Don’t Lose Heart or Courage
by Brian Jennings (Ethanol Producer Magazine/American Coalition for Ethanol) … I encourage us to consider something Winston Churchill said during World War II that has resonance now. “It would be foolish to disguise the gravity of the hour. It would be still more foolish to lose heart and courage.”
Let’s not lose heart. Ethanol’s octane value means refiners will still need it to make sub-octane v-grade base fuel useable in cars. Those in the industry who have experience with industrial ethanol can pivot and supply the growing demand for hand sanitizer in response to coronavirus. What’s more, ethanol producers have diversified, enabling them to adjust and produce for low-carbon fuel markets or increase coproduct output in response to market signals. Now more than ever, we need to exploit any advantage we have in a market. Nevertheless, none of these advantages offset the demand destruction we will experience on the sale of fuel ethanol across the U.S. and abroad, and we will undoubtedly see a rash of plant closures unless we are able to get emergency assistance from the federal government.
Let’s not lose courage. The American Coalition for Ethanol is working hard, urging our elected leaders to act and mitigate the staggering impacts these unprecedented conditions will place on our industry.
When the Trump administration was quick to buoy Big Oil’s concern about low crude prices by pledging federal purchases to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, we immediately told the president and Congress they will also need to take action to help ethanol producers, and the farmers supplying them corn, who are suffering a proportional economic disaster.
We are helping key congressional allies advance emergency legislation to provide financial assistance to our industry, including a provision to increase funding for the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation and make dollars available to ethanol producers.
We have heard from many producers who are concerned about keeping their workforce in the face of shutdowns, which is a common concern from other sectors of the economy dealing with COVID-19, so we are also talking to Congress about making certain that renewable fuel producers qualify for the kind of financial and unemployment assistance that other industries are likely to receive during this unprecedented time. These are but first steps. As the crisis unfolds, ACE will pursue other actions to support the industry. READ MORE
