First and foremost, I want to express that our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine and we stand in solidarity as they defend their country. Ahead of tonight’s State of the Union, I also wanted to share a few topline thoughts on our nation’s energy security.
In the last week, we’ve seen significant market uncertainty given the turmoil in the region. We’ve already seen an impact across all commodities. Just this week, oil prices spiked to over $100 a barrel.
The uncertainty of the situation in Ukraine underscores the need for more homegrown biofuels to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil and improve our energy security.
Gas prices are spiking across the country – in fact, Chicago just hit $4 a gallon. And experts agree prices will only continue to rise. However, increasing access to higher blends of ethanol through E15 year-round can help keep prices down at the pump.
Our energy independence can be achieved through increasing the use of higher blends, which can also drive down the cost at the pump. At today’s blending levels, ethanol already displaces 700 million barrels of oil every year.
That is why we’ve called on previous administrations, as well as President Biden, to turn to homegrown and low-carbon solutions like biofuels to shield American drivers from the continued volatility in the OPEC-controlled, global oil market.
By increasing the use of higher blends of ethanol and ensuring year-round access to E15, President Biden and lawmakers could help Americans access a low-carbon fuel that can save an average of ten cents per gallon at the pump.
We hope that in his State of the Union address tonight, the President highlights the critical role of homegrown, renewable fuels in our national dialogue on energy independence.
Key Stats on American Ethanol:
- Ethanol displaces the gasoline produced from more than 700 million barrels of oil every year. (EIA)
- Since the Renewable Fuel Standard was enacted in 2005, America’s crude oil imports have dropped almost 50 percent. Switching to domestic energy sources has helped reduce our dependence on foreign oil, strengthening our national security and our economy.
- Ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 46% compared to traditional gasoline.
- In 2021, the biofuels industry supported 400,000 direct and indirect jobs in the U.S. (Bureau of Labor & Statistics)
- Moving to an E15 nationwide standard would:
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- Generate $12.2 billion in savings for U.S. consumers at the pump each year,
- Create an additional 180k American jobs,
- Add $17.8 billion to the U.S. GDP, and
- Bolster our domestic market supply and drive prices downward.
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