US Senators propose bill extending support for ethanol

20 April 2010 22:55  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Two senators on Tuesday introduced a bill that would extend US government support for ethanol, saying the biofuel still deserves help because it offers an alternative to foreign oil and stimulates the economy.

The bill was sponsored by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota.

Four other Senators, two Republicans and two Democrats, were named as co-sponsors of the bill.

The bill would extend through 2015 both a 45-cent/gal (€0.09/litre) credit given to US fuel blenders for mixing ethanol into gasoline and a 54-cent/gal tariff that the US levies on imported ethanol.

The blender credit and the tariff were both set to expire at the end of this year.

The bill also sought to extend through 2015 the 10-cent/gal tax credit for smaller ethanol producers and the $1.01/gal tax credit for producers using the cellulosic process, which converts biomass into ethanol. Most US producers use corn as a feedstock.

The 10-cent/gal incentive was set to expire at the end of this year, while the cellulosic credit expired in 2012.

A separate but similar piece of legislation seeking to extend government support for ethanol was introduced into the House of Representatives on 1 April by North Dakota Democrat Earl Pomeroy and Illinois Republican John Shimkus.

For more on ethanol, visit ICIS chemical intelligence
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By: William Lemos
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