WASHINGTON, D.C. -- What's happening with ethanol? What's ahead for the industry? There are a lot of issues on the table to be decided. Wallaces Farmer magazine gathered insights from a guy who is certainly on top of the situationGeneral Wesley Clark of Growth Energy.
General Clark, a retired U.S. Army General who was in command of NATO Forces, is now co-chair of Washington-based Growth Energy, an organization of ethanol producers and other supporters of renewable fuels. He was keynote speaker at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association's annual summit Jan. 25 in Des Moines. Here's [image-nocss] what he had to say, in his speech and in an interview with Wallaces Farmer.
Wallaces Farmer: Will the EPA allow an increase in the ethanol blend?
Wesley Clark: I think 2010 will be a great year for the renewable fuels industry. We've been very active at Growth Energy in representing America's corn farmers and ethanol producers. We've been pushing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to approve an increase in the amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline sold nationwide. We requested EPA allow an increase from 10% ethanol or E10 blend to 15% or E15 blend. I'm cautiously optimistic EPA will allow increased blends.
I think this would really be a powerful move for the U.S. to make. It would be good for jobs, but would be really good for national security. The truth is, the only way you can really move America away from our heavy dependence on foreign oil is through expanded use of a different liquid fuel. That liquid fuel is here and on the market today and it is ethanol.
Wallaces Farmer: You'll be hearing more about "COOL for Fuel" this year.
Wesley Clark: There are a lot of other actions under way to boost renewable fuels. One idea that Growth Energy members have discussed in a low-key way for the past several months is "country-of-origin labeling" for fuel.
For 30 years in this country, people have talked about trying to achieve energy independence. We've never gotten the American public into doing it. It's just a slogan that appears in news articles occasionally when a political leader says it. But imagine if you could go to a gas station and see on the pump where your fuel is coming from; you'd be able to make an informed decision.
You'd put in your credit card, and when you finish, you have 12 gallons of gas in the car. It says you gave $4 to Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan dictator, $6 to Saudi Arabia, and the other $2 stayed in America. That would make the American public sit up and think: Why are we doing this?
Wallaces Farmer: Country-of-origin labelingCan it be done for fuel?
Wesley Clark: Sure we can do it. We can sell the quality aspects of gasoline. If you can sell the differences between 87, 89 and 91 octane in our fuel supply system, you can surely sell the fact where it came from.
The oil industry knows where every barrel of oil comes from that goes into a refinery and they know exactly what the composition is. If you know when the oil went into a refinery, you know when it is coming out. It's pretty easy to do this if we put our mind to it.
Wallaces Farmer: Has the American public made up its mind about biofuel?
Wesley Clark: If we make up our minds as Americans that we can supply our own fuel for our own people, we'll keep our country stronger and more prosperous.
The petroleum industry is arguing against country-of-origin labeling for gasoline and diesel fuel, saying it would cost too much to do it.
But it's not going to cost very much at all. It's just a matter of tracking the fuel when it comes out of a refinery and putting labels on it. You can do it electronically or do it with chemical markers the way oil companies do it now with batches of petroleum fuel. There are ways to do this.
Wallaces Farmer: Does the U.S. oil industry need to look at benefits of "COOL for Fuel"?
Wesley Clark: The American public needs to speak up. In every other case, such as when we've labeled where food products come from, it's worked. And honestly, it would be a great thing for American oil, too.
It would be great for America to have country-of-origin labeling for gasoline and diesel fuel as well as great for biofuels, too. It would work for the petroleum industry to label the fuel that's made from U.S. petroleum vs. petroleum imported into the U.S. Many people would prefer to buy U.S.-produced petroleum fuel as well as U.S.-produced biofuel.
That's not to mention what COOL could do for farmers and for our country's national security by also having COOL for renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel. Trying to get country-of-origin labeling approved by the government and established in the marketplace by fuel retailers is going to be a focus of Growth Energy's efforts in 2010.
Wallaces Farmer: What about El5 concerns of engine manufacturers?
Wesley Clark: All signs are positive so far in the testing. Of course, the tests aren't completed yet, and nothing is done until the tests are finished as far as EPA is concerned. But the test results with E15 are looking good on cars that are 2001 vintage and newer. We think it's looking pretty goodthe prospects for E15.
Wallaces Farmer: Is there a need to install more blender pumps at gas stations?
Wesley Clark: We need more blender pumps in the U.S. We want to see every car come out of Detroit as a flex-fuel vehicle. We would certainly like our automobile industry, all manufacturers, to make all cars flex-fuel. It doesn't cost much moreonly about $140 a car to have it be able to run E85.
Think what we could do if we could save $300 billion a year in this countrythe better livelihood we could have for our children, and taking care of the older folks. It would be a lot better for our nation to avoid imported oilwhich is a tax on America.
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