WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. ethanol industry will be represented at the White House jobs summit today by Gen. Wesley K. Clark (Ret.), Co-Chairman of Growth Energy, the coalition of American ethanol supporters.
The U.S. unemployment rate is the highest since 1983, when President Ronald Reagan was in office. Today’s summit, convened by President Barack Obama – who inherited the nation’s economic crisis – is a forum that will gather business executives, economists and labor leaders to examine ways to grow the economy and create jobs.
Gen. Clark will be making remarks about the Administration’s plans to focus on stimulating the renewable energy industry, in an effort to remake the nation’s economy for more sustainable growth that is less dependent on debt and foreign sources of energy. Clark said that for too long, imported oil has held the nation’s economy “over a barrel.”
“Ethanol is the model for all successful renewable energy industries: driven by technological innovation and with enormous potential for growth and job creation,” said Gen. Clark. “Ethanol is the only viable renewable, sustainable fuel we have in this country that is an alternative to gasoline refined from imported oil. It is being used today. And we can make it cleaner and greener every year – while creating jobs right here that can’t be outsourced.”
On Tuesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency responded to the Growth Energy Green Jobs Waiver seeking an increase in the allowable blend of ethanol with gasoline to 15 percent. The EPA told Growth Energy that it could permit the waiver by mid-year, given the completion of engine durability test results.
By raising the blend wall to E15, the ethanol industry could create 136,000 new jobs and inject more than $24.4 billion a year into the American economy. Raising the blend wall to E15 could reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 60 million tons – the equivalent of taking 10.5 million cars off the road. And in a sign of the potential for U.S. ethanol, a recent study found that domestic ethanol producers could replace as much as third of gasoline used today by 2030.
“Today’s ethanol is the solution to a lot of America’s problems – the economy, energy policy and protecting our people. This Administration is to be commended for embracing the role that ethanol, and other domestic biofuels, has in building our domestic economy, cleaning our air, and strengthening our national security,” Gen. Clark said.
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About Growth Energy
Growth Energy is a group committed to the promise of agriculture and growing America’s economy through cleaner, greener energy. Growth Energy members recognize America needs a new ethanol approach. Through smart policy reform and a proactive grassroots campaign, Growth energy promotes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, expanding the use of ethanol in gasoline, decreasing our dependence on foreign oil, and creating American jobs at home. More information can be found at GrowthEnergy.org.