Corn Ethanol Production In The US Gets A Boost
News coming from the US Environmental Protection Agency appears to potentially open the door for large-scale increases in corn ethanol production in the US.
Only two months ago the EPA frustrated US farmers and the ethanol industry bully boys by refusing to bow to pressure and increase the maximum inclusion rate of ethanol in gasoline from 10% to 15%. The EPA said it needed more time to assess the effect of an increase on the environment.
In 2007 the Bush administration passed a law calling for annual biofuel production in the US to reach 36 billion gallons of biofuels, to be blended into the US gasoline supply, by 2022. An emissions reduction that they said would be like taking 27 million cars off the road.
The law currently allows the production of up to 15 billion gallons per year, which the industry is already close to reaching. Ethanol production from corn beyond that would have to be subject to a requirement that its "lifecycle" - from growing the corn to producing the biofuel - reduces greenhouse gas emissions at least 20 percent more than the production of gasoline.
The EPA are now saying that they've had a bit of a rethink and lo and behold it does. They will now be under strong pressure to relent on the so-called E15 blend too. If you've GOT to produce 36 billion gallons, then you've GOT to up the inclusion rate right?
That potentially leaves US ethanol producers free to ramp up production, which will require them taking an even larger share of US farmers' corn production than the one third of the 334 MMT currently being grown there that they now use.
That's good news for US corn farmers, although it potentially opens up a whole new can of worms elsewhere. Like what are the environmental implications of two thirds of all the corn grown in the US being used to produce biofuels? What are the knock on effects for the production of other crops there? And if most of the corn grown in the US goes for industrial use, driving global prices higher (they currently produce over 40% of the world's corn), then who's to say that Brazil won't be tempted to steal a few more million acres of rain forest to grow corn on?
Only two months ago the EPA frustrated US farmers and the ethanol industry bully boys by refusing to bow to pressure and increase the maximum inclusion rate of ethanol in gasoline from 10% to 15%. The EPA said it needed more time to assess the effect of an increase on the environment.
In 2007 the Bush administration passed a law calling for annual biofuel production in the US to reach 36 billion gallons of biofuels, to be blended into the US gasoline supply, by 2022. An emissions reduction that they said would be like taking 27 million cars off the road.
The law currently allows the production of up to 15 billion gallons per year, which the industry is already close to reaching. Ethanol production from corn beyond that would have to be subject to a requirement that its "lifecycle" - from growing the corn to producing the biofuel - reduces greenhouse gas emissions at least 20 percent more than the production of gasoline.
The EPA are now saying that they've had a bit of a rethink and lo and behold it does. They will now be under strong pressure to relent on the so-called E15 blend too. If you've GOT to produce 36 billion gallons, then you've GOT to up the inclusion rate right?
That potentially leaves US ethanol producers free to ramp up production, which will require them taking an even larger share of US farmers' corn production than the one third of the 334 MMT currently being grown there that they now use.
That's good news for US corn farmers, although it potentially opens up a whole new can of worms elsewhere. Like what are the environmental implications of two thirds of all the corn grown in the US being used to produce biofuels? What are the knock on effects for the production of other crops there? And if most of the corn grown in the US goes for industrial use, driving global prices higher (they currently produce over 40% of the world's corn), then who's to say that Brazil won't be tempted to steal a few more million acres of rain forest to grow corn on?