Bad ethanol press may lead to changes in renewable energy policy
Posted by CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE at 8:50 AM‘Bad message to consumers'
In Texas, state officials have asked for a one-year federal moratorium on the U.S. government's required use of ethanol blended fuels. A tariff that has been keeping Brazilian ethanol out of the U.S. could be allowed to expire later this year. And a tax credit for fuel distributors that provide blended fuels is expected to be cut some at the end of this year.
"Even without the shifting political landscape, getting financing for ethanol plants already has been challenging because of higher prices for feed stock,” said Molchanov. "Those prices really have squeezed margins during the past two years.
"So, when an ethanol producer looks at $6 a bushel corn, twice as high as it was a year ago, they are more worried about their bottom line,” he said. "It was already difficult to get financing. The economics of the industry is very challenging.”
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