Using ethanol in the U.S. fuel marketplace helps lower gasoline prices by expanding gasoline supplies and reducing the need for importing expensive, high-octane, petroleum-based gasoline components or more crude oil from unstable parts of the world like the Middle East.


FACT: If ethanol were removed from the market, the shortfall would have to be made up from expensive imports.

A recent study concluded gasoline prices would increase 14.6% in the short term (36.5 cents/gallon if gas is $2.50/gallon), and 3.7% in the long term (9.3 cents/gallon if gas is $2.50/gallon) even after refiners build new capacity or secure alternative sources of supply.

According to the Consumer Federation of America, consumers could pay as much as 8 cents per gallon less if oil companies blended ethanol rather than higher-priced petroleum products.  Click here to view the report (May 2005).

FACT: Today nearly 50% of all gasoline in the U.S. is blended with ethanol.

FACT: In 2006, the U.S. ethanol industry increased household income by $6.7 billion, money that flows directly into the pockets of American consumers.

Source:  "Contribution of the Ethanol Industry to the Economy of the United States"

FACT: The U.S. ethanol industry has a proven track record of cost-effectively replacing MTBE and expanding gasoline supplies from coast to coast.

When California, New York and Connecticut switched from MTBE to ethanol in 2004, the transition went smoothly and both state and federal officials agree there was no negative impact on gasoline supplies or prices. The industry continues to expand and is prepared to assist any state confronting water quality issues or high gasoline prices.

Source: "Removing MTBE from Gasoline: Implications for the Northeast Gasoline Supply"