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Renewable fuels vital to Ohio economy

Mark Borer, president of the Ohio Ethanol Producers Association says ethanol plays a vital role in Ohio’s economy.

EPA is set to release its final Renewable Fuels Standard rule on June 1, and Borer says the rule will help determine the amount of biofuels blended into the nation’s fuel supply.  “It’s critically important for Ohio’s 7 ethanol plants and numerous biodiesel plants along with the 38,000 direct and indirect jobs associated with the biofuels industry that these rules reflect the RFS numbers as prescribed,” he says.  “And not limit our growth.”

Tadd Nicholson, executive director of the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association says both grain and livestock farmers benefit from the state’s 7 ethanol plants.  “In the past, that 200 million bushels of corn would typically have been sent somewhere else in the US to have value added to it,” he says.  “With Ohio producing ethanol within our state, we’re producing grain that gets turned into a higher value product right inside our own state.”

In addition, he says, the tax revenue generated spreads throughout Ohio, benefiting its communities rather than going to other states.