Petroleum Chief Slams E85

I am really not so sure what to say in response to the following release I received from the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition...

API Chief Criticizes Infant E85 Industry

Jefferson City , MO ­– The head of the nation’s primary oil and gas lobby association, American Petroleum Institute, President Red Cavaney painted a dismal picture of the use of 85% ethanol (E85) yesterday in St. Louis at the Advancing Renewable Energy: An American Rural Renaissance conference. He addressed the attendees at the conference co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"A national emphasis on increasing ethanol volumes through E85 can prove unnecessarily expensive and risky," said Cavaney. "If we are to encourage more long-term use of ethanol, we need to avoid surprising consumers with unanticipated problems."

Cavaney criticized E85 in a speech Wednesday morning calling it 'costly and inefficient' and urged federal and state policy-makers against using mandates to promote its use. His swipes come just as federal and state lawmakers have touted the biofuel as a way to boost rural America, where corn for ethanol is largely grown.

Curtis Donaldson, Chairman of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, the nation’s primary advocacy group encouraging the continued growth of the use of E85, said that his organization was flattered by the comments of the API. “To have the President and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute making such a big deal of such an infant industry is gratifying and unexpected. The members of the American Petroleum Institute, which made a combined $38 billion in profits last year, may wish to consider investing more of that money in renewable energy such as E85 rather than simply trying to poke more holes in pristine portions of the Gulf of Mexico or Artic National Wildlife Refuge.”

Donaldson went on to outline that as reported by the Federal Highway Administration (1) a total of 139 billion gallons of motor gasoline were consumed in the U.S. in 2005. “For the first 6 months of 2006, U.S. consumption of petroleum has averaged 20,441,000 barrels per day or 858 million gallons per day (2). It’s truly amazing for the API to be so concerned with an E85 industry that is expected to sell less than 100 million gallons during the entire year. However, it’s clear that Big Petroleum see renewable fuels as competitors and that is unfortunate for their shareholders, the environment, and intimately the American people.”

President Bush will be the closing speaker at the Advancing Renewable Energy: An American Rural Renaissance conference and is expected to reiterate his message that America must turn more to the use of domestic-renewable transportation fuels to meet the nation’s need for energy independence.

Referenced material above can be found at (1) www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/mmfr/feb06/mgrstates.htm
and (2) http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/ipsr/t17.xls.

Well, maybe I'll lend my $.02.

First of all, it would make sense that the head of the America Petroleum Institute would criticize E85 because, well, because they're pro gas, natural gas, motor oil etc etc -- you know, the fuels that we rely on that aren't always coming from our homeland. Truthfully, I think it's rather unpatriotic of Cavaney to dismiss E85, citing it as expensive and risky. We take a risk every day that we're not investing more in E85 and putting that money where it rightfully belongs -- at home. And not for nothing, Cavaney to say that E85 is costly is laughable, because the last time I fueled up my car, it wasn't exactly cheap. Well, I did save a little bit last week, but it's election time and that's another political rant for a later post...

At least Bush is pro-domestic fuels, but again, that is another political rant for a later post...

What is your stance on E85? Yay or nay? Do you feel this guy has a point?