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Ethanol exec says industry can prosper without VEETC

The CEO of Omaha-based ethanol producer Green Plains Energy says the ethanol industry has matured to the point that it no longer needs the ethanol blender’s tax credit and tariff to survive. 

But at the same time, Todd Becker says it is crucial that U.S. regulators and lawmakers move forward with increased ethanol blends and greater investment in the nation’s biofuels infrastructure, including more blender pumps and flex-fuel vehicles.
At an Omaha news conference Thursday, Becker said if the tax credit is not renewed by Congress, he does not see it having a significant effect on his company or on the ethanol industry.

“Because we have the twelve-point-six billion gallon mandate next year—we’ve got good export demand—we’ve got good blend economics—we’ve got the change in the gasoline makeup with the CBOB—and overall we think the underlying fundamentals are good and we think production is somewhat in line with consumption,” Becker explains.

There are those in the industry who believe a loss of the tax credit could result in some ethanol plants being forced to close.  Becker agrees that it could negatively impact what he calls “less efficient and less cost effective plants.

“The industry has very different makeup across the industry—there’s the marginal production and the efficient production—and at Green Plains, we believe we built the model on efficient production,” says Becker. “The marginal production could potentially have a problem competing in times where, say, ethanol is a premium to gasoline—and they may need to shut that marginal production down.”

Joining Becker in the news conference was Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis.  After meeting last week with EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, Buis said he is confident that the EPA will approve the use of E15 in late model vehicles in the coming weeks—and he is optimistic that the agency will eventually approve E15 use for all vehicles.

AUDIO: Todd Becker-Tom Buis-Growth Energy news conference (33 min MP3)