Wisconsin Bio Industry Alliance

Ethanol Eases Pain at the Pump

Contact: Joshua Morby - 414.344.1733

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – One of the easiest ways to understand the benefit of ethanol is at the pump, where a new study released by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University shows the financial benefit to consumers was significant in 2010.

Ethanol reduced the average American’s household gasoline bill by more than $800 last year or 89 cents per gallon on average across the United States. The regional impact ranged from 58 cents per gallon in the East Coast region to $1.37 per gallon in the Midwest.

“We can directly thank Wisconsin’s ethanol producers for helping to keep gas prices at a more manageable level for our state’s consumers,” says Josh Morby, executive director of the Wisconsin Bio Industry Alliance. “Ethanol does have an impact on the cost of fuel for consumers, and we should do what we can to further encourage production in the state and throughout the nation, particularly in these economically troubling times.”

The report further noted that if ethanol production came to an immediate halt, the estimated cost increase per gallon of gas would rise to historic proportions, ranging from 41 percent to 92 percent.

While the data used for the CARD study reflected a one-year range, the researchers found that extending the analysis out to a sample period from January 2000 to December 2010 also noted a per-gallon cost decrease from ethanol production. Data from this sample period showed that ethanol reduced gas prices during the decade-long period by an average of 25 cents per gallon, which takes into account the more moderate per gallon gasoline prices from earlier in the decade.

The positive impact that ethanol has on the nation’s fuel supply is proof that further investments in the industry will result in dividends for consumers. Currently, the U.S. ethanol industry supplies approximately 10 percent of the fuel used in automobiles.

The results of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development study are available at http://tinyurl.com/3kg2ghf.

The Wisconsin Bio Industry Alliance is a diverse group of businesses, environmental groups, and statewide and local organizations that have come together to build both public and legislative awareness of the Bio Industry in Wisconsin.

For more information about the Alliance, or to find out how to join, please visit our website: http://www.wisconsinbioindustry.com.

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