Photo courtesy of the Renewable Fuels Association
From staff reports
The Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO, Geoff Cooper served as the keynote speaker for the 27th National Ethanol Conference in New Orleans recently.
During his presentation, he said that the ethanol industry is a player in providing solutions to carbon emissions and mitigating climate change. Cooper told attendees that “With the right chemistry and technology, ethanol can serve not only as a future low-carbon fuel for jets, ocean liners, trucks, and farm equipment, but also as the fundamental building block for sustainable chemicals and plastics,” Cooper said. “In reality, anything you can do with a barrel of crude oil, we can do with a barrel of renewable ethanol.”
When compared to gasoline, Cooper said that corn ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 50%. Additionally, ethanol can help offset the high gas prices paid at the pump if more ethanol, such as E15, is blended into fuel. That would equate to less dependence on costly barrels of oil and less harm to the environment via fracking. He also referred to the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, citing that America needs to be more energy independent and not relying on other countries such as Ukraine given the geopolitical issues it is encountering right now.
“Today, fuel blenders can buy a gallon of ethanol for about 50 cents less than a gallon gasoline,” he said during his speech, noting that E15 is selling for 20 to 25 cents less than E10 in some places in recent weeks. “Make no mistake, the quickest way to lower gas prices would be to restore the ability of retailers to sell E15 year-round and allow them to do it through existing equipment. The Biden Administration could make that happen with little more than the stroke of a pen, and we will continue to encourage them to pursue this common sense strategy for reducing consumer fuel prices in the near term.”