THE VINE OCTOBER 27, 2008
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Kate Galbraith has an interesting campaign dispatch about ethanol subsidies. McCain's opposition—while noble on the merits—has eroded his support in both Iowa and rural Ohio. So recently, McCain told an Iowan audience that he would "invest in all energy alternatives: nuclear, wind, tide, solar, ethanol, biofuels." It's a murky sentiment, but it sounds like he's trying to edge away from his no-handouts-except-for-nuclear stance in the waning days of the campaign.
In the meantime, Obama has been talking up ethanol subsidies all year—it's a big black eye on an otherwise green platform—but many environmentalists have persuaded themselves that he's just serenading key swing states and will "do the learning that is required" (in Carl Pope's words) once he gets into office. I sort of doubt that—he'll eventually want to get re-elected, no?
--Bradford Plumer
1 comments
Obama will not reverse ethanol mandates, but there is a looming glut. I was at tge Global Refining Conference in Houston and a young lady from the EPA laid out a vert ambitious biofuels agenda that includes 2.5 million barrels per day of ethanol by 2020.
Unfortunately for ethanol producers, and fortunately for us, gasoline demand is not likely to be higher than 6 million barrels per day in 2020, so ethanol usage as E-10 (10% ethanol, 90% gasoline) will only be 600 thousand barrels per day.
Could be substantially less than that if T. Boone Pickens is successful in jump starting the compressed natural gas industry, which has the potential to displace up to 4 million barrels per day of gasoline, in which case the ethanol industry is a thing of the past.
- r-ennis
October 31, 2008 at 5:37pm