Here's a good read, note the .51 subsidy
I believe the government is kickin in large to build these plants too. I suspect our production costs are below the subsidy as the price target was developed for feed stock production not TRASH. Valuable trash....who'd a thunk it.
BTWY Nuke that's a nice looking chart if you don't follow it daily:)
Sent By: Amaunet Date: 8/26/2005 10:10:15 PM
Ethanol a real option to high gas prices
The solution to today's skyrocketing price of gasoline lies in a fuel that can be made from the amber waves of grain growing in America's heartland.
This fuel, called ethanol, is usually made from corn, but it can be made from sugar cane from Louisiana, canola from North Dakota or sorghum from Kansas. Though it hasn't gained popularity, this fuel can free us from the tyranny of high prices, dependence on foreign oil and toxic pollutants. President Bush recently signed the energy bill into law, which will almost double ethanol production from 2006 to 2012. Nevertheless, this action alone will not change things. It's up to consumers to buy ethanol and seek its increased availability.
The two most common types of ethanol fuel are E10 and E85. E10 is 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline, which can be used in cars like regular gasoline but is 5 cents cheaper per gallon. E85 is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline and is 40-50 cents cheaper per gallon.
Flexible-fuel vehicles can run on gasoline, 10% ethanol, 85% ethanol or whatever fuel is available. More than 25 flexible-fuel models have been produced by automobile manufacturers since 1990.
Why then isn't ethanol use taking off?
For one, availability. I recently took a trip to Detroit in a rented flex-fuel car. I did have difficulty finding E85 the farther I traveled from the Midwest, but it didn't slow me down because I simply used regular gasoline.
Another reason ethanol hasn't caught on is the difficulty of marketing it. Producers must rely on filling stations that distribute gasoline to sell their competing product. But as ethanol use becomes more popular, more filling stations will provide it.
Already, more than 100 ethanol plants have cropped up across America's heartland. Eleven are in my home state of South Dakota, including one owned by VeraSun Energy, one of the nation's top ethanol producers.
This ethanol plant has breathed new life into Aurora, S.D., a town of 500 people, by creating about 100 jobs since it opened last year. There is a federal subsidy of 51 cents per gallon to provide incentive for ethanol producers. The old way of life of raising corn for feed and seed is no longer the main way to utilize corn.
Ethanol is non-toxic, water soluble and biodegradable. Use of ethanol can reduce toxic emissions such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and benzene. Traditional gasoline is just too expensive on our pocketbooks and our environment. Instead, we can boost our economy and lessen our dependence on foreign oil by switching to this promising fuel.
Lois Hattonis a columnist and writer who lives in Brookings, S.D.
AI
