WASHINGTON (Reuters) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday that she supported a higher ethanol-to-gasoline blend rate as a way to reduce reliance on petroleum imports.
“It seems to me we should be able to do that,” Pelosi told reporters after speaking to the National Farmers Union convention.
At present, gasoline may contain up to 10 percent fuel ethanol, made mostly from corn (maize). An ethanol trade group asked the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday to allow blends of up to 15 percent ethanol in motor fuel.
Asked about raising the ethanol cap, Pelosi, a California Democrat, said “I hope so” and pointed to the goal of more domestic fuel production.
Earlier in the day, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the NFU that he believed the government could move “fairly quickly” to a 12 percent or 13 percent blend as an interim step. House Agriculture Committee chairman Collin Peterson, Minnesota Democrat, said, “I think we’re going to 13 percent.”
(Reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by David Gregorio)
Reuters online 3/9/09
Conserv-A-Store
After the support of both parties kick started ethanol blends in petrol a few years ago, some are having cold feet fearing the competition of ethanol for foodstuffs such as corn and the reputed lower mpg it offers a traditional gas engine. We feel in that ethanol can be produced from many waste types(not just corn) and it can be fully produced in the Americas(if it is an E85 blend ie 85% ethanol to %15 petrol)we should be moving quickly to a more ethanol based society. The early production plants were largely in the midwest but slowly more plants are being built. We would like to see continued govt support at all levels for ethanol blending but more importantly see the auto makers offer a broader range of E85 models–currently the offering is quite limited