US Ethanol Demand Continued to Exceed Production in August
30 October 2009
US ethanol demand, as calculated by the Renewable Fuels Association, continued to exceed production in August. According to RFA calculations, demand was 734,000 bpd in August, up 11% from 661,000 b/d a year ago.
US ethanol production in August was 727,500 barrels per day (b/d), according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)— an increase of 80,000 b/d from August 2008. EIA also reports fuel ethanol imports of 38.7 million gallons in August.
According to the RFA the US has 630 million gallons of fuel ethanol stocks—about 20.4 days of reserve.
Anything the RFA says should be taken with a grain of salt. Ethanol blending is mandatory. Demand usually means that consumers want more of a product. This has nothing to do with consumer demand. Blenders want more of it when it is cheap, but only because they get 45 cents for every gallon they blend.
This is government forcing a corn product down our throats. It's an unprecedented action that suggests something needs to be done to curb the power of lobbies like the RFA which spent just short of a quarter million on lobbying last quarter.
Posted by: Biodiversivist | 30 October 2009 at 03:11 PM
Green agendas don't stand much of a chance if they cannot get behind the "Renewable Fuel Association." Subsidies for non-fossil fuels is what the whole sustainable movement is about at this stage. After wind, solar, geo, bio, and alcohol achieve growth competitive with oil - de-escalate the subsidies.
Posted by: sulleny | 31 October 2009 at 01:21 PM
Greenies are now discovering that government politicians can be bought? Who knew?
Posted by: Stan Peterson | 31 October 2009 at 05:58 PM
This was never by the greenies. It was about greenwashing. Trying to create what is essentally an agricultural subsidy the aura of being green. Most greens wouldn't say that the agricultural practices that are used are in any way green and that uncontrolled growth of food into fuel was in any way green.
Thanks for trying to blame the greens but the real blame is elsewhere. They just make an easy skapegoat especially to conservative bias.
Posted by: aym | 31 October 2009 at 09:21 PM
Well put, avm.
This is agribusiness at it's best.
Posted by: danm | 01 November 2009 at 04:16 AM
There is no definition for a greenie. Bashing one is like bashing a blue meanie. Both are figments of the imagination. Bush was a huge fan of biofuels. Did that make him a Greenie?
I do agree with the comment that government assistance is needed to get renewables rolling in the face of fossil fuel competition. But,
a) About 70% of a gallon of ethanol is derived from fossil fuels. This really stretches the definition of renewable. Without huge inputs of fossil fuels, you can't make corn ethanol.
b) The RFA is a corn ethanol front group fronting a fuel that is anything but green. Why would greenies get behind them? Corn ethanol has been heavily subsidized for over three decades. There is nothing temporary about their subsidies.
c) Imagine the government forcing us to use ten percent coal powered electricity in the name of energy independence.
Posted by: Biodiversivist | 01 November 2009 at 11:32 AM
Some people prefer a green subsidy like the "Cash for Clunkers" program that has ended up costing taxpayers $24k per clunker. Ow!
Suck it up and lobby to convert corn to cellulosic - it's already happening - and would happen faster if certain whiners got behind faster conversion.
Or is the real agenda to simply stop using fuel of any kind? Green or otherwise?
Posted by: sulleny | 02 November 2009 at 09:23 AM
It does seem that we either pay our own citizens to create oil substitutes very inefficiently or we buy foreigh cars and harness renewable energy with foreign hardware.
So as our automotive industry withers and dies we are pro-actively replacing it with processes that are equally or more futile.
Posted by: ToppaTom | 02 November 2009 at 05:41 PM
Excuse me... My communist boss insists I spew pathetically old fashioned propaganda in the hope someone thinks I'm more than an imbecilic robot. I'm not.
Posted by: sulleny | 02 November 2009 at 08:44 PM