Ethanol's backers seize moment on gas prices

Pantagraph.com (Bloomington, IL)
By Ryan Denham rdenham@pantagraph.com pantagraph.com Posted: Thursday, May 26, 2011 7:00 am

BLOOMINGTON -- With a gallon of gas now about $3.80 in the Twin Cities -- a dollar more than last year -- ethanol's biggest supporters say they've found an upside: It could be worse.

That's according to a new study (funded in part by the Renewable Fuels Association) that claims the average price of a gallon of wholesale gas in the U.S. was 89 cents lower in 2010 because of the increased production of ethanol, which is blended into gas. In the Midwest, where the corn-based biofuel's production is at its maximum, that jumps to $1.37 per gallon.

The study by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University is hardly the final word on ethanol's impact on gas prices, which is doubted or minimized by critics. But it is being touted by groups like the RFA and the Illinois Farm Bureau as gas prices remain stubbornly high.

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