Is E-85 Ethanol Competitive with E-0 Outside the Midwest?
AgMRC Renewable Energy & Climate Change Newsletter September 2010 Bob Wisner biofuels economist rwwisner@iastate.edu The Energy Independence and Security Act of December 2007 (EISA) mandates that increasing volumes of ethanol be blended in U.S. gasoline supplies from now through 2022. Total volume of starch and cellulosic renewable fuels to be blended in 2022 is at least 31 billion gallons, and possibly as much as 35 billion gallons. The total could be higher than 31 billion gallons if sizable quantities of “Advanced Biofuels” are ethanol. Advanced biofuels are those which reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the base level by at least 50 percent. While it is not known for certain whether technology might permit the commercialization of non-ethanol biofuels at some future time, ethanol currently appears likely to be the main candidate for filling these mandates. Ranges indicated here for 2022 would be equivalent to about ¼ of the nation’s recent gasoline use. Without a break-through in
