http://obama.senate.gov/blog/

May 12, 2005
E85

A lot of times, trying to get something done here in Washington can get pretty frustrating. There's bitter partisanship, petty politics, and a general atmosphere that isn't always conducive to passing legislation that people actually care about.

But I'm happy to report that today wasn't one of those days.

Today, the Senate passed my proposal, which will be included in the transportation bill, that would make it easier for people to fill their cars with a cheaper alternative to gasoline.

Now, I know most of you are as tired as I am of pulling into a gas station and seeing that the prices are even higher than they were the last time you filled up. It's $2.19, then it's $2.24, then it's $2.35, and up and up. When will it stop? As long as we're dependent on oil from the Middle East, we don't know.

That's why we need to stop just talking about energy independence and actually do something about it.

If someone told you that you could fill your cars and trucks with fuel that's 50 cents cheaper than current gas prices, you'd jump at the chance. But what a lot of people don't know is that this option is already out there. It's called E-85, and it's a fuel made of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. It's cleaner than gasoline, it's cheaper, and most importantly, it reduces our dependence on oil from the Middle East. In fact, the Indianapolis 500 thought it was such a good alternative that pretty soon, their entire fleet will run on E-85.

Right now, there are millions of cars and trucks that can run on E-85. You might even have one yourself. They're known as "flexible fuel vehicles," and the auto industry is turning out hundreds of thousands of them every year.

Of course, the reason you're not seeing more cars run on E-85 is that we've got a severe shortage of E-85 fuel stations. While there are more than 180,000 gas stations all over America, only about 400 offer E-85.

This is where my proposal comes in. It's going to cost stations to install E-85 pumps, so we thought we'd give them a tax credit that would encourage them to do so. As more and more stations realize how popular this cheap alternative to gas is becoming, more will utilize this tax credit and install their own pumps.

We've got to get serious about energy independence. You've all heard politician after politician making speeches about it, but we shouldn't have to wait any longer to finally see progress, especially since there's so much technology out there that we can use right now to make us less dependent on oil that comes from the Mideast and more reliant on fuel that we can grow in Illinois.
Posted at 05:28 PM

http://www.e85fuel.com/front_page/obama_ta...dit_release.htm

Senate Passes Obama Tax Credit for Building E85 Ethanol Fueling Stations

Provision Included in Transportation Legislation



WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate today adopted Senator Barack Obama’s (D-IL) amendment to provide tax credits for building E85 ethanol fueling stations into the Senate transportation bill. This proposal would encourage increased ethanol use, provide motorists who drive Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) with cheaper fuel, and help reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil.



“This bill will give motorists another option at the pump and will send a clear message that the United States Senate is serious about reducing our country’s dangerous dependence on imported oil. I think that most Illinoisans would agree that a fuel made of 85 percent Midwestern corn is a lot more desirable than one made from 100 percent Middle Eastern Oil.”



The legislation would provide a 50 percent tax credit for the cost of building a new E85 vehicle refueling facility, up to $30,000.



E85 is a blended fuel that contains 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. E85, a clean burning renewable fuel made from corn, can be used in FFVs, which can also use unleaded fuel when E85 isn’t available. Standard vehicles can burn fuel with a 10 percent ethanol mix. Increased access to E85 fuel will benefit consumers right now because E85 is as much as 50 cents cheaper per gallon than unleaded gasoline.



“For too long our country has relied too heavily on foreign oil to fuel its energy needs, and American consumers are paying an increasingly heavy price for their lawmakers’ inability to address this problem,” said Obama. “Our dependence on foreign oil is keeping us tied to one of the most dangerous and unstable regions in the world.”



There are currently 3.5 million FFVs on the road throughout the United States and 100,000 in Illinois. Vehicle manufacturers are expected to expand production of Flexible Fuel Vehicles when more fueling stations offer E85.



Nationwide, while there are more than 180,000 gas stations all over America, there are only about 400 E85 stations. In Illinois, there are approximately 20 gas stations that have the capability of offering E85.



