Ethanol output faces sharp cuts

Financial Times ^ | 061508 | Sheila McNulty

[Darth Hillary]

The obvious response is Ethanol Rationing.

[jonrick46]

This is divine intervention. Because of the stupidity of ethanol substidies, the price of corn rose to the point that it was no longer economical to use ethanol for fuel. No one factored in the cost of building and running the refineries. With the floods, the tipping point put this endeavor where it belongs, in the ash heap of history.

[C210N]

For the record, I was being facetious referring to Pelousi's request that Bush ask for more Saudi oil during his last trip.

In fact, I'm for domestic drilling/Nuke-planting/Shale-coverting and refining to the extent that we put the Saudis, Iranians, Venezuelans, the whole lot of 'em, out of business.

[TexasGunLover]

Sure, but seriously, why would anyone buy it in the first place. Sure, in some places it's cheaper per mile than gas, but in most places like Texas, it is actually more expensive than gas.

Gas is still cheap, burn gas not corn.

[Cobra64]

What’s interesting about this is that Katrina although beat the snot out of the Gulf, with the resultant of some offshore platforms shut down, but there was less appreciable effect to our country’s gasoline supply than what floods in the Mid-West will have in disrupting Gorthenol production.

[monkeycard]

Good news.

[steve86]

Sure, but seriously, why would anyone buy it in the first place.

All that's available in WA and OR.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

You mean there’ll be less ethanol in my 4-dollar gasoline??? But it’s supposed to be 10 percent! I WANT MY INEFFICIENT GASOHOL, DAMMIT!!!

[ChildOfThe60s]

Suit yourselves — drill or don't drill — but, please stop whinging when other countries also exercise their sovereign rights to not pump more oil.

Can't argue with that. We deserve what we are getting right now. Which is very unfortunate, because it appears that an awful lot of Americans are not learning from the experience.

[ChildOfThe60s]

As I understand it, without government subsidies and mandates, ethanol has always been a money loser.

[american_ranger]

Perhaps we should ask us to pick up the slack and to with the Saudis.

[Cobra64]

Its time to stick it to “Big Corn.”

They're workin' on it.

[elpadre]

how much has the price of tortillas gone up??

[TexasGunLover]

All that's available in WA and OR.

So you're saying that you can't buy Regular, Middle Grade, or Premium Unleaded in WA or OR and that E85 is all that's available in those states?

I have relatives that just moved to Washington and they took their non E85 burning vehicle there and say they're buying unleaded gas.

I think you may be mistaken, as I can promise you E85 isn't the only fuel sold in those states.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

I'm sorry I didn't pick up on the subtleties of your post. It's all clear now. Thanks.

[fella]

What happens if there is not enough ethanol to meet the law required amounts that congress in it's omnipotence mandated for us? Could it be that a force more powerful than our congress is telling us it is wrong to put food in our gas tanks?

[2harddrive]

The ethanol crisis is hurting the distilled beverage industry!

[businessprofessor]

Suit yourselves — drill or don't drill — but, please stop whinging when other countries also exercise their sovereign rights to not pump more oil.

I agree that the rat hypocrisy is sickening. Telling other countries to increase production is ridiculous when the rats stop exploration and refining.

You should realize that environmentalists are now the 5th branch of government just after the trial lawyers. The greens have been given unchecked power because of the ridiculous environmental regulation over the last 40 years. The fundamental problem is that environmental groups have standing to file endless lawsuits even though proper permits have been obtained from every branch of government. The right to file lawsuits on behalf of a supposed injured party is a recipe for gridlock and economic stagnation. Yet, I have not heard anyone even approach the 3rd party litigation issue.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

We actually have more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia. Gull Island, in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska, is reported to contain over 800 billion barrels of oil.

You also have the oil off the coasts, Bakken formation in SD, and oil shale in the Rockies. Not to mention all of the coal in Illinois and the Appalachians to make oil from coal.

We need to realize that bio-fuels and other alternative energies just aren't feasible right now. The only solution is to begin drilling immediately and subsequently build more refineries, and build more nuke plants for stand-alone power. If we start now, we could be energy independent by 2015.

[steve86]

Not E85. "Up-to-10%".

Law formally takes effect on Dec 31 in WA. Most operators implemented it at the end of March.

Washington Legislature Adopts Biodiesel, Ethanol Mandate 03/11/06 Permalink , Categories: biodiesel English (EU) Washington Legislature Adopts Biodiesel, Ethanol Mandate

Biodiesel, made primarily from soybeans pictured here, and ethanol will be mandated in Washington state once a new bill is signed into law.

Bipartisan cooperation for a major new energy policy can be hard to come by, but not when both parties agree on calling for new energy independence strategies. In legislative session, Senate Bill 6508 calling for a minimum renewable energy standard passed the Washington State Senate and is off to the Governor for an expected signature into law.

Senate Bill 6508 mandates fuel dealers to sell 2 percent biodiesel out of their total diesel sales and 2 percent ethanol out of total gasoline sales. This new state biofuels standard makes Washington a leader among other states that are moving in the direction of supporting renewable energy. It also complements a similar Federal law called the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) that mandates the US reach 7.5 billion gallons of biofuel use by 2012.