Columns
Monday, July 10, 2006
getting serious about biofuels
America’s addiction to foreign oil poses a clear and present danger to our national security. Fortunately, one of the best solutions to ending this addiction lies right here in the Hawkeye state. Iowa is leading the way in producing ethanol and biodiesel that can end our dependence on foreign oil.
Our state is America’s No. 1 producer of biofuels. Last year, we produced more than 860 million gallons of ethanol, roughly one-fourth of the production in the United States. This generated a whopping $2.5 billion in revenue, and was a major shot in the arm for Iowa farmers and the rural economy. Soon, ethanol production in Iowa will exceed $4 billion, creating more than 5,000 new jobs and boosting the price of corn by as much as 12 cents a bushel.
In fact, the amount of ethanol Iowa produces in one year is now greater than the amount of gasoline it consumes. Biodiesel production continues to expand dramatically as well. We have 10 biodiesel refineries with a combined annual capacity of over 165 million gallons either in operation or under construction.
This is impressive progress. But if we are serious about energy security, we need a bold national commitment to renewable energy – a commitment on par with the Apollo moon-shot program in the 1960s. Recently, I joined with Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana to introduce legislation to create a major piece of that program – a comprehensive plan to ramp-up ethanol and biodiesel production, and to make it available and usable at the pump in communities all across the United States.
The Harkin-Lugar Biofuels Security Act of 2006 includes three main elements: First, it proposes a dramatically increased renewable fuels standard, meaning that we will produce and use at least 10 billion gallons of ethanol and biodiesel annually by the year 2010, rising to 30 billion gallons in 2020, and 60 billion gallons in 2030. This would mean that by 2030 as much as 30 percent of the U.S. motor vehicle fuel supply would be renewable.
Second, our bill would make E85 – a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline – available at filling stations all across America. Within a decade, approximately 25 percent of gas stations nationwide would be required to have E85 pumps.
Third, our bill would require automakers to increase by 10 percentage points annually their output of flex-fuel vehicles – those that can burn E-85 – until nearly all new vehicles sold in the U.S. are flex-fuel within a decade. The conversion costs are estimated to be as little as $30 per car.
This is an ambitious plan, but right now, ethanol production in the United States is increasing by approximately 25 percent annually. Biodiesel is expanding at an even greater rate. If we sustain this pace, we will be able to reach the aggressive renewable fuels standard in our bill. By committing itself to a similar course several decades ago, Brazil has already made great strides towards becoming energy independent.
The oil-producing countries think they have us over a barrel, but they will soon get the message: America has had enough, and we are serious about taking charge of our energy future.