“We’ve talked for too long about energy independence in this country. If Congress passes this bill, then we will finally have done something about it.”

http://bayh.senate.gov/releases/2005/05/12MAY05PR.htm

Senate Passes Bayh Amendment to Increase Ethanol Availability

Senator says ethanol can help move U.S. towards energy independence


Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Senate today unanimously passed Senator Evan Bayh's amendment to the Highway bill to help reduce American dependence on foreign oil, by providing a tax credit to encourage gasoline stations to install or convert pumps that offer E-85 ethanol. E-85 ethanol is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, which is used by millions of Flexible Fuel Vehicles across the country.

"Our dependence on foreign oil is a threat to our national and economic security," Bayh said. "Passage of this amendment is a step in the right direction. Ethanol is good for the environment and good for the economy, but most importantly, it can help us move towards energy independence."

The amendment would provide a tax incentive of 50 percent, up to $30,000, for gas stations to use toward creating or expanding E-85 pumps. By increasing the number of E-85 pumps, the amendment will help decrease regular gasoline consumption and encourage more drivers to make the switch to Flexible Fuel Vehicles, further reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil.

There are more than five million vehicles currently in the United States that can use E-85 fuel, though a shortage of E-85 pumps causes many drivers to use regular gasoline instead. In fact, if every Flexible Fuel Vehicle today was able to run exclusively on E-85 fuel, they would cut U.S. gas consumption by more than four billion gallons each year.

Ethanol is a plant-based fuel additive that can be used with or in place of regular gasoline to reduce carbon monoxide emissions, which pose health threats and environmental concerns. The proposed legislation will not only reduce dependence on foreign oil, but also increase demand for corn and soy products.

Bayh is a co-sponsor of the Fuel Security Act, which dramatically increases the amount of ethanol used each year in an aggressive approach to move the country toward greater energy efficiency. Bayh also has voted to support the renewable fuels standard several times in the Senate and has written many letters to the Energy Conference Committee in support of a renewable fuels standard.

http://www.ethanolrfa.org/ereports/er032305.html

http://www.agriculture.com/ag/story.jhtml?...l&catref=ag1001

Harkin, Bayh call for investigation of high gas prices

5/12/2005, 1:39 PM CDT



Two US Senators from the heart of the Corn Belt have called for an investigation into the reasons why oil companies aren't blending more domestically produced ethanol into the nation's gasoline supplies. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Evan Bayh (D-IN) asked the Department of Energy to investigate the situation in a letter to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman today.

The letter closely follows a Consumer Federation report that concluded gasoline prices could fall by 8 cents per gallon if a 10% blend of ethanol were used in the nation's gasoline supply.

"American families are literally paying the price for our dependence on places like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Russia every time they fill up at the pump," Bayh said in a statement about the investigation.

"There is no reason they should be in this situation, when relief for high gas prices can be found in our own country. We need to make the most of this opportunity by substituting ethanol for oil to cut the cost at the pump."

Domestically-produced ethanol supplies are plentiful and have dropped as much as 50 cents per gallon since the beginning of the year, the senators say.

"Oil companies are posting record profits while saying they can't use ethanol," said Harkin. "That's passing the buck, quite literally, to America's families and businesses that need reasonably priced gasoline. I urge the administration to investigate why more home-grown ethanol is not blended into gasoline even though it costs less."

"With gas prices easily topping two dollars a gallon, we need to begin looking into this problem immediately. We should insist that oil companies make full use of the ethanol blend to provide some measure of relief to families already paying unexpectedly high prices at the pump," Bayh added.

"If the Administration is serious about reducing the cost of gasoline, this investigation is the way to do it."

Harkin and Bayh are co-sponsors of legislation that would create a Renewable Fuels Standard that would require oil refiners to blend at least 8 billion gallons of biodiesel and ethanol into motor vehicle fuels each year by 2012.

http://www.e85fuel.com/

The link above has all of the updated political activity surrounding Ethonal! Great resource!

This is great news!

However, a huge increase in demand for E85 will push the price of ethanol up... but I would rather pay $3.00 per gallon for fuel made in the USA than $2.00 a gallon for imported fuel...

