Grainnet

by Myke Feinman, BioFuels Journal Editor

Houston, TX – The president of a biofuels consulting firm predicts that U.S. demand for ethanol will top 8 billion gallons by the end of 2008.

Consumption is currently running at 6.2 billion gallons per year (BGY).

The Renewable Fuels Association and the American Coalition for Ethanol predicts the U.S. ethanol industry will produce more than 6.5 billion gallons this year.

The Renewable Fuels Standard requires gasoline refiners to blend 5.4 billion gallons of renewable fuels by the end of 2008.

“I think we will see a demand increase to around 8 billion gallons by the end of 2008,” said Logan Caldwell, President of Houston BioFuels Consultants, LLC, Houston, TX.

Caldwell believes the gap between 5.4 billion and his predicted 8 billion is based on ethanol’s lower price in relation to gasoline.

“This lower price will encourage blenders to increase the use of ethanol above the RFS mandate of 5.4 billion gallons,” Caldwell said. “Once ethanol prices signal to gasoline blenders that ethanol blending has compellingly attractive economics, it takes time to modify their terminals to blend ethanol and establish a means to supply ethanol to the terminals.”

Caldwell started his firm in 2006 after spending three decades in the oil industry.

For more information, call 281-360-8515.

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