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Winter storm wreaking havoc on ethanol plants

Some ethanol plants are struggling to stay online as frigid temperatures, ice, and snow blanket much of the country.

Renewable Fuels Association CEO Geoff Cooper calls the situation “a real mess right now.”

“We’ve got ethanol output rates that are way down, we’ve heard from numerous producers in the last several days that many of them have had to drop to 50 (or) 60 percent of their normal run rates because they’re trying to conserve natural gas. There have been electricity outages.”

Speaking to reporters during the virtual National Ethanol Conference Tuesday, Cooper says a substantial share of the industry’s capacity is currently idle or will be in the next few days because of the winter storm.

“Obviously that’s a short term, temporary thing, at least we hope. But at least for the next week or so, it’s going to be something we’re very focused on in the industry.”

He says Nebraska and Kansas seem to be the states most affected by rolling blackouts caused by winter weather.