Washington, D.C. - Senator Daniel K. Akaka and Congressman Neil Abercrombie today announced that Senate and House conferees have agreed to authorize $9 million in federal support for the manufacture of the alternative fuel ethanol from Hawaii-grown sugar. The ethanol language adopted by the conferees expands an amendment authored by Representative Abercrombie and approved by the House of Representatives when it passed the bill on April 20, 2005.
As one of the conferees, Akaka enlarged the scope of the ethanol provision and secured its inclusion in the final version of the bill, which now goes to both the House and Senate for approval. The House conferees agreed to an Akaka amendment that establishes a $50,000,000 loan guarantee for sugar cane and sucrose-to-ethanol facilities. These funds will be used to ensure commercialization of sugar cane ethanol, particularly for small producers under 30 million gallons per day. As of April 1, 2006, Hawaii state law will require that at least 10 percent of all gasoline sold in the state be blended with ethanol.
Senator Akaka stated, "My amendment will help sugarcane producing states - Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and Hawaii - develop an ethanol production capacity using locally grown sugarcane. As a conferee, I am pleased that Hawaii will be greatly benefiting in ways that bring our State closer to becoming energy self-sufficient. This loan guarantee gives Hawaii the opportunity to work towards being free from importing ethanol. At the very least, producers will now be able to comply with the State's ethanol mandate, which many ethanol producers are struggling to meet.
Representative Abercrombie said, "This is a groundbreaking program that moves us toward energy self sufficiency. It will preserve job opportunities, reduce air pollution and contribute to the survival of Hawaii sugar. It will also allow us to explore ways to develop renewable fuels and make our state less dependent on imported oil. We worked hard to get bipartisan support for this experimental program. If it fulfills its promise, everyone in Hawaii will benefit through a stronger economy, a cleaner environment, and lower gas prices."
The $9 million for Hawaii is one-fourth of $36 million included in the Energy Policy Act for sugar-ethanol demonstration grants, to be divided equally among Hawaii, Texas, Louisiana and Florida sugar growers who produce ethanol from sugar cane. The demonstration project funding will allow producers to test the feasibility of replicating the corn-to-ethanol program already operating under current law.
Ethanol is added to gasoline to produce a blended fuel that generates fewer pollutants than pure gasoline.
