Ethanol in Gas...Dumbest Idea in Years?

motordavid · #1 07-20-2013, 01:50 PM

Most of us know the lack of real benefits from the ethanol in our gasoline, but here is an interesting snippet from today's WSJ...ethanol mandate, RINs, more cost per gallon now and ongoing, an 'energy adviser' that says it's 'good', etc.

Anyone that has read my rants is aware I wouldn't pee on most politicos if they were on fire. 'Fixing' this mess is not rocket science or the econ crash or quantitative easing, but the elected idiots spend time on crap that often doesn' matter a damn.

Oh, and I am sure we are barely able to contain ourselves, waiting for the new Ethanol 15% coming down the road.

Link provided, and the comments, by some well informed posters, are right on...GL, mD We Need Some Luck, or brighter elected idiots.

The Ethanol Tax

It's costing you 10 cents a gallon this summer..

The summer is high driving season, so $4 gasoline in many parts of the country will add to the cost of family vacations. The gas price is mostly dictated by supply and demand, but Washington is helping to keep prices high. We warned in "The Ethanol Gas-Pump Surcharge" on March 13 that the 2007 ethanol mandate was starting to raise prices at the pump. Congress and the White House did nothing and now the problem is getting worse.

In 2007 the Bush Administration and Congress mandated how much ethanol the oil and gas industry must purchase each year to be blended into gasoline. This year it is 13.8 billion gallons. The quotas were established when Washington thought gas consumption would rise year after year, but instead it has fallen.

Lower consumption means refiners are now nearing a "blend wall" of 10% ethanol per gallon. Most American motorists won't buy gas with more than 10% ethanol, partly to protect engines from damage and partly because of higher prices. The volume mandates are so high they would require more than 10% ethanol.

So under federal law refiners must comply with a complicated system of buying renewable energy credits to make up for the ethanol they don't use. These credits are called Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs. Demand for RINs has surged and so their price has exploded. In January the RIN price was less than 10 cents a gallon, then it hit $1 in March and is now $1.40. This translates into a roughly $14 billion a year gas tax, or 10 cents a gallon more for consumers.

The quickest way for Washington to lower prices would be to repeal the ethanol quotas. But White House energy adviser Heather Zichal said this week that repeal would be "shortsighted" because the mandate combats climate change. But even environmentalists (including Al Gore) now concede that ethanol probably increases carbon emissions.

The ethanol quota is scheduled to rise again in 2014 and many energy market experts believe this could add another 10 to 25 cents per gallon of gas. Only Washington could come up with such a scheme.

Review & Outlook: The Ethanol Tax - WSJ.com

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Quicksilver · #2 07-20-2013, 03:29 PM

We Need Some Luck, or brighter elected idiots???
And where do you expect them to come from?
From the society we live in?

motordavid · #3 07-20-2013, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

We Need Some Luck, or brighter elected idiots???
And where do you expect them to come from?
From the society we live in?

Just an expression, I use often in golf: luck helps.
I was/am hoping the country gets lucky someday.

AzNMpower32 · #4 07-25-2013, 07:14 PM

Not to mention the additional cost to consumers of fuel pumps, and other fuel delivery systems having premature or early deaths indirectly tied to the ethanol content.

I would fill with no ethanol more often, but I go thru my fuel so quickly, every 5-7 days, that it makes poor sense to pay $4,19/US gallon ($1,10/litre) for it.

JCL · #5 07-25-2013, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

I would fill with no ethanol more often, but I go thru my fuel so quickly, every 5-7 days, that it makes poor sense to pay $4,19/US gallon ($1,10/litre) for it.

I paid $1.61 per litre for 91 AKI this morning. We can get fuel without ethanol (the 5% ethanol requirement here is across all fuel sales, so there is more in 87 and often none in 91)

You should move on up. As an added bonus, you could do metric officially

AzNMpower32 · #6 08-13-2013, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCL

I paid $1.61 per litre for 91 AKI this morning. We can get fuel without ethanol (the 5% ethanol requirement here is across all fuel sales, so there is more in 87 and often none in 91)

You should move on up. As an added bonus, you could do metric officially

And with all the mountain biking in BC and QC, I'd love it there too!

Still, I'd rather be in Europe. Got back from a trip to Finland (again) and Sweden (nice but expensive). Everytime, I am sad to leave and wonder what I am doing in the US.

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