Kansas Ethanol Consumption Rises Seven-Fold to 2% of non-Diesel Fuel Use

30 October 2005

Kansans are using more ethanol in their vehicles, and more stations are set to start offering ethanol-blended fuels in the next year.

According to fuel reports from the Kansas Department of Revenue, Kansans consumed more than 4.3 million gallons of ethanol (in E10 and E85 blends) in July and August compared to the same two-month period in 2004—more than seven times the 2004 number.

Those 4.3 million gallons represent some 2% of the combined total of 230 million gallons of gasoline and ethanol consumed by Kansan drivers in July and August 2005. (Drivers consumed 230 million gallons of both in July and August; an increase of 1% from the same period in 2004.)

This is welcome news. Ethanol burns cleaner and it is made right here in Kansas, which helps both our environment and our economy. Plus it cuts down on the need to import foreign oil, which is good for national security

—Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius

Kansas is currently home to seven ethanol plants that use 65 million bushels of corn and grain sorghum to produce 170 million gallons of ethanol per year. A plant in Phillipsburg is under construction.

The state now has seven E85 stations: in Coffeyville, Garnett, two in Great Bend, Hays, Maize, and Topeka. To meet growing demand, 20 more E85 stations are slated to open across Kansas in 2006.

Resources:

• Kansas Department of Revenue, Motor Fuel Activity Report