US ethanol group sees 15 pct blend creating jobs

WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - The reeling U.S. ethanol
industry could create 136,000 jobs and inject $24 billion into
the economy each year if the government hikes the allowable
blend of ethanol with gasoline to 15 percent from 10 percent,
trade group Growth Energy said on Wednesday.
Volatile corn and oil prices and slumping demand for fuel
have slammed the ethanol industry. Growth Energy and other
proponents want to boost demand for their alternative fuel,
made mainly from corn.
"The federal government can act right now to increase the
amount of ethanol blends in the nation's fuel supply," said Jim
Nussle, a former congressman from Iowa who advises the group.
The United States could consume 20.4 billion gallons of
ethanol per year if the Environmental Protection Agency
increased the allowed blend rate to 15 percent, based on annual
gasoline use of 136 billion gallons, according to a North
Dakota State University study done for Growth Energy.
That would require the United States to build another 6
billion gallons of capacity, or 60 ethanol plants each
producing 100 million gallons per year, Nancy Hodur told a news
conference.
Current industry capacity is 10.3 billion gallons per year,
with another 1.9 billion gallons idled, 1.5 billion gallons
under construction and room at existing plants for expansion of
0.6 billion gallons, she said.
Building the plants would create 262,000 jobs and $36.8
billion in economic benefits, Hodur said.
Longer term, the expansion would create 136,000 jobs and
add more than $24 billion to the economy, she said.
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by David Gregorio)
((roberta.rampton@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
roberta.rampton.reuters.com@reuters.net; 202 898 8376))
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Keywords: ETHANOL JOBS/

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