Robert Pore's Ag Blog

CENTRAL CITY — As soaring fossil fuel costs impact the nation’s economy, members of the Senate Agriculture Committee will get a firsthand view of Nebraska’s booming alternative energy industry.

Committee members will tour the Platte Valley Fuel Ethanol Plant in Central City in conjunction with a scheduled committee hearing on Aug. 16 in Grand Island.
Hosting the hearing and the ethanol plant tour will be U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. Nelson is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Nelson said the ethanol plant tour will show committee members the need to build the nation’s alternative energy industry.

The ag committee hearing will focus on the next farm bill. Nelson would like the farm bill to put a heavy emphasis on alternative energy sources, such as ethanol and soy biodiesel.

Nelson said Nebraska is among the nation’s ethanol production leaders.

“With gas and oil prices hovering at near-record prices, I want the policy experts and senators to see firsthand how one plant near a small Nebraska town can take 15 million bushels of corn, turn it into 40 million gallons of ethanol and in so doing contribute to America’s energy security and help out their community,” Nelson said.

He is inviting the visiting members of the committee, Nebraska’s congressional delegation and Gov. Dave Heineman to take part in the tour.

“We are extremely honored by this opportunity to showcase our plant to members of the Senate Agriculture Committee as they develop policies that will affect ethanol production for years to come,” said Cliff Mesner, a member of the board of directors of Platte Valley Fuel Ethanol LLC.

Mesner said Nelson has done much to promote ethanol not only in Nebraska but nationally.

“We hope to help him showcase ethanol’s economic and energy security benefits,” he said.

The Central City plant is one of 12 ethanol plants in Nebraska, and more are being planned. Total ethanol production in Nebraska is more than 550 million gallons per year.

When Nelson became governor in 1990, Nebraska had only one ethanol plant, producing 100 million gallons a year.

Nationwide, there are 101 ethanol biorefineries with the capacity to produce more than 4.8 billion gallons annually. There are 36 ethanol refineries and seven expansions under construction, with a combined annual capacity of more than 2.5 billion gallons.

On Tuesday, the Renewable Fuels Association said U.S. ethanol production increased in May to 293,000 barrels per day. That is an increase of more than 56,000 barrels per day from May 2005. Additionally, demand for ethanol rose in May, setting a record at 349,000 barrels per day.

According to RFA President Bob Dinneen, a decline in imports from April to May explains much of the “distressed” situation ethanol officials have seen in the spot market for ethanol in recent weeks.

“Imports from countries like Brazil were late arriving and caused some to become unnecessarily nervous about ethanol supplies,” Dinneen said. “Fortunately, the U.S. ethanol industry has grown and continues to grow at a pace sufficient to meet surging demand for this cleaner-burning, domestically produced renewable fuel.”