Ethanol industry must promote corn fuels to public

July 23, 2008 12:49 am

— Just a few short years ago, ethanol was considered the fuel of the future. Communities and towns like Enid were busy catering to ethanol investors wanting to locate plants in their communities.
Now, corn ethanol as an industry is taking a big public relations hit. Promised plants aren’t being built due to “current economic conditions,” and government officials are rethinking federal requirements to blend nine million gallons of ethanol into the U.S. fuel supply this year.
There are corn ethanol plants operating in the country, but those plants and corn growers are being blamed for higher food prices because some corn is going to fuel instead of food.
One state thinks it’s time the corn ethanol industry started defending itself from the spate of bad publicity. Nebraska Ethanol Board officials met last week to talk strategy in facing the monumental task of re-educating the public about the benefits of corn ethanol.
We agree it’s about time the corn ethanol industry started telling its story and showing the public what ethanol production can do to ease the fuel crisis in the country. The industry has likely been slow to respond because it’s a relatively new industry and doesn’t have the kind of financing and marketing budgets large oil companies have.
However, the current fuel crisis does provide an opportunity for the country to re-commit itself to the benefit of renewable fuel resources.
The Renewable Fuels Standard Act is being challenged on many fronts, and tax incentives and related tariffs are set to expire in 2010.
If the corn ethanol industry is to survive and grow, it not only has to go on the offensive in the face of bad news stories about ethanol, but it also has to continue developing its product in a way that allow some products to come out of ethanol plants.