(tm) or other soda of choice."......
We turned away ethanol, not sugar. I don't get what you are saying. The ethanol was already made at 55 cents per gallon. The price is higher today, but so is everything else. They still run their cars on ethanol that is 1/2 the price of gas, right now,... today. I would imagine the price is somewhere around $1- $1.50, which is still cheaper than the $2.20 at my pump in town. Sugar in the world market is double since the State of the Union message. It's still cheaper than corn however for ethanol purposes."

I was drawing an analogy between protective trade policies with respect to corn vs. sugar and ethanol and those with respect to corn vs. sugar and soda.

[expat_panama]

maybe you should take a vacation to Brazil and see what is going on...

Brazil is a fine place but my next vacation will be in the US --it's better.  

Ethanol is a fine energy source for specific applications, but when I'm driving a car around in the states I'll be using gasoline so I can save money.   I'd have been able to save more money if I hadn't been forced against my will by idiots to pay for ethanol subsidies.  It's not so much the money --I wouldn't have minded as much if the money had been spent preventing marine deaths overseas but big farm wanted the money for themselves even if it allowed more marines to suffer and die than would have otherwise.

Some people here think it's OK but I say it's outrageous.

[from occupied ga]

Whatever the cost, it's cheaper than the life of one Marine!

What a total non-sequitor. Why don't you just walk everywhere?

[Mr. Lucky]

Some folks might find the fact that you don't know what you're talking about to be outrageous.

[kellynla]

"non-sequitor?"

what is a "non-sequitor"

if you're going to use Latin at least learn how to spell. LMAO

[from occupied ga]

I see your response is up to your usual intellectual level - picking on typos instead of substance. But since you've failed to grasp the whole concept that ethanol uses more energy than it produces this doesn't surprise me.

[brewcrew]

Has anyone ever told you you don't play well with others?

Watch it - he might start calling you really nasty names like "Stupid Head" and "Butt Munch."

[Mr. Lucky]

I know you are, but what am I?

...or something like that.

[Pessimist]

"The Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol: An Update", by Hosein Shapouri and James A. Duffield, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, and Michael Wang of the Center for Transportation Research, Energy Systems Division, Argonne National Laboratory. Agricultural Economic Report No. 813: "Corn ethanol is energy efficient... For every BTU dedicated to producing ethanol there is a 34% energy gain... Only about 17% of the energy used to produce ethanol comes from liquid fuels, such as gasoline and diesel fuel. For every 1 BTU of liquid fuel used to produce ethanol, there is a 6.34 BTU gain."
http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pr020801b.html
Full report (Acrobat file, 176 kb):
http://www.usda.gov/oce/oepnu/aer-814.pdf

[expat_panama]

you don't know what you're talking about

Dang! -- I'd wish you'd have told me that before I posted my comment and made myself look foolish.   Aw well, at least I'm lucky enough to run into a smart guy like you who can bring me up to speed..  Let's see  --this is what I've got:

1.	.	Ethanol subsidy is reported at somewhere between $50 million and $100 million per year depending on who you believe.
2.		This years increase in the federal budget request for the Marines had to be limited to just $800 million.   The additional funding made funding available for "a new Marine Corps Special Operations component to conduct special reconnaissance and other missions; establishes a SOF Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron".   This will save the lives of many Marines.
3.		If the budget for this component had been increased by ten percent then fewer marines would have died.
4.		Instead, the money has to go to farmers to make fuel that I nobody wants to buy unless the IRS forces them to.

What am I missing?

[kellynla]

"Your credentials are now extremely suspect."

what you know about the Marine Corps and Marines wouldn't fill a canteen... and those of us who served couldn't care less what some anonymous clown who didn't serve...thinks.


in the mean time, quit bothering me with your inane posts, because my tagline says it all after reading posts like yours...

[kellynla]

"substance?"
since when did you evvvvver post any "substance?" ROFLMAO

here's one of your inaccurate "substances"

"ethanol uses more energy than it produces this doesn't surprise me"

try telling that to the Brazilians who kept SIXTY NINE BILLION DOLLARS IN BRAZIL by producing ethanol rather than spending it on foreign oil and they do it for 2/3's the cost of gasoline on the world market!

you not only can't spell; you are ignorant of the subject


Do me a favor and quit bothering me with your dumb remarks until you educate yourself on the subject!

[brewcrew]

You, sir, are completely and utterly anonymous to me and everyone else here. You can claim to be whatever you like.

You also have no clue about my service. I suggest you tone it down.

[kellynla]

get lost, junior...you're in over your head

[brewcrew]

It's obvious to everyone that you are the type who must have the last word at all cost. So go ahead - take your last shot at me and I promise I won't respond.

[expat_panama]

what you know about the Marine Corps and Marines wouldn't fill a canteen...

.

A civilian employee, who works to upgrade the Humvee A2s, prepares a piece of armor that will be used to further protect Marine vehicles against insurgent attacks.

It's wonderful that you have all the answers.  Please tell us more.  Let's say the work in this picture costs $20,000.   The money you want to give to farmers for making fuel that nobody wants to buy would have protected an additional 80 thousand Humvee's. 

Next year another 80,000 Humvee's.

And on and on.

Now I realize you marines are really tough and don't need much armor, but IMHO far too many marines have died while farmers got fat on wasteful subsidies.

You're so smart, tell us why farm welfare is worth the lives of so many marines?

[kellynla]

FYI, Marines is spelled with a capital M.


in the mean time, let us know when you move to America.

[expat_panama]

let us know when you move to America.

Oh I don't know-- seems like the home front is filling up with an awful lot of welfare bums living off money that should be going to those of us who're putting our lives at risk defending the place.

[Keith in Iowa]

>>>You propose to turn a valuable high energy substance into a lower energy substance

Are you saying it takes more energy to produce ethanol than it yields?

If so, you're wrong.

Scroll up - there are links that prove it.