Senate OKs doubling ethanol in gas

02/08/2005

Associated Press
February 8, 2005

The Minnesota Senate on Monday passed a bill to double the amount of ethanol required in gasoline sold in the state, although the conversion would be far down the road.

Under current law, all gas sold in Minnesota must have at least 10 percent ethanol content. The Senate bill, which passed 54 to 12 after a quick debate, would raise that to 20 percent by 2012.

The House Agriculture Policy Committee is scheduled to review its version of the bill in a hearing this afternoon.

“As we look at the conflicts around the world and in the Mideast, we have to continue to look at how we can be more self-sufficient in Minnesota,” said Sen. Dallas Sams, DFL-Staples, the Senate bill’s chief sponsor. He went on to repeat a line used by Gov. Tim Pawlenty in his State of the State speech: The promotion of ethanol, a corn-based fuel, could make Minnesota “the Saudi Arabia of alternative fuels.”

Sams and other legislators also noted that the production of ethanol has become a key economic development tool for rural Minnesota. “It can make money and it is making money,” said Sen. Steve Dille, R-Dassel, pointing out that three ethanol plants are now under construction without a subsidy from the state.

The 14 existing ethanol plants in Minnesota produce about 400 million gallons of ethanol a year, and supporters say the Senate plan would require production of about 550 million gallons a year.

Fuel and automobile manufacturers oppose the higher ethanol levels, saying most vehicles are not engineered to process that much ethanol. To set the higher standard, the state would have to receive a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—something that Pawlenty, Sams and U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., were planning to discuss in a meeting this morning.

“Minnesota has the chance to lead the nation again and we want to take advantage of it,” Pawlenty said after the Senate vote.

The bill was supported by most of the Senate DFLers from Minneapolis and St. Paul, who haven’t always supported ethanol as a priority. Sen. Ellen Anderson, DFL-St. Paul, said that later in the session she would be seeking support for other alternative energy sources, including wind and biomass. “I think it’s important for us to be talking in Minnesota about energy alternatives and reducing our dependence on foreign oil,” she said.