by Dennis Lien
http://www.twincities.com
St. Paul Pioneer Press
One way or another, Minnesotans seem destined to use more ethanol, the clean-burning alcohol fuel that’s typically made from corn.
With Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s blessing and bipartisan support, a bill mandating increased ethanol use over the next seven years is on the fast track in the Minnesota Legislature.
The push is the latest twist in a statewide effort to promote energy options that reduce dependency on foreign oil. It also would be a boon for state farmers, who would have another market for their corn and, ideally, a better price, as well as create new jobs as production increases.
For more than a decade, Minnesota has required gasoline to have at least 10 percent ethanol.
In the bill’s current form, the minimum ethanol mixture in unleaded gasoline sold in Minnesota would increase to 20 percent in 2012. But if ethanol makes up 20 percent of the overall volume of gasoline sold in the state by 2011, the 2012 requirement would be dropped.
Either way, the amount of ethanol-blended gasoline pumped into vehicles would double, putting the state in the national lead in ethanol use. Minnesota already ranks in the top five in the country for ethanol production.
The bill, a compromise version of Pawlenty’s proposal in September to mandate a 20 percent ethanol blend in gasoline, easily cleared the Senate Agriculture, Veterans and Gaming Committee last week and was sent to the Senate floor. The Republican-controlled House is expected to consider the legislation next month.
“I think it’s going to be extremely hard to stop,’’ said Sen. Dallas Sams, DFL-Staples, chief sponsor of the legislation.
With 14 ethanol plants already operating in Minnesota and an additional three being built, the state could produce enough ethanol to reach its 20 percent goal.
Consuming it, however, is another matter.
While statewide ethanol production has increased steadily, consumption has leveled off over the past five years at 260 million gallons, about 10 percent of the 2.7 billion gallons produced here annually. That’s despite the addition of more than 100 outlets that sell E85, a fuel consisting of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
Now, an estimated 100,000 vehicles in Minnesota, from Ford Explorers to Mercury Mountaineers, are equipped to use E85. But their owners typically opt for traditional gasoline.
If all of those vehicles — 7 percent of the state’s cars and trucks — began using E85 today, the state would only get to 15 percent ethanol consumption, said Jeff Buss, mobile sources policy analyst for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).
Fortunately, he said, manufacturers are gradually building more flexible-fuel vehicles and about 15 new ethanol outlets are opening across the state each year. In addition, he said, public agencies such as the MPCA are adding those vehicles to their fleets.
In his State of the State address Tuesday, Pawlenty promoted his 20 percent ethanol blend recommendation. “It’s good for our farmers, it’s good for rural economic development, it’s good for national security, and it’s good for the environment,’’ Pawlenty said.
Refineries and vehicle manufacturers, however, don’t like it.
Flint Hills Resources in Rosemount contended ethanol-blended gasoline gets progressively poorer mileage the higher the ethanol content and, accordingly, is more expensive for consumers even though its per-gallon cost is about 20 cents lower.
Buss, however, called the mileage and price comparisons a wash.
“We just oppose the idea of mandating an increase,’’ Flint Hills spokesman John Hofland said. “We prefer to see more of a market approach.’’
Car manufacturers said most vehicles aren’t set up for a 20 percent blend and warranties won’t cover them.
“We’re concerned that (the 20 percent blend) could create problems for consumers that range from drivability factors to how vehicles operate to possible misdetections from on-board diagnostic systems in vehicles,’’ said Charles Territo, spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade organization representing nine manufacturers.
Both said the state should promote the special E85 cars and gasoline blend more aggressively.
“There’s a lot more ethanol in E85 than in (the 20 percent blend),’’ Territo said. “If every consumer got E85, there would be a lot of ethanol in this state. If Minnesota is committed to increasing the use of ethanol, then it can help provide incentives for consumers to purchase E85.’’
Sams agreed the state must do more to encourage people to use E85. “It’s going to be a very ambitious endeavor to get there,’’ Sams said. “We have over 100,000 vehicles that can use E85. A lot of people are unaware of it.’’
The environmental benefit is mixed, in part because ethanol requires fossil-fuel-based energy to produce, offsetting some of its attractiveness. While emissions are unquestionably cleaner, critics add, pro-ethanol policies also promote more large-scale agriculture and increased use of chemicals and fertilizers.
But Michael Noble, executive director for Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy, said more ethanol production could be a good thing.
“Increasing ethanol markets in Minnesota can provide a really important benefit for rural economies and can provide a significant step in the right direction in reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming,’’ Noble said.
Addressing increased ethanol production, Ralph Groschen, senior marketing specialist for the Minnesota Agriculture Department, said the resulting combination of decreased farm program costs and increased state and federal tax revenues more than make up for the current 51-cent-a-gallon public ethanol subsidy.
He said government help is needed to promote more ethanol consumption. “It’s going to take something like this to push the envelope,’’ Groschen said.
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