Advanced BioFuels USA

by John Huthmacher (Hastings Tribune)  Ethanol continues to be a driving force in Nebraska’s economy, affecting a sizable portion of the state’s business sector. This, according to a recent impact study released by University of Nebraska-Lincoln economists. The report examines the economic impact of Nebraska’s ethanol industry between 2015-17. Authors are UNL agricultural economics professors Kathleen Brooks, Tim Meyer and Cory Walters, and Eric Thompson, economics professor and Bureau of Business Research director,

Showing a 23 percent production capacity increase since 2014, ethanol production was 2.558 billion gallons per year as of 2017, with 1,453 full-time employees at 24 facilities. That figure represents an increase in production capacity of 48.1 million gallons annually and an additional 152 full-time employees compared to 2014.

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When ethanol excels, so, too, does the price of corn for farms in close proximity to plants. Farmers situated near ethanol plants producing 220 bushels of corn per acre earn an additional $11.44 per acre each year.

And while ethanol sales within state lines have been steady, export sales have made Nebraska one of the largest exporters of bioenergy in the world. About 94 percent of the product now is shipped out of state, along with 51 percent of the co-product dried distillers grain produced in 2015 and 44 percent of DDG produced in 2016.

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Duane Kristensen, general manager of Chief Ethanol Fuels Inc. near Hastings, still is optimistic about ethanol’s future, even as plants struggle to stay the course in a less-than-thriving ag environment. That the state now is beginning to invest in a higher blend E30 product to power some of its vehicles is but one sign that that fortunes seem likely to turn in the industry’s favor sooner rather than later.

That ethanol offers environmental advantages is a given. Countries with poor air quality such as Mexico, China, and India could benefit mightily from a switch from petroleum-derived MTBE products — which were restricted more than a decade ago in the U.S. because of their high content of carcinogenic contaminators — to more echo-friendly ethanol blends.

But while the opportunities are ripe for the picking, current conditions are making it difficult to make the financial investments necessary to make the advances happen.

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“We’re optimistic these issues can be resolved,” Kristensen said. “There are more efficient engines being built today — four-cylinder, high-compression, turbo-charges engines are using the higher octane — and that’s what ethanol provides, a clean burning high-octane fuel for the future.

“If you design engines to take advantage of the attributes, that’s when the win-win comes in. With engines that can effectively utilize the octane, we see the benefit from a mileage and environmental standpoint.”  READ MORE

Letter, 4/7: Higher blends of ethanol help Nebraska (Lincoln Journal Star)

LETTER: What about capitalism, free enterprise? (Sioux City Journal)

Corn farmers cross fingers that push for ethanol expansion gets go-ahead (Nebraska TV)

LETTER: Higher ethanol blends: Good for farmers, planet (Sioux City Journal)

Minnesotans counting on EPA to permit year-round E15 (Marshall Independent)