Also, an E85 hybrid would pretty much end our dependence on foreign gasoline.

Now all we need is fertilizer made from renewable energy. (wind ---> hydrogen + air---> nitrogen = Ammonia) Renewable Fertilizer

Does it take more energy to make Corn Ethanol than you can get back from it?
www.AmericanEnergyIndependence.com/sugar.html

If efficiency is a concern, then let's use the biomass to make Synthetic Diesel

I would rather pay more and be free.

Here's another article I found interesting.

http://www.wired.com/news/planet/0,2782,67523,00.html

Renewable fuels are finally seeping into the conversation as Washington's power brokers grapple with ways to wean the United States off its dependence on foreign oil.

But in Brazil, they're far beyond the talking stage: Ethanol and biodiesel are already making significant contributions to the nation's trade surplus, boosting the country's economy and reducing its reliance on foreign oil. The South American scenario provides valuable lessons in how strong political will can spark domestic energy production.


President Bush frequently mentions renewable fuels in his energy policy speeches, and both the House and Senate proposed increasing renewable-fuel production in separate energy bills that have been debated for more than a year.

However, these legislative actions amount to little more than lip service when compared with the steps Brazil has taken in embracing alternative fuels, according to Douglas Durante, executive director of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition, or CFDC, a nonprofit group that advocates producing fuels that reduce the importing of oil. "We are not good at developing alternative fuels," Durante said. "When we do something, we go at it all wrong."

Earlier this year, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said his country would become the world's largest producer of renewable energy. Brazil generates 43.8 percent of its power from renewable energy sources, including hydroelectricity, ethanol and biodiesel, according to Agencia Brasil, a government communications division. By contrast, the United States produced only 6 percent of its power from renewable sources in 2003, according to the Department of Energy's Annual Energy Outlook 2005.

According to the CIA's World Factbook, Brazil's economy is one-eighth the size of the United States', yet the country produces more ethanol, mostly from sugar cane.

CFDC's Durante said Brazil has become more energy self-sufficient by focusing on one fuel -- ethanol -- while the United States has failed to make much progress because it has vacillated for more than 20 years, financially supporting a variety of fuels including methanol, ethanol, natural gas and methane. "There have been too many choices -- everyone was fighting to get a chair at the table," Durante said.

The Brazilian government is now taking steps to ramp up biodiesel production. Earlier this year, the government passed legislation requiring that all diesel fuel be mixed with 2 percent biodiesel, and by 2013 will require a 5 percent biodiesel blend.

The United States should not compete with Brazil in selling renewable fuels but should instead focus on developing new technologies for producing ethanol and biodiesel, according to Said Al-Hallaj, a research associate professor who coordinates the renewable-energy programs at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Corn "is not sustainable in the United States" as a source of enough ethanol to reduce dependence on foreign oil significantly, according to Al-Hallaj. He said that because corn has a low energy value, it is more valuable as a source of food.

The United States needs to advance and export technologies for converting biomass products that contain cellulosic material, such as corn husks or tree waste, into ethanol. "If we create breakthroughs in renewable-fuel technologies, we can be leaders and the rest of the world will look to us," Al-Hallaj said.

While the bills in Congress propose to increase ethanol usage by 1 percent or 2 percent by 2012, the government could more effectively reduce oil imports by requiring petroleum companies to sell gasoline with a 10 percent ethanol blend, according to Monte Shaw, director of communications for the Renewable Fuels Association. They are talking about Bayh's Bill here.

The country should follow the lead of Minnesota, the first state to require all of its gasoline to include 10 percent ethanol, according to Shaw. On May 10, Gov. Tim Pawlenty enacted legislation increasing the ethanol mix to 20 percent by 2013.

Shaw said it is illogical to ship a gasoline substitute abroad while paying more to bring petroleum into the country. "Somewhere in the world right now, a ship with ethanol selling for $1.20 a gallon is going to Asia while another ship is coming back carrying gasoline at $1.70 a gallon."

Shaw said convincing petroleum companies that they can make more money by adding ethanol to the mix is a challenge. "They might not think it is in their best interest to include a lower-priced product, but that mind-set doesn't help to meet our goals of energy security," according to Shaw.

