Pawlenty pushes plan to double ethanol in gasoline Brian Bakst, Associated Press September 27, 2004 http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5002480.html
Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Monday announced a goal of doubling the ethanol in every gallon of Minnesota gasoline by 2010. The ethanol industry praised the goal, but automakers reacted skeptically. Pawlenty said he'll ask the Legislature next year to raise the required ethanol content in gas from 10 percent to 20 percent. Pawlenty, a Republican, said he would delay the requirement until the end of the decade or when at least half the new vehicles offered for sale in the state include warranties for using fuel with 20 percent ethanol, whichever comes sooner. ``It's time that America and Minnesota get much more serious about the commitment to renewable fuels. We have been dragging our feet in this country for too long in terms of our addiction, our reliance on foreign oil,'' Pawlenty said. ``While progress has been made, it needs to be made more quickly and more dramatically.'' The ethanol proposal was the most eye-catching of several vehicle initiatives from Pawlenty on Monday. Others deal with fuel economy in the state government fleet. Ethanol is made from corn and mixed with gasoline. Although there is some debate about its benefits, many experts say it burns cleaner than normal gasoline. Minnesota is the only state that now mandates the use of ethanol in gasoline, although many states prefer it as a way to meet an oxygenated-fuel mandate. Pawlenty is the first governor to seek such a high requirement, said Monte Shaw, spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association, a Washington-based group that promotes ethanol. Next year, Pawlenty takes over as chairman of the National Governors Association's renewable fuels caucus, a platform he intends to use to push his plan on a national stage. ``It's going to open up a new dialogue,'' Shaw said. ``But anytime you propose something like this, there's going to be a lot of resistance as well.'' Indeed, a trade group that represents most of the world's major automakers said Pawlenty should instead consider offering tax breaks or other incentives to people who buy cars and trucks with existing fuel-saving technology. Warranties for most cars now only cover blended fuel with up to 10 percent ethanol. The governor's proposed standard ``would require significant design changes to automobiles,'' said Gloria Bergquist of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. ``We're already putting lots of fuel-efficient technologies on our vehicles so we don't need a mandate to tell us to do so.'' She said 85 percent of vehicle models on the market are adaptable with hybrid, clean diesel or turbo-charged engines. In the Legislature, ethanol debates tend to follow geography rather than party lines. Pawlenty's new proposal will be the same, judging by early reaction. ``It's long overdue and certainly Minnesota was the leader to go to 10 percent. There was a lot of struggle and a lot of trepidation,'' said Rep. Al Juhnke, DFL-Willmar, whose district has a new ethanol plant in the works. ``To now move to 20 percent, that's great.'' To Sen. Chris Gerlach, R-Apple Valley, such mandates fly in the face of free-market principles. ``The notion of using government to create a market like this artificially stretches the legitimacy of what government ought and ought not do,'' he said. ``If people are as environmentally conscious as they say they are and if it's a good product, why can't it survive in the marketplace without a mandate?'' For years, Minnesota has been among the more ethanol-friendly states in the country, primarily through a 13-cent per gallon subsidy paid to the fuel's producers. The number of cars in the state government fleet that take E85 fuel - a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline - is continually increasing. The number of gas stations with E85 recently topped 100 in Minnesota. If Pawlenty's plan survives, farmers stand to gain. Currently, 400 million gallons of ethanol are produced here, although only 240 million are consumed in Minnesota. That results in 150 million bushels of corn being used out of 970 million harvested in the state a year ago. ``When you look at the opportunities that exist for agriculture in Minnesota, for that matter throughout the United States, to be involved with a renewable energy becomes a win-win situation,'' said Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Gene Hugoson. Pawlenty also announced plans to reduce the use of gasoline in state government vehicles by 50 percent by 2015. That would be done by using more alternative fuels, adding hybrid vehicles to the state fleet, and other measures, such as completing more transactions electronically than in person. The plan would also encourage the sale of hybrid vehicles to the public by allowing those cars to drive in express lanes. --- Associated Press correspondent Dave Kolpack in Fargo contributed to this report. _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/biofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/
