Market Access Critical for Ethanol, CEO Says
(Argus Media) …“There’s a lot of talk about the drought. But the biggest challenge is access to the market,” he (Jeff Lautt, CEO of POET) says. The Environmental Protection approved E15 last year. However, representatives of the grocery, auto and oil industries sued to block the move. In August the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected the lawsuit.
Lautt said the decision “helped ensure that groups with ulterior motives will not derail the expansion of domestic, renewable fuel. E15 will allow ethanol to further lower gas prices, lower U.S. dependence on foreign oil and improve our economy.”
He noted the new cellulosic plant in Iowa.
“Crop residue could be used to produce almost 8 billions of gallons of ethanol for the U.S., but only if drivers are given the option to use it. E15 gives cellulosic ethanol a viable market.
“I look forward to seeing E15 become available at fuel stations across the country,” Lautt said.
But he acknowledges that persuading gas stations to install new pumps for E15 will be an ongoing battle, state by state.
…Though it might take a century to complete the move, Lautt is convinced he is heading Poet at a point in history when the U.S. is transitioning from petroleum to renewable fuels.
“Our grandchildren will look back and say: ‘Wow. This was the right way.’ ” READ MORE