In Brazil, state-run company Petrobras is the largest producer of both petroleum and ethanol.

Consumer acceptance of ethanol in Brazil has grown for financial reasons, according to Felipe Atoline, a Sao Paulo forestry engineer who now drives an ethanol-only car. Many Brazilians were unhappy when the government mandated that all gasoline fuel be mixed with 26 percent ethanol in the 1990s, but rising gasoline prices have convinced many Brazilians to buy cars that run on 100 percent ethanol or convert their gasoline-powered cars, Atoline said.

Great article Marie, thanks!

Brazil has shown that it can be done... South Africa has shown that it can be done with coal (synthetic gasoline)... The USA lacks the political will....

As long as the people are demanding cheap gas, the oil companies and politicians will continue to play the low-cost game.... where U.S. taxpayers pay billions in military expenses to protect Middle East oil, and billions in tax benefits to the oil companies for developing foreign sources of oil... then the oil companies sell us the gasoline at $2.00... or $3.00 per gallon... while knowing that the military and tax credits equal another $2 - $3 per gallon in addition to what we pay at the pump...

Now compare the REAL COST of gasoline (the pump price you pay + the military and tax kick backs) with the cost of renewable fuels...

Brazil is doing the right thing BECAUSE the people "own" the national fuel industry... Hmmmm.... maybe that is the answer heresy?
... nationalize the oil industry in this country

LET's DO IT

FFVs are Flexible Fuel Vehicles...
What Types of Vehicles Use Ethanol?

Click on the following link and you will be shown a page that lists several models of flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) that you can buy now:
www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/progs/search_type.cgi?1|E85_GSLN

Some of the cars and trucks listed only get modest mpg, but if they are running on homegrown ethanol, then fuel efficiency is a cost/pollution concern, but not an energy independence concern...

The list includes SUVs, ... so if you really need an SUV, then buy a FFV SUV and help the USA achieve energy independence!

Alternative Fueling Station Locator

http://obama.senate.gov/news/050517-brazil...cess/index.html

Obama comments about Brazil on his website.

Brazil offers model for ethanol success
Tuesday, May 17, 2005

By Bill Lambrecht
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

SAO PAULO, Brazil - It is fitting that Brazil's sugar mills turn out both
ethanol for fuel and cane liquor for drinking, because Brazilians like to toast
the success of their ethanol industry.

Brazil has long been the world leader in ethanol production, thanks to policies
that date back to the 1970s. While quadrupling its ethanol exports last year,
Brazil even sent 90 million gallons to the United States, where the industry
has been heavily subsidized for two decades in an effort to make it profitable.

With oil prices rising everywhere, Brazilian motorists rejoice at being able to
fill up their autos on 100 percent ethanol, selling recently at half the price
of gasoline. Even Brazilian gasoline is blended with 25 percent ethanol.

Now, some in the United States are saying Americans would do well to copy the
Brazilian model.

Brazil's abundance of land, sunshine and rain make it ideal for sugar cane.
Cheap labor adds to the profitability of ethanol; Brazil is said to even harbor
pockets of slave labor in remote Amazon areas.

But the prosperity of the Brazilian ethanol industry also can be attributed to
government policies that promote "flexible fuel vehicles" and make ethanol
widely available at the pump.

Roughly 28 percent of automobiles built in Brazil this year will carry an
engine-sensing device and other alterations enabling them to burn either 100
percent ethanol or the blend with 75 percent gas and 25 percent ethanol.

Every filling station offers both, and Brazilian motorists typically alternate
between pure ethanol and the blended gasoline to get the best mileage and
engine performance from their vehicles.

By contrast, fewer than 5 million vehicles on the road in the United States are
able to run on 85 percent ethanol - a mixture called E85. Motorists may not
even know their engine's dual fuel capacity, and if they do, they might find it
difficult or impossible to buy E85.

The debate over E85 use in the United States often is cast as a
chicken-and-egg question: Which comes first, plenty of automobiles with the
flexibility to use ethanol-rich fuel, or the places to buy it?

