I was just thinking a while ago that corn does not grow from sunlight and water alone. There have to be some kind of add-ins to maintain the useful life of a field.
This ethanol, RFS and ‘blend wall’ thing? My experience with ethanol tells me as a consumer and responsible for the maintenance of all the various engines in my household - I DO NOT WANT IT - ever. I’ve spoke a number of times about the reasons why here.
However, I believe that development and usage mandates from a politically driven government is what keeps ethanol as a viable grower product - a subsidy that shouldn’t be in my opinion. The RFS? I think the government should stay the hell out of private affairs. It doesn’t own all the oil in the world, nor does it own the sun, the wind or all the corn. It exists to feed itself and its own continuance.
Frankly, I don’t understand the point of removing the ‘blend wall’ as being an automatic jumpstart to ethanol sales. I guess the ethanol plant builder where Ted got most of his information from likes it for some reason.
True, it would ‘allow’ auto builders to offer cars optimized for higher ethanol content; it would all the ethanol plant builder to build more plants, too. My point is why would the consumer jump on this bandwagon?
From my experience, ethanol destroys O2 sensors (especially wide band sensors), destroys gaskets and seals, some tubings. As an alcohol, it attracts moisture that can corrode internal workings and a hose of other problems. For what purpose? So much demonstrably cheaper gas price? I don’t think so. Oil production controls that.
IF what he says, doing away with RFS does what they think, then okay. It’s their nickel. I just don’t want to be mandated in any manner I have to have a car that will run on it and I WANT to be able to buy gas that has NO ethanol in it. If you can do this without RFS and blend wall, then let the market decide.
I am just hesitant at this point to believe you can have your cake and eat it too. Somewhere, somehow, somebody has figured out how to make a buck on it and is doing their best to get the government to help them do it.
“Somewhere, somehow, somebody has figured out how to make a buck on it and is doing their best to get the government to help them do it.”
That is what Cruz is saying he will do - let them make a buck on it (or not) - but keep the government out of it. Keeping the government out of it could be difficult. Some of the EPA rules, parts of obamacare, etc. were put in by Executive Order - and can be removed by executive order which Cruz has promised to do. Some of this though is law, and will need to be run through Congress to remove.
I believe that as it stands now the ethanol subsidies are already set to expire in five years. And Cruz says he’ll stick with that (allowing the farmers time to adjust). Of course with a different President they could be extended.