Advanced BioFuels USA

by Geogg Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/Minneapolis Star Tribune) Contrary to the assertions of the March 13 article “Ethanol’s emissions clouding its benefits,” ethanol’s environmental benefits are as clear as the blue sky on a cloudless, sunny day. While the article correctly mentions that ethanol’s carbon footprint continues to shrink, the reporters unfortunately omit many other key facts and fail to include important context.

As briefly noted in the article, all of Minnesota’s ethanol biorefineries combined produce less than 5% of the state’s emissions. Meanwhile, the article omits the fact that Minnesota’s electric power plants generate more than 60% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, and oil and natural gas refineries and distribution systems contribute another 15%. In fact, a single electric power plant in nearby Sherburne County, which runs on coal and fuel oil, is responsible for six times more GHG emissions than the state’s entire ethanol industry. Thus, when all emissions are properly considered, an electric vehicle in the Twin Cities is likely responsible for more annual GHG emissions than a flex-fuel vehicle running on Minnesota-grown ethanol.

The more important question that the article failed to ask, or answer, is: If our nation wasn’t using renewable ethanol, what would be used in its place? The answer, of course, is that we’d be using more fossil fuels. It is well-established that using ethanol in place of gasoline not only reduces GHG emissions by 40-50%, but also lowers harmful tailpipe pollutants linked to cancer, respiratory illnesses, heart disease, and other human health concerns. But rather than citing research confirming ethanol’s air quality and climate benefits from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Harvard University, MIT, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Ford Motor Co. and many other entities, the reporters chose instead to single out a controversial new study by the University of Wisconsin. That report — funded in part by the National Wildlife Federation — used a tenuous string of worst-case assumptions and cherry-picked data and has already been widely discredited.

In addition to its environmental benefits, the ethanol produced in Minnesota is reducing prices at the pump (just visit any station selling E15 or E85 today to see for yourself), contributing $1.5 billion to the state’s economy, and supporting nearly 15,000 good-paying full-time jobs. Rather than abetting the oil industry and other ethanol opponents in their efforts to mislead consumers, the Star Tribune should stick to the facts and tell the real story about renewable fuels. We have a great story to tell and we’re willing to share it with anyone willing to listen. READ MORE