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Producer says Middle East tension shows why U.S. should focus on ethanol

An ethanol producer says events in the Middle East are again showing why home-grown renewable fuel is good for America.  Erik Huschitt with Badger State Ethanol of Monroe, Wisconsin tells Brownfield the sudden rise in crude oil prices after a U.S. military strike in Iran again shows the focus should be on ethanol. “I don’t know how many times we have to see events where a refinery has gone down, or there has been an overseas event such as this that all of the sudden, the energy world gets nervous. We have the technology to use E15 in 99.9% of the United States fleet, yet we’re not doing it yet.”

Late Friday afternoon, West Texas Intermediate crude closed Friday at $63.05 a barrel, rising $1.87 a barrel since Thursday’s military strike.  Huschitt says the U.S. should not continue to be an energy hostage in a volatile world. “We have ample corn here, ample technology to utilize the ethanol, what are we waiting for? Ethanol is already 40 cents a gallon cheaper than RBOB (Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygen Blending) right now. We make it here. We know it helps our GDP (Gross Domestic Product.)

Huschitt says using more ethanol supports farmers, helps create good-paying U.S. jobs and takes care of the environment, but they need help battling the people and forces preventing widespread E15 use.

Erik Huschitt with Badger State Ethanol of Monroe, Wisconsin tells Brownfield the sudden rise in crude oil prices after a U.S. military strike in Iran again shows why the U.S. should be focusing on more ethanol use. “We’ve got the silver bullet right here, and we’ve just got to wake up as a country and as a political society and force the hands that make sure that ethanol E15 gets into the United States blend and is widely used.”

Huschitt says Badger State Ethanol now produces about 85-million gallons of ethanol annually, which is used primarily in the Milwaukee, Chicago, and east coast automotive fuel markets. The company has been growing since it’s 2002 beginning and just recently produced its one-billionth gallon of ethanol.