A new report from the Iowa State University Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) shows that ethanol reduced wholesale gasoline prices by $1.09 per gallon nationally last year.
But the savings to Midwestern motorists were even more than that.
According to Lucy Norton of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, without ethanol, pump prices in Iowa have been $1.69 more per gallon.
“So if you take that $1.69 per gallon reduction, it adds up to a very generous $2,363 in annual savings for a typical Iowa family,” Norton says.
Norton explains that the savings are higher in areas with greater ethanol production and ethanol use.
“Iowa is the number one ethanol producing state and ethanol has captured 80 percent of the fuel market here in Iowa—so Iowans are reaping the best benefits from having ethanol available to them,” she says.
Iowa’s 41 ethanol plants produce nearly three-point-seven billion gallons annually.
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