By many accounts, the U.S. program designed to promote E85 has fallen short of
its goals.

Under a law passed more than a decade ago to promote alternative fuels,
automakers are given credits for producing flexible fuel vehicles that count
toward federal fuel-efficiency standards.

As a result, motorists can choose from an array of passenger cars, sport
utility vehicles and trucks capable of using E85 or gasoline.

But finding E85 is a bigger challenge, part of the reason that environmental
advocates are critical of the program.

"It's a hoax on the public," argued Dan Becker, a Sierra Club analyst in
Washington.

Environmentalists have mixed opinions about ethanol to begin with, noting
studies showing that it can worsen smog (while cutting down on carbon monoxide
pollution). But Becker said his organization is especially concerned because
the E85 credit has enabled automakers to build more gas-guzzling vehicles and
fewer that are efficient when burning gasoline.

Monte Shaw, spokesman for the ethanol industry's Renewable Fuels Association in
Washington, said Brazil has set an example worthy of being copied.

"What we can learn from Brazil is if there's a good fuel source and you have
the option of the cars, consumers are excited about it. If there was an E85
pump at every gas station in America, you would see people all over using it,"
he said.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is among the senators trying to promote ethanol made
from corn by increasing the availability of E85. An amendment Obama
successfully attached to the highway bill pending in the Senate would give
filling station operators credits of up to $30,000 for installing pumps with
the 85 percent ethanol blend.

Still another amendment attached to the highway bill aims to tell people
something they might not have heard from their carmaker - that they own a
flexible fuel vehicle. This amendment, sponsored by Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn.,
would require that labels declaring the E85 capability be placed next to the
gas cap inside the fuel-loading door.

In the past, provisions that promote ethanol - and so diminish the use of
gasoline - have been derailed by members of Congress from oil-producing states.

But Robert Gibbs, spokesman for Obama, said he believes times have changed.

"We think there's a broad enough coalition, not just of Midwestern senators who
can see the benefits of ethanol but also their colleagues from elsewhere who
are hearing complaints from constituents about the price of gas," he said.

Brazilian confidence

Limits have been imposed on how much ethanol Brazil can import to the United
States, and American ethanol manufacturers should be glad, considering Brazil's
booming sugar cane business.

Brazil produces its ethanol so cheaply that on occasion it is able to export it
to the United States and make a profit despite the 54-cent-per-gallon subsidy
received by U.S. producers.

But under terms of the Caribbean Basin Initiative, a trade treaty, Brazil can't
send more ethanol to the U.S. than an amount equal to 7 percent of the U.S.
production in the previous year.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has led an effort in Congress to freeze Brazil's
import rather than letting it expand with U.S. production.

Brazilians insist that their strategy is expanding markets worldwide rather
than competing with the United States.

William Burnquist is a spokesman for Brazil's Sugarcane Technology Institute,
in Piracicaba, Brazil. He said he believes that Brazil will need to expand its
acres of sugar cane by one-third - to 20 million acres - by 2010 to keep up
with growing demand.

U.S. ethanol production is expected to increase to a record 4 billion gallons
this year, and American industry officials claim that they will surpass Brazil
before long.

But Brazilians insist they are unconcerned and that they are happy to see
demand increase around the world.

At the Usina Sao Martinho sugar and alcohol mill in Pradapolis, Monika
Bergamaschi, who heads a regional agribusiness association, offered a smile
that suggests confidence about Brazil's future in a global industry that it
pioneered.

"We know it's more expensive to make there. We don't want to frighten people
because we need partners. We have all the problems of a developing country and
we need partners because we are growing," she said, speaking of new markets
around the world.

In Brazil

Motorists have a choice: gasoline, or ethanol made from sugar cane. Roughly 28
percent of automobiles built in Brazil this year can use either 100 percent
ethanol or the blend with 75 percent gas and 25 percent ethanol.

In the United States

Few gas stations offer fuel with a high percentage of ethanol made from corn.
Fewer than 5 million vehicles are able to run on 85 percent ethanol - a mixture
called E85.