Last year (2010) was another record year for American ethanol producers. According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), daily ethanol production in 2010 averaged nearly 863,000 barrels/day (b/d). That represents 36.24 million gallons of daily production and nearly 13.23 billion gallons of production for calendar year 2010. 2009 ethanol production was 10.75 billion gallons.
Imports for 2010 stood at slightly more than 9.7 million gallons, down from 193 million gallons in 2009.
As theRFA previously noted, exports of U.S. ethanol reached all-time highs in 2010. According to government data compiled by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), total ethanol exports ended the year at 397 million gallons, marking a nearly four-fold increase over 2009. Of the 2010 total, 270 million gallons (68%) were classified as denatured ethanol, while the remaining 127 million gallons (32%) were undenatured, non-beverage. These exports are not eligible for the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC), also called the blender’s credit.
A record volume of distillers’ grains (DDGs), the livestock feed co-product of ethanol production, was also exported in 2010. Nine million metric tons of this high-value livestock feed were exported in 2010.
“In today’s volatile oil market, ethanol production is helping reduce costs for consumers at the pump and is the only measure currently moving America away from imported oil,” says RFA President Bob Dinneen. “At nearly 10% of the U.S. gasoline market, American ethanol production is supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs while reducing our need to import 445 million barrels of oil to refine into gasoline. That is more oil than we import from Saudi Arabia each year. At a time of increased energy uncertainty and volatility, domestic ethanol production from a growing array of feedstocks is helping create the kind of economic and energy opportunities this country will need to regain control over our future.”